The Piper (song)

1980 song by ABBA

"The Piper"

Song by ABBA
from the album  Super Trouper
A-side| "Super Trouper"
Released| November 3, 1980
Recorded| April 1980
Studio| Polar Studios, Stockholm
Genre|

* Synth-pop[1]
* calypso[1]

Length| 3:25
Label|

* Polar
* Epic
* Atlantic

Songwriter(s)|

* Benny Andersson
* Björn Ulvaeus

Producer(s)|

* Benny Andersson
* Björn Ulvaeus

Audio
"The Piper" on YouTube

"The Piper" is a track from the 1980 album Super Trouper, by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song is loosely based on the famous story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, but lyricist Björn Ulvaeus cites the novel The Stand by Stephen King as a source of inspiration.[2] It is regarded by some ABBA fans as being very different from the more mainstream songs they had recorded until this time. In particular, the dark lyrics dealing with the seduction by fascistic leaders and a somewhat medieval sound (drums, flute, choral) are not seen in their earlier songs.[3]

ABBA: Uncensored on the Road explains that the song was also the flip-side of the single "Super Trouper";[4] while From ABBA to Mamma Mia!: The Official Book adds: "After a two-week break in March for the concluding tour of Japan, by the end of April ABBA had completed the songs "Andante, Andante", "On And On And On", "Happy New Year", "Elaine" and "The Piper"."[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Stroude, Will (July 16, 2018). "The 10 best ABBA songs not to make the 'Mamma Mia!' films". Attitude. Retrieved December 8, 2024. "...a piece of music that is equal parts early 80s synth pop realness, haunting offbeat medieval calypso..."
2. ^ ABBA The Complete Recording Sessions ( PDFDrive ).
3. ^ Palm, Carl Magnus (2001). Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0711983892. "Other lyrical subjects new to ABBA included that of fascist threats, as introduced on the medieval-sounding "The Piper". The words were inspired by one of the main characters in Stephen King's 1978 novel The Stand, a charismatic leader in the mould of Adolf Hitler. 'The lyrics deal with the fear that there will come a time when people will want such a leader again', Björn Ulvaeus explained."
4. ^ Tobler, John (2012-01-01). Abba - Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books Limited. ISBN 9781908538239.
5. ^ Hanser, Anders; Palm, Carl Magnus (2000). From Abba to Mamma Mia!. London: Virgin Publishing. p. 85\. ISBN 1-85227-864-1.

* 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

* v
* t
* e

Pied Piper of Hamelin

Film|

* The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1918)
* Cheating the Piper (1920)
* The Pied Piper (1933)
* Paying the Piper (1949)
* The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957)
* The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (1961)
* The Pied Piper (1972)
* Kummatty (1979)
* Fluteman (1982)
* Abra Cadabra (1983)
* The Pied Piper (1986)
* It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown (2000)

Literature|

* Politically Correct Bedtime Stories (1994)
* King Rat (1998)
* Wild Blood (1999)
* The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (2001)
* The Rats of Hamelin (2005)
* Peter & Max: A Fables Novel (2009)
* The Pied Piper of Hamelin (2011)

Television|

* Hamelen (1970s series)
* Pied Piper Puss (The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show episode, 1980)
* The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Faerie Tale Theatre episode, 1985)
* The Day of the Clown (The Sarah Jane Adventures story)
* "Scatty Safari" (The Goodies episode)

Music|

* Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (1879 opera)
* Clarinet Concerto (Copland, 1948)
* "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965 Bob Dylan song)
* "The Piper" (1980 ABBA song)
* Pied Piper Fantasy (1982 Corigliano concerto)
* "Symphony of Destruction" (1992 Megadeth song)
* "The Sound Above My Hair" (2009 Scooter video)

Characters|

* Pied Piper (The Flash)
* Rat King (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Story within a story|

* Testament (1983 film)
* The Flies (1943 Sartre play)
* Montag aus Licht § Scene 2: Der Kinderfänger (1988 Stockhausen opera)

Related|

* Literary accounts
* Pied Piper's House in Hamelin
* Ratcatcher's Day

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