Thursday, July 24th, 2008

Lost In The ’70s: ABBA, “Hey Hey Helen”

by John C. Hughes

lit70s.jpg

ABBAYeah, I know we’ve done ABBA once already this year, but in celebration of “Mamma Mia” stinking up theater screens nationwide, I figure we should probably take a look at one of the earliest glimmers that ABBA were more than just your standard bubblegum pop group.

While early singles “Waterloo” and “Honey, Honey” were decidedly lightweight, the Swedish foursome showed a more mature side with “Mamma Mia’s” b-side,  “Hey Hey Helen” (download), a track taken from their second, eponymously titled album.  A guitar-driven glam track from when the group was experimenting with glitter rock (see “Ring, Ring”), “Helen” took an adult look at divorce and single motherhood in a time when the divorce rate was up and the traditional family unit was taking a beating.  At first, the lyrics seem a bit judgmental, until you get to that last bit in the chorus where the girls assure the newly single mother that she can, in fact, make it alone:

So at last you’re free
It’s the way you wanted it to be
And the price you paid
To become a woman of today
Is it worth the pain to see the children cry
Does it hurt when they ask for Daddy

Hey hey Helen
Now you live on your own
Hey hey Helen
Can you make it alone
(Yes you can)

I’m surprised that considering the theme of the song, it wasn’t used in the “Mamma Mia” musical or movie.  Perhaps it wasn’t considered a popular enough tune to make the cut, even though the group mimed it for quite a few TV appearances at the time.  Here’s the quartet lipsynching the song on “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” in 1975:

“Hey, Hey Helen” has languished in pop history as a b-side/album track, overlooked on the many ABBA compilations that have come down the line, yet it remains a fan favorite.  Dream-pop alternative band Lush even covered it in 1990. (download)

So, what’s your favorite ABBA b-side/album track?

“Hey, Hey Helen” was not released as a single.

Get ABBA music at Amazon or on ABBA

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  • Old_Davy
    My favorite ABBA album track is "King Kong Song" from the Waterloo album. "Sitting in a Palm Tree" (from Waterloo as well) is also very good.
  • Ho-lee crap. I never realized it WASN'T a Lush song. That's always embarassing. Wow, the original sounds like Sweet. I still love the Lush version, though.
  • JohnHughes
    Oh, yeah - there was a whole period there where ABBA was being promoted as a glitter rock act, right down to the booming drums, handclaps and platform boots!
  • Graeme
    You Owe Me One (b-side to something) or Slipping Through My Fingers (from The Visitors) or When I Kissed the Teacher (from Arrival).
  • Favorite album track would be "Bang-a-Boomerang," which was apparently written for the Eurovision song contest the year after ABBA won it with "Waterloo," and given to another Swedish performer to use. ABBA recorded it in English in 1975 and put it on the "ABBA" album, the same one with "Mamma Mia" and "Hey Hey Helen." It's ridiculous, but in a good way.
  • JohnHughes
    And it's so campy!

    sweet, sweet kisses so tender
    always will return to sender
    like a BANG!
    A boomer boomerang!
    Love is a tune you
    hummy hum hum
  • Hummy hum hum.

    One night in Bangkok.

    I'm aghast.
  • Malchus
    Something's up with the ABBA single. I get and error message. I know I'm an idiot with computers, but...
  • JohnHughes
    It won't stream for some reason, but it downloads okay.
  • It's the comma. The streaming player is an asshole when it comes to ampersands and commas.
  • Aaaaaaah "Cassandra" from the box set is amazing. As is "As Good As New" which kicked off Voulez-Vous - the first album I ever bought. Super Trouper and The Visitors remain my all time fave ABBA albums - so fitting that the group blazed out with their best-ever work, right down to the final ticking clock that clocked out their final album track (Like An Angel Passing Through My Room).
  • I have two favorite ABBA album tracks: One Man, One Woman from The Album...if it has followed Take A Chance On Me, I'm sure it would have gone all the way to Number 1 in the US. Classic Ballad, also with a divorce theme....only this time the couple reconcile, but you can tell the end is near.
    The second one is Our Last Summer--which is in Mamma Mia! and was an album track on Super Trouper. I think Our Last Summer got lost in the shuffle. Lay All Your Love on Me/Super Trouper/On and On and On hit #1 in the US on the Dance Charts. The Winner Takes It All was #1 for 2 weeks on teh Billboard AC chart, and #8 pop where it stayed on the charts for 26 weeks. Super Trouper and On and On and On were the follow up singles because Super Trouper was a world wide hit and UK #1 and On And On And On was an obvious follow-up with Beach Boys influenced rhythms and was the #1 Dance Hit. Unfortunately, On and On and On went nowhere and after all those singles were out there from Super Trouper, it probably didn't make much sense to release Our Last Summer--which kind of got overlooked by the greatness of all the other smash hits on Super Trouper. Still, I thin Our Last Summer would have done far better than Super Trouper did in the US and could have joined The Winner Takes It All as an American Top 10 hit.

    Cheers!
  • Jozak77
    Am I the only person who walked into Mamma Mia liking ABBA, and left never wanting to hear them again? I was always a fan and loved several of their singles, but the only album I owned was Arrival; the standout track for me at the time was That's Me.
  • JohnHughes
    Yup, the movie was brutal.

    "That's Me" is my fave off of Arrival, too!
  • Pete
    "Happy Hawaii" is my favorite b-side of theirs, if only because they pronounce it "ha-why". Oops.

    And count me as another fan of "That's Me". Great piano in the intro!
  • Richard
    I love this topic! One of the brilliant things about Abba is that some of their unknown songs stand up against their best-loved tracks. My picks are...

    Two for the Price of One from the Visitors - is this the catchiest chorus in the entire pop music canon?
    Should I Laugh or Cry (B side of One of Us)
    I Am Just a Girl (from Ring Ring)
    I've Been Waiting for You (from ABBA)
    Hey Hey Helen (from ABBA)
    That's Me (from Arrival)
    Elaine (B side of Winner Takes it All)
    Kisses of Fire (from Voulez-Vous)

    Pretty much every one of their albums has at least one song that leaves you scratching your head and wondering why it was never released as a single... Two for the Price of One would have been no. 1 in about 20 countries...

    Richard
  • retroDO
    Hands down my favorite ABBA tune is "The Visitors."
  • tommy
    So my 10 year old is watching Mama mia over and over again and says get some ABBA on my I pod.. I'm searching and I see Hey Hey Helen and I say ....."the lush song?" And it is certainly that song. I watch the video and I think two things. 1. It's kind of a dark song for ABBA what is it about? and 2. Man, I love the blonde she is so hot..
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