ABBA - THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL
I Don't Wanna Talk
About Things We've Gone Through
Though It's Hurting Me
Now It's History
I've Played All My Cards
And That's What You've Done Too
Nothing More To Say
No More Ace To Play
The Winner Takes It All
The Loser's Standing Small
Beside The Victory
That's Her Destiny
I Was In Your Arms
Thinking I Belonged There
I Figured It Made Sense
Building Me A Fence
Building Me A Home
Thinking I'd Be Strong There
But I Was A Fool
Playing By The Rules
The Gods May Throw A Dice
Their Minds As Cold As Ice
And Someone Way Down Here
Loses Someone Dear
The Winner Takes It All
The Loser Has To Fall
It's Simple And It's Plain
Why Should I Complain?
But Tell Me Does She Kiss
Like I Used To Kiss You?
Does It Feel The Same
When She Calls Your Name?
Somewhere Deep Inside
You Must Know I Miss You
But What Can I Say?
Rules Must Be Obeyed
The Judges Will Decide
The Likes Of Me Abide
Spectators Of The Show
Always Staying Low
The Game Is On Again
A Lover Or A Friend
A Big Thing Or A Small
The Winner Takes It All
I Don't Wanna Talk
If It Makes You Feel Sad
And I Understand
You've Come To Shake My Hand
I Apologize
If It Makes You Feel Bad
Seeing Me So Tense
No Self-Confidence
But You See
The Winner Takes It All
The Winner Takes It All
So The Winner Takes It All
And The Loser Has To Fall
Throw A Dice, Cold As Ice
Way Down Here, Someone Dear
Takes It All, Has To Fall
It Seems Plain To Me
SONG FACTS
Writer(s): Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s): Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Abba Member Björn Ulvaeus Wrote This After Separating From Wife And Fellow Band Member, Agnetha Fältskog. It's About A Divorce Where One Person Doesn't Want To Separate And Clings Desperately To The Marriage. It Put Agnetha In The Strange Spot Of Being Asked To Sing A Breakup Song Written By Her Ex-Husband.
Björn Has Said That While He Usually Didn't Use Drugs Or Alcohol While Writing, He Had A Bottle Of Brandy Next To Him While Writing The Lyrics For This Song. It Was Very Personal To Him. He Told The London Times March 26, 2010: "Usually It's Not A Good Idea To Write When You're Drunk, But It All Came Out On That One. By The Time I Wrote 'The Gods May Throw Their Dice' The Bottle Was Empty."
Ulvaeus Claimed That 90% Of This Song Is Fiction, Which Is Why He Didn't Feel Too Bad About Having His Ex-Wife Sing It. Said Ulvaeus: "I Had This Image Of A Man Walking Through An Empty House With All The Furniture Removed For The Last Time As The Symbol Of Divorce And Just Describing What I See."
Like Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way," This Evokes Some Very Behind The Music Moments As The Male Band Member Wrote Deeply Personal Lyrics About A Female Bandmate. At Least Stevie Nicks Didn't Have To Sing Lead On Lindsey Buckingham's Lyrics Like Agnetha Did With Bjorn's.
Despite The Song's Portrayal Of The Breakdown Of Her Marriage, Fältskog Calls This "Her Biggest Favorite" From Abba's Back Catalogue. "It's A Shame We Never Got To Play It Live," She Told The BBC.
Meryl Streep Recorded This Song In Just One Take For The Abba-Themed Jukebox Musical Movie, Mamma Mia! Ulvaeus Told The Telegraph: "Meryl Streep Is A Goddess. And At First We Couldn't Believe That She Wanted To Do It. I Was Completely Taken By Surprise When I Saw Her Performance In The Movie. To Hear Her Delivering The Songs With All The Emotion We Put In The Lyrics Is More Than We Could Have Dreamed Of."
The Winner Takes It All Is Also The Title To A 1999 Documentary About The Band.
Australian Pop Singers Kylie Minogue And Dannii Minogue Record This With The Bbc Orchestra In 2008 For The Uk Comedy Series Beautiful People.
Matthew Morrison And Jane Lynch Performed This On The Series Finale Of Glee In 2015.