One Man, One Woman

"One Man, One Woman"
"One Man, One Woman"
Song by ABBA
from the album The Album
Released	12 December 1977
Length	4:33
Label	Polar
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Music video
	"ABBA - One Man, One Woman" on YouTube

"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 on several compilation albums over the years, such as 1998's Love Stories and 2012's The Essential Collection.^[2]

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, guitar 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 described it as "the most striking of the new songs".^[7]

References

^ "Album Search for "abba the album"". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "One Man, One Woman - ABBA | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ Palm, Carl Magnus (2008). Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba - Carl Magnus Palm - Google Books. ISBN 9781847724199. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
^ 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. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ 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. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Gordon Lightfoot Endless Wire Warners". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1978-02-16. Retrieved 2013-09-23.

This 1970s song-related article is a stub. You can help Wik.ipedia.Pro by expanding it.

[1] "Album Search for "abba the album"". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[2] "One Man, One Woman - ABBA | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[3] Palm, Carl Magnus (2008). Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba - Carl Magnus Palm - Google Books. 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. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[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. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[6] "The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[7] "Gordon Lightfoot Endless Wire Warners". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1978-02-16. Retrieved 2013-09-23.

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v t ABBA
Agnetha Fältskog Björn Ulvaeus Benny Andersson Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Studio albums	Ring Ring Waterloo ABBA Arrival ABBA: The Album Voulez-Vous Super Trouper The Visitors Voyage
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits Greatest Hits Vol. 2 Gracias Por La Música The Singles: The First Ten Years Thank You for the Music ABBA Gold Oro: Grandes Éxitos More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection The Definitive Collection The Name of the Game 18 Hits Number Ones The Albums The Essential Collection
Live albums	ABBA Live Live at Wembley Arena
Box sets	Thank You for the Music The Complete Studio Recordings
Concerts and tours	ABBA: The Tour ABBA Voyage
Films and musicals	ABBA: The Movie The Girl with the Golden Hair ABBAcadabra Mamma Mia! (1999 musical) Mamma Mia! (2008 film) Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018 film)
TV specials	Dick Cavett Meets ABBA ABBA: Thank You for the Music, An All-Star Tribute
Video games	SingStar ABBA ABBA: You Can Dance
Related articles	Discography Awards and nominations Songs Unreleased songs Tribute albums Abba-esque Abbasalutely The ABBA Generation ABBAmania Dancing Queen Agnetha & Frida: The Voice of ABBA "Just Like That" "Thank ABBA for the Music" Eurovision Song Contest 1974 ABBA The Museum Music of Sweden
Related individuals	Stig Anderson Ola Brunkert Rutger Gunnarsson Janne Schaffer Lasse Wellander Michael B. Tretow Lasse Hallström A-Teens Björn Again Linda Ulvaeus Catherine Johnson Carl Magnus Palm
Category

v t 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