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}} }} "Waterloo" is the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA's second album, ''Waterloo'', their first for Epic and Atlantic. This was also the first single to be credited as "ABBA". The song won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April and began their path to worldwide fame. The Swedish version single was coupled with "Honey, Honey" (Swedish version), while the English version usually featured "Watch Out" as the B-side. The single became their first No. 1 hit in several countries, reached the U.S. Top 10, and went on to sell nearly six million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. "Waterloo" is the quintessential Eurovision song, according to Dr Harry Witchel, physiologist and music expert at the University of Bristol. At the 50th anniversary celebration of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, it was chosen as the best song in the competition's history.〔 ==History== "Waterloo" was originally written as a song for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, after the group finished third with "Ring Ring" the previous year in the Swedish pre-selection contest, Melodifestivalen 1973. Since it focused on lead vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson chose "Waterloo" in place of another of their songs, "Hasta Mañana". "Waterloo" is about a girl who is about to surrender to romance, as Napoleon had to surrender at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, as referenced in the song. The song proved to be a wise choice. It won Melodifestivalen 1974 (in Swedish) in February and won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 (ESC) final on 6 April by six points. The original title of the song was "Honey Pie". "Waterloo" was originally written with simultaneous rock music and jazz beats (unusual for an ABBA song); this was later discarded in favour of more disco-esque rhythms. The song broke the "dramatic ballad" tradition of the Eurovision Song Contest by its flavour and rhythm, as well as by its performance: ABBA gave the audience something that had never been seen before in Eurovision: flashy costumes (including silver platform boots), plus a catchy uptempo song and even simple choreography. The group also broke from convention by singing the song in a language other than that of their home country; prior to "Waterloo" all Eurovision singers had been required to sing in their country's native tongue, a restriction that was lifted briefly in the 1970s (thus allowing "Waterloo" to be sung in English), then reinstated a few years later before ultimately being removed. Compared to later ABBA releases, the singers' Swedish accents are decidedly more pronounced in "Waterloo," as their understanding of the English language was limited. Though it isn't well-known, Polar accidentally released a different version of "Waterloo" shortly after ABBA's Eurovision win before replacing it with the more famous version. The alternative version had a harder rock sound, omitting the saxophones (played by Christer Ecklund), plus an additional "oh yeah" in the verses. The alternative version was commercially released in 2005 as part of ''The Complete Studio Recordings'' box set. However, it was this version that ABBA performed during their 1979 tour of Europe and North America. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Waterloo (ABBA song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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