On and On and On

1980 song by ABBA

For the Klara Hammarström song, see On and On and On (Klara Hammarström song).

"On and On and On"

Australian picture sleeve

Single by ABBA
from the album  Super Trouper
A-side| "Lay All Your Love on Me"
B-side|

* "The Piper"
* "Our Last Summer"
* "Lay All Your Love on Me"

Written| January 1980
Released| 10 November 1980 (1980-11-10)
Recorded| 9 April 1980[1]
Genre|

* Disco-rock[2]
* European electro

Length| 3:40
Label| Polar
Songwriter(s)|

* Benny Andersson
* Björn Ulvaeus

Producer(s)|

* Benny Andersson
* Björn Ulvaeus

ABBA singles chronology
| "Super Trouper"
(1980)  | "On and On and On"
(1980)  | "Happy New Year"
(1980)

|
|

Music video
"On and On and On" on YouTube

"On and On and On" is a song by the Swedish recording group ABBA, recorded for their seventh studio album Super Trouper (1980). Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad share lead vocals on the track, which was written and produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The disco-rock song was released on 10 November 1980 as the third single from Super Trouper in limited countries. It was included in More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits (1993).

## Background

[edit]

The track had the working titles "Esses vad det svänger när man spelar jazz" (roughly translated as "God Almighty How it Swings When You're Playing Jazz") and "'Til the Night is Gone", which is a line included in the chorus. Ulvaeus and Andersson headed to Barbados in January 1980 for writing inspiration, in the same vein as when the two visited Miami during the Voulez-Vous (1979) sessions.[3] "On and On and On", along with "Happy New Year", were the first two songs written for Super Trouper.[3]

## Recording

[edit]

The backing track for "On and On and On" was recorded on 12 February 1980, with Fältskog and Lyngstad's vocals being taken on 9 April 1980.[1] Sax overdubs were added on 17 April, while the track was mixed on 23–24 April.[1]

An extended mix of the song was used in the accompanying music video but not released on a record until The Complete Studio Recordings (2005). The fifth verse of the song was:

"Standing up is scary if you think you're gonna fall /
Like a Humpty-Dumpty 'fraid of falling off your wall /
I say if you ever wanna know what's going on /
Gotta keep on rocking baby, 'till the night is gone..."

## Composition

[edit]

"On and On and On" is written in the key of C major, with Fältskog and Lyngstad's vocals ranging from Bb3–B4.[4]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Record World said it was a "tasty, harmless, pop confection" and suggested that listeners "bounce, clap and smile along to [ABBA's] latest morsel."[5] British magazine Classic Pop named it ABBA's 11th top track, describing it as one of the group's more rockier songs and noting "the Beach Boys-esque falsetto backing vocals" from Andersson.[6] The Independent ranked it at number ten on their list of ABBA's underrated songs, writing of how its chorus "would have certainly felt repetitive in lesser hands" but that "ABBA managed to turn the refrain into an earworm for the ages."[7]

## Chart reception

[edit]

"On and On and On" reached a peak position of number nine in Australia, the second top ten hit from Super Trouper following "The Winner Takes It All" and ABBA's 15th and, as of 2025, last top ten hit in the country; it was also the group's final top forty hit for over forty years until "I Still Have Faith in You" and "Don't Shut Me Down" peaked at numbers 39 and 27 in 2021. In the United States, it became ABBA's worst charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at a dismal number 90. It did not enter the Cash Box Top 100 but did peak at number 125 on Record World's singles chart. However, it did top the US Dance Club Songs chart in May 1981 as a 12-inch single alongside "Super Trouper" and "Lay All Your Love on Me".

## Music video

[edit]

The "music video" for "On and On and On" was the first by ABBA to not feature any live movement. Instead, a photo montage was made from their Las Vegas concert during the US leg of ABBA: The Tour in 1979, which attempted to match the action of the photos with the song.

## Covers

[edit]

Beach Boys member Mike Love recorded a cover of "On and On and On" for his 1981 debut solo album Looking Back with Love.

## Personnel

[edit]

ABBA

* Agnetha Fältskog – lead and backing vocals
* Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead and backing vocals
* Björn Ulvaeus – backing vocals
* Benny Andersson – backing vocals, piano, synthesizers

Additional personnel and production staff

* Janne Schaffer – guitar
* Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
* Ola Brunkert – drums
* Lars O. Carlsson, Katjek Wojciechowski, Jan Kling – saxophones

## Track listings and formats

[edit]

"On and On and On" was also supposedly released in France but no information links of this release.

Australian and Japanese 7-inch single[8][9]

1. "On and On and On" – 3:41
2. "The Piper" – 4:40

Argentine and Canadian 7-inch single[10][11]

1. "On and On and On" – 3:41
2. "Our Last Summer"– 4:18

American 7-inch single[12]

1. "On and On and On" – 3:41
2. "Lay All Your Love on Me" – 4:31

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "On and On and On"  Chart (1980–1981)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] | 9
France (SNEP)[citation needed] | 7
Japan (Oricon)[14] | 24
US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 90
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[16] | 1
US Record World Singles[17] | 125

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for "On and On and On"  Chart (1981)  | Position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] | 84

## Release history

[edit]

Release dates and formats for "On and On and On"  Region  | Date  | Label(s)  | Ref.

|
|
|

Australia  | 10 November 1980  | RCA Victor | [19]
Japan  | 5 December 1980  | Discomate  | [20]
United States  | 15 June 1981  | Atlantic | [21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "ABBA Annual – Super Trouper". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
2. ^ Starostin, George. "ABBA Reviews: More ABBA Gold More ABBA Hits". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
3. ^ a b "Making ABBA: Super Trouper". Classic Pop. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
4. ^ "ABBA "On and On and On" Sheet Music in C Major – Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
5. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 6 June 1981. p. 12. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
6. ^ "Top 40 ABBA songs". Classic Pop. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
7. ^ Ingram, Freya (25 April 2025). "The top 10 underrated ABBA songs you might not know". The Independent. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
8. ^ On and On and On (Australian 7-inch single sleeve). ABBA. RCA Victor. 1980. 103719.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. ^ On and On and On (Japanese 7-inch single sleeve). ABBA. Discomate Records. 1980. DSP-208.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. ^ On and On and On / Our Last Summer (Argentine 7-inch single sleeve). ABBA. RCA Records. 1980. S-0085.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. ^ On and On and On / Our Last Summer (Canadian 7-inch single sleeve). ABBA. Atlantic Records. 1981. MS 5714.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. ^ On and On and On (American 7-inch single sleeve). ABBA. Atlantic Records. 1981. 3826.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. ^ David Kent (2006). Australian Charts Book 1993—2005. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. p. 10\. ISBN 978-0-646-45889-2.
14. ^ Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Oricon Single Chart Book: Complete Edition 1968–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. ISBN 4-87131-076-0.
15. ^ "ABBA Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
16. ^ "ABBA Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
17. ^ "Record World Singles 101-150". Record World. Vol. 37, no. 1770\. New York, NY. 4 July 1981. 24. ISSN 0034-1622.
18. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. 4 January 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 11 January 2022 - via Imgur.
19. ^ "ABBA - On And On And On / The Piper - RCA Victor - Australia - 103719". 45cat.com. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
20. ^ "ABBA - On And On And On / The Piper - Discomate - Japan - DSP-208". 45cat.com. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
21. ^ "ABBA – On and On and On". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 July 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Single result
* ABBA 1980 Archived 3 May 2005 at archive.today

* v
* t
* e

ABBA songs

* Discography
* Unreleased songs

Ring Ring|

* "People Need Love"
* "He Is Your Brother"
* "Ring Ring"
* "Another Town, Another Train"
* "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"
* "Rock'n Roll Band"
* "Nina, Pretty Ballerina"
* "Disillusion"
* "I Saw It in the Mirror"
* "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother"
* "She's My Kind of Girl"

Waterloo|

* "Waterloo"
* "King Kong Song"
* "Hasta Mañana"
* "My Mama Said"
* "Honey, Honey"
* "What About Livingstone?"

ABBA|

* "Mamma Mia"
* "Hey, Hey Helen"
* "SOS"
* "Bang-A-Boomerang"
* "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
* "Rock Me"
* "Intermezzo No. 1"
* "I've Been Waiting for You"
* "So Long"

Greatest Hits|

* "Fernando"

Arrival|

* "When I Kissed the Teacher"
* "Dancing Queen"
* "My Love, My Life"
* "Dum Dum Diddle"
* "Knowing Me, Knowing You"
* "Money, Money, Money"
* "That's Me"
* "Why Did It Have to Be Me?"
* "Tiger"
* "Arrival"

ABBA: The Album|

* "Eagle"
* "Take a Chance on Me"
* "One Man, One Woman"
* "The Name of the Game"
* "Move On"
* "Hole in Your Soul"
* "Thank You for the Music"
* "I Wonder (Departure)"
* "I'm a Marionette"

Voulez-Vous|

* "As Good as New"
* "Voulez-Vous"
* "I Have a Dream"
* "Angeleyes"
* "The King Has Lost His Crown"
* "Does Your Mother Know"
* "If It Wasn't for the Nights"
* "Chiquitita"
* "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)"
* "Kisses of Fire"

Greatest Hits Vol. 2|

* "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
* "Summer Night City"

Super Trouper|

* "Super Trouper"
* "The Winner Takes It All"
* "On and On and On"
* "Andante, Andante"
* "Me and I"
* "Happy New Year"
* "Our Last Summer"
* "The Piper"
* "Lay All Your Love on Me"

The Visitors|

* "The Visitors"
* "Head over Heels"
* "When All Is Said and Done"
* "Soldiers"
* "I Let the Music Speak"
* "One of Us"
* "Two for the Price of One"
* "Slipping Through My Fingers"
* "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room"

The Singles:
The First Ten Years|

* "The Day Before You Came"
* "Under Attack"

Voyage|

* "I Still Have Faith in You"
* "Don't Shut Me Down"
* "Just a Notion"
* "Little Things"

Other songs|

* "Merry-Go-Round"
* "Elaine"
* "Put on Your White Sombrero"
* "Should I Laugh or Cry"
* "You Owe Me One"

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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