One Man, One Woman

"One Man, One Woman" is a song by ABBA, released on their 1977 album ABBA: The Album. It is that album's third track after "Eagle" and "Take a Chance on Me".[1] Composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, it has appeared in several compilation albums over the years such as 1998's Love Stories and 2012 The Essential Collection.[2]

"One Man, One Woman"
Song by ABBA
from the album The Album
Released12 December 1977
Length4:33
LabelPolar
Songwriter(s)Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus

Synopsis

The song is about a couple (made up of the titular "man" and "woman") trying to save their marriage.[3]

Composition

Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang the lead vocals. The instruments used in the song are piano, synths, and strings. The piano is used to add a colourful countermelody to the vocal pauses in the chorus, a similar technique to the "descending double-octave riff" used in "Dancing Queen." The synth is used in a "chord-per-bar" fashion throughout the verses, and strings take over in the chorus.[4]

Analysis

Abba: Let the Music Speak describes the song as "one of ABBA's most introspective portraits of the fragility of human relationships", adding that it is engulfed by a "genuinely fatalistic quality". It says that Frida's lead vocal is filled with "urgency and inner suffering...insecurity and self-doubt", filling the song with "unsettling realism". Both her performance and the musical progressions of the song illustrate an unsureness and lack of faith.[5]

Critical reception

The Sydney Morning Herald described the song as a "big-treatment ballad".[6] Soon after the album was released, The Boston Globe said it was "the most striking of the new songs".[7]

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References
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/abba-the-album-mw0002095423
  2. https://www.allmusic.com/song/one-man-one-woman-mt0007564549
  3. Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba - Carl Magnus Palm - Google Books. Books.google.com.au. 2008. ISBN 9781847724199. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  4. Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 122. ISBN 9780646496764.
  5. Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 41. ISBN 9780646496764.
  6. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YJ9WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1864,4227593&dq=one+man+one+woman+abba&hl=en
  7. "Gordon Lightfoot Endless Wire Warners". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1978-02-16. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
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