Story of my life song analysis how to#
Story of my life song analysis full#

A new backing track was recorded four days after the first attempt, on June 6, and it was certainly an improvement. This simple yet effective device rubbed off the edges of the square, giving the tune a smoother flow: it was lifted out of the stiff and metrical territory and into a romantic French вЂњchansonвЂќ landscape. Something was needed to loosen it up, and it was Benny who found the key that would unlock the song: a descending melody line, played on the piano during the intro and then reoccurring throughout the tune. вЂњWe felt that it was a really important song, and we wanted to make sure that we didnвЂ™t вЂloseвЂ™ itвЂќ, BjГ¶rn later recalled.

Story of my life song analysis full#

They still sensed that they were onto something with this tune, but they concluded that they hadnвЂ™t quite captured its full potential. A rough mix of this instrumental recording was copied onto a cassette tape for BjГ¶rn and Benny.ДЄs the two song writers drove home to the suburb of LidingГ¶, where they both lived at the time, they took a fresh listen to the backing track. It actually wasnвЂ™t a bad backing track and it could easily have formed the basis for an excellent pop song in its genre. With Benny on keyboards and with the aid of session musicians Lasse Wellander (guitar), Mike Watson (bass) and Ola Brunkert (drums), this first attempt at the song took them into a fairly uptempo arrangement: an insistent beat, punctuated by handclaps вЂ“ a bit вЂњstiff and metricalвЂќ, as Benny would later describe it. Also, as was usually the case, the tune they brought to the studio could end up with any type of arrangement nothing was fixed, nothing was set in stone.

Story of my life song analysis how to#

As yet, though, the two song writers hadnвЂ™t quite worked out how to best record it, and its final lyrics had not been written: at this stage, the song was still adorned with the working title вЂThe Story Of My LifeвЂ™. It was, in some respects, a fairly вЂњsimpleвЂќ composition, with only two melody lines repeated throughout, but that deceptive simplicity was also part of its strength. Even when they were writing it вЂ“ just the two of them with piano, guitar and hummed nonsense words вЂ“ they both got a great kick out of their new creation. When ABBAвЂ™s Benny Andersson and BjГ¶rn Ulvaeus brought their latest song to Polar Music Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 2, 1980, they knew they had a winner on their hands. Often lauded as one of ABBAвЂ™s most accomplished recordings, The Winner Takes It All was painstakingly worked out in the studio вЂ“ and featured personal lyrics that would affect people for decades to come.