Whisky Sparked an ABBA Hit, Revealed 45 Years Later

Friday, 03 April 2026 at 15:03

I don't wanna talk. About things we've gone through. Though it's hurting me. Now it's history. You might recognize these lyrics from ABBA. The Winner Takes It All is still beloved and, as it turns out, was written under the influence of whisky.

A while ago an interview appeared with Björn Ulvaeus, one of the members of ABBA. Speaking to The Times, he shed more light on the 1980 track The Winner Takes It All. And as it turns out Whisky has a bog role in it.

Whisky sparked the creativity

After 45 years, he has now admitted that the nectar of the gods gave him a little boost.

'I wrote that song at lightning speed during my drinking days, while I was sipping whisky.'

Which whisky Ulvaeus was drinking remains unclear, but the ABBA member notes that he usually wrote his lyrics stone-cold sober.

'I rarely wrote under the influence, because when you look at the lyrics the next day, they’re usually worthless.'

The Winner Takes It All became a number-one hit

That wasn’t the case with The Winner Takes It All, a lyric he was proud of in hindsight. And he wasn’t the only one; the rest of the world felt the same. The song topped the Dutch Single Top 100 for five weeks in August and September of 1980. And in other countries too, the track, featured on the album Super Trouper, conquered the charts.

For the record, Björn Ulvaeus hasn’t had a drop of alcohol since 2007.

Musicians, whisky, and hits

It’s not uncommon for artists to write a global hit with a drink in hand. Bon Jovi once mentioned in an interview that he wrote Bed of Roses while he was, frankly, quite drunk. That song even nods to whisky with the line: 'Well, this hotel bar's hangover whiskey's gone dry.'

Here’s to a wonderful Friday!

On this page you’ll find more of what we’ve written about music and whisky.

Photo: Pexels