On and On and On

1980 song by ABBA

"On and On and On"

Single by ABBA
from the album  Super Trouper
Released| September 1980
Recorded| 1980
Genre| Pop rock
Length| 3:40
Label| Polar
Songwriter(s)| Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)| Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
| "The Winner Takes It All"
(1980)  | "On and On and On"
(1980)  | "Super Trouper"
(1980)

|
|

Music video
"On and on and On" on YouTube

"On and On and On" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as a single in a limited number of countries in 1980 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Super Trouper.

## Background

[edit]

The track, which 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", was released as a single in a few countries, namely Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Japan and the United States. The B-side in Australia and Japan was "The Piper"; in Argentina and Canada it was "Our Last Summer", and in the US it was "Lay All Your Love on Me"—all of which were also taken from the Super Trouper album.

"On and On and On" peaked at No. 9 in Australia, making it the 15th (and final) ABBA single to reach the Top 10 in that country. Although the song only managed to reach No. 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, its inclusion on a 12-inch single with the songs "Super Trouper" and "Lay All Your Love on Me" merits all three songs as having reached No. 1 on the American dance chart in May 1981.

An early mix of the song was used in the accompanying music video, but not released on record in stereo until 2011, and it features an extra verse:

"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..."

For the first time since ABBA made music videos, the clip for "On and On and On" did not feature any live movement from the group. Instead, a photo montage was made from their Las Vegas concert during their 1979 United States tour which attempted to match the action of the photos with the song.

The track is in the Mixolydian mode.[citation needed]

Record World said it was a "tasty, harmless, pop confection" and suggested that listeners "bounce, clap and smile along to [ABBA's] latest morsel."[1]

## 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

## Charts

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### Weekly Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "On and On and On"  Charts (1980–81)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] | 9
France (SNEP)  | 7
Japan (Oricon)  | 24
US Billboard Hot 100 | 90
US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard) | 1

### Year-end charts

[edit]

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

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 84

## Cover versions

[edit]

* The song's chorus has a backing vocals arrangement clearly influenced by one of Benny Andersson's favourite bands, The Beach Boys, and in particular their 1968 hit "Do It Again". In 1981, Beach Boys member Mike Love returned the compliment by covering "On and On and On" on his solo album Looking Back with Love. It was also later included on the 1999 compilation ABBA: A Tribute – The 25th Anniversary Celebration. Love re-recorded the song for his 2019 album 12 Sides of Summer.
* A French version was recorded as Ça va mal ("Things are bad") by Sylvie Vartan for her 1981 album of the same name.
* The 1992 compilation ABBA: The Tribute contained a cover by Swedish rock musician/singer Mats Ronander.
* The 1995 New Zealand compilation Abbasalutely contains a cover by Tall Dwarfs.
* The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus recorded a cover of the song for their 1997 album ExtrABBAganza!.
* A eurodance cover by Italian act Raffa was released as a single in 1997.[4]
* Almighty Records released several eurodance cover remixes of the song from the group Abbacadabra during the late 1990s. Various remixes can be found on the 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Compilation. Audio samples can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.[5]
* A 2016 version features vocals by Ebba (Tove Lo) and sounds, vox, video & FX by Göran Arnberg [sv] of Benny Anderssons orkester.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 6 June 1981. p. 12. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. 4 January 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 11 January 2022 - via Imgur.
4. ^ "Raffa – On And on And On (12") at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
5. ^ "Abbacadabra | We Love ABBA: The Almighty 12" Collection". Almighty Records.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
6. ^ On & On & On featuring Ebba - Congratulations Björn & Benny - 100 years of duality on YouTube

## External links

[edit]

* Single result
* ABBA 1980

* 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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