What About Livingstone?

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"What About Livingstone?"
Song by ABBA
from the album Waterloo
Released4 March 1974
GenrePop
Length2:54
LabelPolar
Songwriter(s)Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus

"What About Livingstone?" is a song by ABBA, released on their 1974 album Waterloo.

Synopsis[]

The song is about the 19th century Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone. The Guardian described it as a song that "admonished Swedish youth for their disinterest in great explorers".[1]

The song mentions Livingstone "traveling up the Nile". Livingstone made 4 great journeys into Africa, three of them starting in Cape Town, South Africa and the last at Zanzibar. None of the routes traveled on the Nile which lay far to the north. He may have crossed sections of the headwaters of Nile on his final expedition but he would not have known so as these areas were not considered in the Nile watershed until much later.

Composition[]

The vocals are provided by Agnetha and Frida. The song has a "catchy bass synth riff" in the chorus. An "innovative vocal countermelody" in these choruses marks the start of a "steady rise in complexity when it came to vocal arrangements".[2]

Critical reception[]

The Guardian said the song had "weird lyrics".[3] The Telegraph seems baffled that such a song exists, commenting "believe it or not, there’s an Abba song called What About Livingstone?".[4] Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba says both songs "get by on their whimsical charm".[5] Abba - Uncensored on the Record suggests What About Livingston? and King Kong Song were novelty songs. It said What About Livingston? was "catchy" and "nice", though adds that there is nothing special about it.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Petridis, Alexis (2005-10-28). "CD: Abba, The Complete Studio Recordings". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  2. ^ Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 16. ISBN 9780646496764.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis (2005-10-28). "CD: Abba, The Complete Studio Recordings". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  4. ^ Spencer, Charles (2009-03-22). "Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Woody Allen's new film comes highly recommended". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  5. ^ Palm, Carl Magnus (2008-09-01). Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba. ISBN 9781847724199.
  6. ^ Tobler, John (2012-01-04). Abba - Uncensored on the Record. ISBN 9781908538239.
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