Throughout ABBA’s lifetime, a considerable proportion of their songs have had lyrics detailing love and heartbreak; however, one of the less well-known songs, is about something much less serious and more light-hearted – King Kong. Why serious-minded musicians like Björn and Benny would want to write a song about the famous giant gorilla is unknown. Judging from the recording, the most likely answer is that they were rather intoxicated and thought it would be a good laugh.
The lyrics, and the song as a whole, are pretty much exactly what you’d expect them to be. It details the duo’s thought processes after seeing the King Kong movie, and how they decided to write a song about it, which they’re now performing. Looking back, it’s difficult to believe that this is from the same man who wrote incredible lyrics such as those for “The Winner Takes It All”. However, it can’t be said that the song is totally devoid of merit – the heavy guitars at the beginning and the energetic piano rhythms throughout the song certainly fit the mood very well, and Björn’s voice sounds downright vicious – evidently more thought was put into the song than it seems at first glance. Another highlight is Agnetha reaching a very impressive high note after the second verse where she simulates the captured woman. But on the whole, this song is still very much not intended to be taken seriously.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the song was not a major single release. Although initially the song was exclusively an album track, the song managed to gain some recognition when a remake of “King Kong” was released in 1977. It was released as a single (despite there having been two more albums since the song’s recording), and it managed to gain a considerable amount of unsolicited airplay in Sweden, even reaching #4 on the ‘Tio i topp’ chart. The song was not a hit elsewhere, but when listening to the song, it becomes clear that it was never intended to be a hit in the first place.
Ultimately, one of the main appeals of the song is the fact that it’s exactly the sort of song you’d never imagine the likes of ABBA writing or singing. But at this point, the group had not yet obtained consistent success – until another major single release became a hit, there was the risk that they would peter out and be known forever as one-hit wonders. Thus, they had not fully entrenched their style, and thus had more ‘freedom’ to write what they wished. Consequently, the song’s uniqueness meant that it was the B-side to their next major single release – “Honey Honey”.
Matthew Hardy - I am a confident, determined and eager young writer, constantly improving my writing techniques, and I am very happy to be sharing my ...
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