:: extras ::
�Agnetha� � International version
Running time: 30 minutes
The interview transcript.
Starts with film clip of young girl. Audio: My Colouring Book�. Camera pans to Agnetha who eyes up the camera and slips on her shades.
The interview starts outside by the water:
LB: How would you describe me ?
AF: describe you ?
LB: Go ahead, describe me
AF: You want me to describe you? I wasn’t prepared for that one!
LB Go on describe me�.
AF: I would describe you as� Curious.
LB: How would you describe yourself?
AF: Well�
Pending� At least; sometimes.
LB: Hi I’m Lotta
AF: I’m Agnetha. Hello!
Opening title: �AGNETHA�, �If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind� video (B&W + behind the scenes)
LB: So we missed your voice. Did you miss your voice?
AF: Errrm, I missed singing. It was a bit difficult in the beginning because I didn’t know if my voice was still there. So it took some time really� before I loosened it up. So, took some time, also I had a little fear of the microphone so it took some time to take that away.
LB: So tell mw when you acme to Stockholm the first time with your father.
AF: We took the train from Jonkoping, where I come from to the big city and I was very nervous erm, �now I shall do a record of my own� and that was a big moment for me I was very nervous and when I came to the studios down there, the musicians, doing MY songs, that I had been writing, it was a big moment and I was freezing, like this and I wanted so much to be a singer, SO much.
LB: What did you dream about being as a kid?
AF: I dreamt about becoming a singer. Even back then, I had many role models; Connie Francis, Petula Clark, Sandy Shaw, Sylvie Vartan, Rita Pavone�I could go on. All I did was listen to these songs and sing along.
LB: Did you dream about becoming a star?
What did that dream mean?
AF: Fame was never on my agenda. The only thing that mattered was to get to a recording studio.
ABBA in studio: �Dancing Queen� deleted verse.
LB: When I was a kid and we used to be ABBA, I couldn’t be Agnetha of course because my hair wasn’t blonde so I was Bjorn you know because I thought it was tough to have a guitar.
Laughs
LB: If you would have been in (?) who would you have been in ABBA?
AF: May be I would have chosen Frida because erm, I always thought that she was much tougher on the stage and she had more control of her body and she was a bit roughier�how do you say?
LB: Sexier?
AF: Not sexier but err� (Both giggling/laughing) maybe we were equal, I dunno. We had a tough time but I think that was good because we had a little, maybe, competition on the audience so I think that meant we did our best, really. And also the fact that we helped each other very much on the stage so if someone had a cold or something with the throat we really could help each other. Sometimes I have thought it must be very difficult for artists that are alone on the stage because no one can help them, so we really helped each other a lot.
LB: But your bottom was considered the sexiest.
AF: Well, I guess that was my contribution.
�Sealed With A Kiss� � short film clip.
Interview moves indoors:
LB: I have never been on a world tour. What does it involve?
AF: It’s a very complicated affair. Of course, it’s a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t do it again.
�ABBA The Movie� clips with crowds etc.
AF: When we came to Australia there was a hysteria that was really scary to me. We drove off and on to the stage area and I was constantly afraid that someone in the crowd would get squeezed or hurt or by our cars or something. People were screaming and shouting and all the time we were escorted by security guards. That was really mixed feelings because at the same time it was fantastic.
LB: There was a very long time that was filled with silence. The silent years; for you.
AF: After ABBA. Yes it was, that was rather a long time, think for maybe eight � nine – ten years that I refused to listen to ABBA’s music because I was really tired of it.
Even today, I sometimes� Not a day goes by that I don’t dream or think about ABBA. I dream about Frida, Bjorn or Benny in different contexts. It never leaves me. It has meant a great deal to me.
�When You Walk In The Room� clip.
LB: Will ABBA re-unite ?
Well that’s what they all wonder
AF: In the beginning of ABBA’s career everyone wanted to know how long we thought we would last.
�When will you quit?� they asked, impossible to tell.
We said we would play together until we got tired of it. Most bands don’t stay together that long. We stuck together for a long time. Those days are gone and it’s important to move on. It meant very much to me and the memories will always stay with me. We must cherish the memories and the music and what it meant to others and to us.
LB: Seventeen years of silence and releasing a new album means you’re meeting the audience again even if you’re not on stage. We can listen to you again.
How does that feel?
AF: It feels good. I felt that I wanted to do some more record because I felt not too old, yet. And also the nice letters I got �We missed your voice� during the years have also meant a lot to me and also the fact that I really love to work in the studio.
AF: We took a lot of time to choose all the songs. I could have chosen many, many more, I also did at the beginning so we had to cut some out.
LB: Here we are sitting, having Swedish tea break. We drink coffee in Sweden and eat bolle (buns).
AF: (said in Swedish) Vi er ätande bolle och drickandet kaffe
(We are eating buns and drinking coffee)
LB: She’s saying �we are eating buns and drinking coffee). Agnetha I think we should give them a Swedish lesson. What do you think?
AF: (nodding in agreement) I think so to.
LB: So let’s finish our coffee and then go down to the water.
AF: Yes!
LB: I’ll take it in English and Agnetha will explain to you so that you will learn some Swedish, it’s about time to do that now.
Here Lotte says words in English which Agnetha repeats in Swedish. The list is:
Hotdog
Hospital
Nurse
Seven nurses at the hospital
Thank you
�Past, Present and Future� video shown:
LB: �The Past, The Present and The Future� is an interesting song. It’s very sad.
AF: Yes, indeed. I have a tendency to fall in love with the sad songs. I don’t know why but it has always been that way. Surely, because of the drama.
LB: With songs like that, you have to have been there yourself.
AF: That’s true. The lyrics are important and so is understanding what the song is really about. I have a knack for interpreting the songs about unrequited love.
LB: So have you been sad, then?
AF: Absolutely. But I’m not sad all the time!
Back inside:
LB: Do you read music?
AF: Yes but I don’t write it.
LB: How do you write songs?
AF: In a very special way. I can hardly describe it. I write the words�mostly in English, actually. I write the lyrics first and the notes above and the chords on the side. That’s how I’ve always done it. Only I know how to interpret it.
END OF PART 1
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PART 2
AF: The great thing was I discovered very early that I could write. I was about 5 or 6 years old. I discovered the piano keys one by one and realised I could write a song of my own. I got to work right away on �Two Small Trolls�.
LB: How did that go?
AF:
| Två små troll, träffades en dag, Två små troll, lekte med varann, Kom sa den ena, Kom sa den andra, Kom ska vi leka med varann |
Two small trolls, Met one day, Two small trolls, Soon became good friends, Come said one, Come said the other, Come let us play together now |
LB: It’s heading towards us
A duck at the foot of the water
AF: Here it comes
LB: It worked! �Two wild ducks��
(Giggles)
AF: Exactly!
�Fly Me to the Moon� clip.
LB: So you’ve been called the Garbo of the century.
AF: I’m not like that at all
LB: You don’t hide?
AF: No I don’t hide. It’s just the media that wants me to hide I think or sees it like that but it’s not the way I live.
LB: (Jokingly) So you’re like the phantom of the jungle? Sometimes you walk the streets like an ordinary person.
AF: (Jokingly/laughing) Yes, but you never know when!
Laughs
�My Colouring Book� accompanied by more film clips.
LB: You don’t seem like a coward.
AF: No�I’m not.
LB: It’s not the same as being scared.
AF: Right.
I take my fear of flying much to seriously. It’s unbelievable that airplanes stay in the air � they’re so heavy. How does it work? There are so many screws and whatnots. I worry when any member of my family gets on a plane. I� I’m afraid. Even if I know that it will be alright.
That’s just me.
Video clip for �Nu Ska Vi Opp Opp� from 1969.
LB: I found an old film with you walking round with good looking guys in uniforms singing �Up, up, up�.
AF: (giggling) That’s right!
LB: Then they put you in the Swedish war plane. Isn’t that ironic?
AF: I wasn’t afraid at that time.
From �Nu Ska Vi Opp Opp� (English translation):
The sky is so blue, blue, blue,
Forever and always together with you, you, you
Up, Up, Up
On the sweet wings of love you and I reach the top, top, top, top, top�.
LB: Have you ever done something that made you feel really brave?
AF: (ponders) I’m not a parachuting daredevil.
LB: Oh, really�?
AF: I’d love to be able to say: �I’ve got a diving certificate�! But I’m not the adventurous kind. Not in that way.
Well� it’s brave to show your feelings and to have the courage to express them. I’m a sensitive person. My tears are never far away. I have my ups and downs.
AF: I’m not likely to elbow my way to success. People always say that you have to be that way. I don’t think I’m like that. Maybe that’s the key to success.
LB: Is it possible to get any further?
AF: Maybe not.
�If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind� Radio (guitar) version, with film clips of Agnetha looking over the water.
LB: �Sometimes When I’m Dreaming� is one of the most personal songs.
AF: Yes, that’s one of my favourites.
LB: Tell me about it.
AF: Art Garfunkel recorded it. For a long time I was certain he wrote it. I fell head over heals in love with the melody and the wonderful lyrics.
�Sometimes When I’m Dreaming� video + behind the scenes
AF: Sometimes the melody and the lyrics are inseparable. It is as if they were written simultaneously.
LB: It’s a sad song.
AF: Yes, once again. Isn’t that typical?
LB: Is there such a thing as true love?
AF: There’s supposed to be. But there isn’t always. Love is partly tragic, unfortunately. Anyone who finds true love and knows how to make it last is lucky. But I think it’s important to fight for love.
LB: it’s alright to dream about love?
AF: Yes, it’s every man’s right. To yearn is a wonderful thing.
LB: Do you ever yearn?
AF: (sheepishly � almost whispered) Yes. I do� (laughs)
Outside again:
LB: Do you care what people think?
AF: It gets less important with time. I just want to be myself. I try not to worry about what other people think.
Back inside:
LB: Confidence, does it take practice?
AF: Yes and it’s important to practice.
LB: Have you?
Are you confident?
AF: I’m very sensitive to criticism. Especially when it’s unjustified. I feel I know best. �This is my territory�, you know?
I’m somewhat insecure about myself and about performing. I’m insecure about that although it goes with the territory of being a performer.
LB: Can confidence be nurtured?
AF: I think so. If I was interviewed all the time, I’d probably relax. Maybe then, I’d be hilarious.
Giggles.
LB: But you’re already hilarious.
Laughs.
AF: Maybe, sometimes.
�What Now My Love� video (the kiss)
End credits
Rolling credits plus behind the scenes clips:
AF: This must be the craziest interview ever�
Laughing
END.
Transcript by Mike for AbbaFeatures.com