Whilst this may not be one of ABBA’s best-known tracks, this song is notable because at one point the group contemplated having it as their 1974 Melodifestivalen entry rather than “Waterloo”. The two tracks were recorded at around the same time, but the two of them were vastly different in structure. Whilst “Waterloo” was very experimental for its time, an infusion of glam-rock and europop all in one recording, “Hasta Mañana” was a very traditional love ballad, with Agnetha singing about the loss of her lover, and how she wishes that one day they might come together once again. Ultimately, the song’s main appeal was the fact that it was very much in line with previous Eurovision winners, and therefore it was assumed to be less ‘risky’ than “Waterloo”.
Ultimately, however, the group decided to choose “Waterloo” instead, primarily because “Hasta Mañana” was led by Agnetha only, and thus the group decided that this give people the wrong impression of the group. This of course proved to be a very good decision, because it led to their victory at Eurovision. However, this does not mean that the merits of “Hasta Mañana” should be devalued.
Although the song certainly didn’t push the envelope, it is still a very solid track, capturing the sadness of a break-up very poignantly. In addition, Agnetha’s lead vocals were also very robust. Her famous ‘crying voice’ is evident here, and this would resurface a year later with “SOS”. In many ways, the song is a gentle, easy-listening sort of ballad, whose relatively simple production allowed Agnetha’s vocals to be brought to the song’s forefront.
The song was not given a major single release, though it was issued in a handful of countries, and where it was released it had reasonable success. It managed to top the charts in their native Sweden, and it was also a hit in Australia (#16) and New Zealand (#9). However, given that the song was heavily considered for Eurovision, it’s quite surprising that the track wasn’t given a wider single release.
One possible explanation for this is that ABBA wanted to portray themselves as a unique band, unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. “Hasta Mañana”, as well-accomplished as it was, was very run-of-the-mill, and perhaps they felt that people might be turned away from a band that seemed to be just like all the others. Instead, a different song was chosen to be the next major single release, and that song was “Honey Honey”.
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