About the song
“Happy New Year” is a nostalgic and reflective song by the iconic Swedish group ABBA, featured on their 1980 album *Super Trouper*. With lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog, this song captures the bittersweet sentiment of saying goodbye to the past year and welcoming the new one with hope and introspection. Originally, the song had a working title of “Daddy Don’t Get Drunk on Christmas Day,” reflecting an entirely different, more humorous concept.
Despite its limited release as a single in December 1980, “Happy New Year” has since become one of ABBA’s most enduring tracks, particularly around the holiday season. The song’s introspective lyrics and melancholic melody resonate with listeners, evoking a sense of reflection on the year gone by and the uncertainties of the future. This theme of introspection is a hallmark of ABBA’s music, often juxtaposed with their upbeat and catchy tunes.
The song also exists in a Spanish-language version titled “Felicidad,” which was released in Spanish-speaking territories around the same time. “Felicidad” charted in the top 5 in Argentina and was included on the South American versions of the *Super Trouper* album. This version first appeared on CD as part of the 1994 Polydor US compilation *Más ABBA Oro*, and later on the expanded re-release of *ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos* in 1999.
In 1999, with the advent of the new millennium, the English version of “Happy New Year” was re-released and found new chart success, reaching number 27 in Sweden, number 15 in the Netherlands, and number 75 in Germany. This resurgence continued in 2008, when the song re-entered charts in several countries, peaking at number 4 in Sweden, number 6 in Norway, and number 25 in Denmark. The song has since become a perennial favorite, regularly re-entering charts around the New Year in various countries, including Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands.
In December 2011, a limited edition silver glitter vinyl single was released, featuring “Happy New Year” and “The Way Old Friends Do.” This special edition, limited to 500 copies, was sold exclusively through the official ABBA site and the ABBA fan site, and it sold out within a day.
The enduring popularity of “Happy New Year” is a testament to ABBA’s timeless appeal and their ability to capture universal emotions in their music. The song’s reflection on the passage of time and the hope for a better future continues to resonate with audiences around the world, making it a staple of New Year’s celebrations and a beloved classic in ABBA’s extensive catalog.
Video
Lyrics
No more champagne and the fireworks are through.
Here we are me and you, feeling lost and feeling blue.
It’s the end of the party and the morning seems so grey, so unlike yesterday.
Now’s time for us to say:
Ref.
Happy new year! happy new year!
May we all have a vision, now and then,
of the world where ev’ry neighbor is friend.
Happy new year! happy new year!
May we all have our hopes our wills to try
if we don’t we might as well lay down die. You and I…
Sometimes I see how the brave new world arrives.
And I see how it thrives in the ashes of our lives.
Oh, yes man is fool and he think he be okay,
dragging on feet of clay, never knowing he’s astray
( Keep on going any way )
( Back to ref- music )
Seems to me now that the dreams we had before
are all dead nothing more than confetti on the floor.
It’s the end of the decade, in another ten year times
who can say what we’ll find,
that lies waiting down the lines ( in the end of eighty-nine )
( Back to Ref )