“Ring Ring” by ABBA
“Ring Ring” is a somewhat-simplistic song based on the narrator’s desire to obtain a phone call from the person they love. The title of the song is meant to represent the sound a telephone makes when someone calls, with the narrator impatiently waiting to receive one from the aforementioned individual.
The setting of the song is “a dark and dreary night”. The narrator is gripped with anxiety because they miss and need their sweetheart on top of suffering from a general feeling of unsolvable depression. In fact things reach a point where in the second verse, they conclude that they are actually being snubbed by their lover. Owing to this, they find themselves fantasizing as to what may have caused this unfortunate turn of events. Ultimately this line of reasoning fills their hearts with sadness.
However, all of these unfavorable feelings would be alleviated just by a simple phone call from the one they love.
Facts about “Ring Ring”
- “Ring Ring” was first written and released in Swedish under the title “Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)”. The phrase “Bara Du Slog En Signal” is Swedish for “If only you called”. This version was so successful in Sweden that it reached number 1 in that country. Shortly after the success of the Swedish version, the song was translated into English and given a new title – “Ring Ring”.
- Stig Anderson (who was the group’s manager) worked together with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus to compose this song.
- In addition to the aforementioned trio, songwriters Phil Cody and Neil Sedaka also have songwriting credits on the English version of the song. And why? Because they helped in the translation of the song’s Swedish lyrics to English.
- “Ring Ring” came out as a single on the 14th of February 1973. It was one of the 6 singles from ABBA’s debut album also titled Ring Ring.
Chart Performance
In 1973, both the Swedish and the English versions of this track performed outstandingly in Sweden. They peaked at number 1 and 2 respectively. The English version of this track was equally outstanding in a host of nations. It reached number 1 in Belgium and number 2 in Austria and Norway. Furthermore, the track made it to number 32 on the British Singles Charts.
Who produced “Ring Ring”?
The production of this classic was done by Ulvaeus in collaboration with Andersson.
Are there any cover versions of “Ring Ring”?
Yes. Since the song was released in the early 1970s, it has been covered by many artists. Some of the most notable covers include:
- Magnus Uggla (in 1979)
- Tina Arena and John Bowles (in 1977)
- Sator (in 1992)
- Adioscam (on their Abbattack album of 2008)
- The Dahlmanns (in 2012).
