Bring Me Edelweiss

"Bring Me Edelweiss" is a song by Austrian band Edelweiss, first released in late 1988 as a stand-alone single, then later included on their debut album Wonderful World of Edelweiss. The song was a hit in Europe and New Zealand, reaching the number-one position in six countries and peaking within the top five on several other music charts, going on to sell over five million copies worldwide. The song contains numerous samples from other artists and features constant yodeling.

"Bring Me Edelweiss"
Single by Edelweiss
from the album Wonderful World of Edelweiss
B-side"Kitz-Stein-Horn"
Released1988
GenreEuropop
Length3:42
Label
Songwriter(s)Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus, Klaus Biedermann, Paul Pfab, Martin Gletschermayer, Markus Moser, Walter Werzowa
Producer(s)Martin Gletschermayer, Walter Werzowa
Edelweiss singles chronology
"Bring Me Edelweiss"
(1988)		 "I Can't Get No... Edelweiss"
(1989)

Origin and content

In 1988, British electronic band The Timelords (better known as The KLF) scored a number-one hit in the United Kingdom and New Zealand with the novelty song "Doctorin' the Tardis",[1][2] which samples a number of songs, including Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll" and The Sweet's "Block Buster!". As a result of the song's success, the band published a book entitled The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way).[3] Written by members Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, the book instructed—as a joke—how to earn a number-one hit without much work. One instruction, "Compose your music with bits you've nicked from other songs",[4] was supposedly followed by Edelweiss, allowing them to compose "Bring Me Edelweiss."

The song features many samples. The primary sample, which the song's chorus is based on, is ABBA's 1975 song "SOS", which was one of the band's first international hits. ABBA usually do not allow other artists to sample their music, and they claimed Edelweiss never contacted them and never had permission to sample "SOS".[4] Other samples in the song include the 'Ow!'s from "Rock Me Amadeus" by fellow Austrian musician Falco, sections of Indeep's 1983 song "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life", and the 'Ah yeah' from Run-DMC's "Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)"[5]. Yodeling is also common throughout the song, and the female vocals are provided by Austrian singer Maria Mathis.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[30] Gold 250,000^
Sweden (GLF)[31] Gold 25,000^
Summaries
Worldwide — 5,000,000[4]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 12 June 1988 – 18 June 1988". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. "Single Top 40 28/08/1988". charts.nz. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. Messker, David (3 September 2008). "White Label Wednesday: Edelweiss, "Bring Me Edelweiss"". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. "Bring Me Edelweiss by Edelweiss". Songfacts. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  5. "Bring Me Edelweiss by Edelweiss". Whosampled. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  8. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 6392." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  9. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 9. 4 March 1989. p. 14. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 4. 28 January 1989. p. 17. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  11. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 18. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bring Me Edelweiss". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  16. "Charts.nz – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". VG-lista. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  21. "Edelweiss Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  22. "Edelweiss Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  23. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2002" (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  24. "Jaaroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  25. "Eurochart Hot 100 – 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  26. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1989" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  27. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1989" (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  28. "End of Year Charts 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  29. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1989". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  30. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Edelweiß; 'Bring Me Edelweiß')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  31. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
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