The Winner Takes It All by ABBA

Background

“The Winner Takes It All” is a 1980 song by the Swedish pop group ABBA.

Originally titled "The Story of My Life", it was written by both Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson. The lyrics to the song were thought to mirror the divorce between Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog in 1979, but Ulvaeus denies this, saying the basis of the song "is the experience of a divorce, but it was fiction (that is, not based on popular speculation about it being a case of ‘art imitating life’).

In a 1999 poll for Channel Five (a United Kingdom television network), "The Winner Takes It All" was voted Britain's favourite ABBA song. "The Winner Takes It All" was voted "Britain's Favourite Break-Up Song." Having analysed the song with its wordsetting, orchestration, harmony and melody in mind, it is not difficult to comprehend why it was such a popular ‘Break-Up Anthem’. We shall soon see why.

Introduction- Harmony, Voiceleading, Functional Analysis, Phrase Structure, Hypermetre

In terms of harmony, there is regular use of secondary leading-tone chords to tonicise.  

Tonicisation (using  secondary leading-tone chords) occurs in bars 2 (viiº/vi)  and 4 (viiº/ii).  In this song (introduction, choruses and outro), tonicisation features quite prominently. They seem to provide the drive to push the music forward.

There is voiceleading throughout and they all tend downwards, descending from the 4^th . For example

Bars 1-2 :  I ^{4---3----2-----1}   

Bars 3-4 : vi ^{4---3----2-----1}  

Bars 5-6: ii ^{4---3----2-----1}  

Bars 7-8: V ^{4---3----2-----1}  

The functional analysis is  T (bars 1-2) -->  (T) (bars 3-4) --> PD (bars 5-6) --> D (7-8)

The whole introduction is a PARALLEL and SYMMETRICAL period, made up of an antecedent phrase (bars 1-4) and consequent phrase (bars 5-8). It is a parallel period because it’s based on the same thematic material of a descending syncopated melody, with arpeggiated quavers beneath the melody. It is also a symmetrical period because the length of both phrases is the same (4 bars each).

Hypermetre: every 4 bars

In The Verse- Harmony, Voiceleading, Functional Analysis, Phrase Structure, Hypermetre

The melody is based on a pattern of scalic movements, both ascending & descending. The first 4 bars of the verse are mostly ascending, followed by another 4 bars of a mostly descending scalic pattern.

In terms of chords, it is interesting to point out the presence of the lament bass. As annotated in the score, we see the bass moving downwards from G♭--> F --> E♭--> D♭.

The functional analysis would be:  T--> PD--> D  (Please refer to score)

In the actual recording (not on the score itself), the piano does interesting things too. In the first phrase, he is basically vamping on the G♭-->D♭/F --> A♭m/E♭ --> D♭chord progression. But when the phrase repeats (“I’ve played all my cards…”), the right hand part of the piano plays a double-neighbour figuration (of: actual note--> a step downwards --> minor third up --> descend stepwise) and repeats this idea 4 times. This creates a ‘closing in and opening up’ effect: (e.g. I   Iadd9 Isus4 I ) If you refer to the annotation on my score, you can see the voiceleading instances identified.

The phrase structure is somewhat different here. There are no antecedent and consequent phrases to be noted, because the second phrase (“I’ve played all my cards, and that’s what you’ve done too, nothing more to say, no more ace to play.”) is a repetition of the first (“I don’t wanna talk, about the things we’ve gone through, though it’s hurting me, now it’s history.”), albeit with different lyrics. However, I noted that, although the melody and chords are the same, the feel is different when comparing the first and second phrases. The first phrase sounds like it should continue (with either a consequent or repeat phrase) whereas the second phrase leads into chorus. Why is this so? Is it because of the sense of finality from the increase in dynamics at the last two bars right before the chorus? Or is it the presence of the 8-bar hypermetre that makes the listener feel a sense of ‘preparedness’ to go into the chorus after the second phrase?

The verse is made up of, once again, a parallel and symmetrical period.

In The Chorus- Harmony, Voiceleading, Functional Analysis, Phrase Structure, Hypermetre

There is a melodic/harmonic sequence of a minor7^th upwards leap followed by a stepwise descend down a 2^nd  (e.g. D♭ D♭--> C♭C♭-->B♭B♭). This beautiful sequential pattern brings out some extramusical features—it creates a push and pull effect, which is very appropriate for the subject matter and lyrics: The protagonist in the song feels the anguish and pain at having someone taking it all (hence the push-upwards leap of the minor 7^th interval), but yet it is clear that she still harbours feelings for her ex-lover (reflected in the pull – 2^nd  interval. What is all the more fascinating is that this ascending and descending idea is played out on a secondary level—looking at the bigger picture, in the chorus, we see the push/pull factor manifesting in the sequences:

    

Original (normal): D♭D♭-C♭C♭-B♭B♭

First sequence (low-descending pull): Low B♭Low B♭-A♭A♭-G♭G♭

Second Sequence (high ascending push): E♭E♭- High D♭ High D♭-C♭C♭

Interestingly, the ascending and descending movement is reminiscent of the verse melody. This contributes to the overall thematic unity and makes the composition more cohesive.

Harmonically, the chords are the same as the introduction’s, with tonicisation occurring at regular intervals. Thus, the functional analysis follows that of the introduction as well.

The chorus is also made up of a parallel and symmetrical period.

Outro Section- Harmony, Voiceleading,  Functional Analysis, Phrase Structure, Hypermetre

The harmonies, functional analysis, phrase structure, voiceleading aspects all follow that of the chorus. The most significant feature in the outro is the juxtaposition of the chorus melody and secondary melody (incidentally, piano part in verse): “so the winner..takes it all…and the loser…has to fall..” This technique is tastefully done as it seems to invoke the imagery of a chorus of people jeering at the so-called ‘loser’.

Other Interesting Aspects

Wordsetting:

The word “takes” (from “the winner takes it all….”) is, to me, an example of wordpainting.  It illustrates the action/moment/anguish of something being grabbed from you. In the last chorus especially (3:56-4:11), the singer sings just this line: “The winner takes it all”. She sings it twice over the chords and each time this word appears, there is a grace note after the main note:

  C♭ ^B♭      B♭ B♭

                                       Ta—akes   it    all

                                      D♭ ^C♭    C♭ C♭

                                      Ta— akes  it    all

This is a fine example of using melisma to enhance the word.

Fade-Out

Significance of the fade-out: to illustrate that this problem will never be resolved because, in life, the winner will always take it all, leaving the ‘loser’ to pick up the pieces and carry the pain through, hence the repetition in the outro.  Although fading out was a popular feature since the 60s (for e.g., “Heal The World”,  “Hey Jude”), it is done tastefully and purposefully here, because it helps to create the intended effect of an unresolved issue.

Form

This could be an example of a song with a modified rondo form, modified because of the non-modulating factor.

Verse 1,2 --> Chorus --> Verse 3,4--> Chorus, Chorus-->Verse 5,6--> Chorus, Chorus-->Verse 7,8 --> Chorus--> Outro

Other Musings

I wonder about the choice in key—why G♭Major was chosen. (In some websites, it’s classified as being in the key of F# major.) In any case, was the choice for this key (with so many sharps/flats) due to optimum projection for the singer’s convenience, or was it due to some other interesting factors such as desiring a ‘warm’ tone quality? =)