Only a year earlier, Björn separated with wife and ABBA co-star Agnetha Fältskog. He is known to have written his song lyrics “clean” without the influence of drugs and alcohol but as he stated in an interview, “by the time I wrote ‘the gods may throw their dice’ the bottle was empty” and he barely had to change a word. Björn Ulvaeus, a member of ABBA is said to have listened to the final tune on repeat trying to find a message of the song and it was he who wrote the entire song and the title “The Winner Takes It All”. After working on it for a few days, the writers finally ended up with this famous tune. The working title was originally “The Story Of My Life” and the rhythm was said to be much more upbeat and less heart wrenching. The song was always intended to be a success, but neither the name nor the melody started out the way they ended up.
One person is clinging to the relationship, finding it difficult to let go, whilst the other can easily move on. This song is a typical ballad that explains the difficulty of breaking up with someone. The Winner Takes It All was written and performed by the Swedish band ABBA in 1980.
