I Have a Dream (song)

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"I Have a Dream"
Single by ABBA
from the album Voulez-Vous
B-side	"Take a Chance on Me" (Live)
Released	December 1979
Format	Single
Genre	Pop ballad
Length	4:45
Label	Polar Music
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Certification	Gold (UK), Gold (Netherlands)
ABBA singles chronology
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (1979) "I Have a Dream" (1979) "As Good as New" (1980)
"Estoy Soñando" Spanish version cover

"I Have a Dream" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus & was taken from the group's 1979 album, Voulez-Vous. Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang the lead vocals. Released as a single in December 1979 (with a live version of "Take a Chance on Me" as the B-side), "I Have a Dream" was ABBA's final single release of the 1970s, the decade in which they achieved arguably more commercial success than any other popular music act in the world. "I Have a Dream" is the only ABBA song that features not only the voices of all four group members, but also a large choir of children. "I Have A Dream" is included on the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits album, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical.

[edit] Sleeve

In the UK, the single was issued in a lavish gatefold sleeve, intended as a souvenir for UK fans who had attended the Wembley concerts (the live recording of "Take a Chance on Me" being from one of them). It was not a limited edition, however. The inner gatefold made use of the pyramid/mountain/iceberg designs similar to those used in the inner sleeve of Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The inner gatefold was effectively an advert for ABBA's existing albums released in the UK, but the back cover featured a message from ABBA themselves regarding the Wembley concerts, together with their signatures. The front cover used the same live photo of ABBA as the worldwide release, but artwork and fonts were different. This was only Epic's 2nd picture sleeve for an ABBA single, and the company seemed keen to make up for its poor presentation (ie. yellow or orange company sleeves) used previously.

[edit] Single release

There is some speculation that "I Have a Dream" was never originally intended to be a single. There had already been 3 releases from the Voulez-Vous album & the only other album to have 4 singles released from it was ABBA in 1975. Including "B" sides, "I Have a Dream" was in fact the 7th of the 10 tracks from Voulez-Vous to be issued on single in the UK. Also, the track was not included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2 released just weeks before. It is therefore speculated that this single was an extra release to cash in on both the Christmas sales & the 1979 tour. Furthermore, ABBA did not film a promotional video for the track, even though they had done for the Spanish version, "Estoy Soñando". It was rare for ABBA not to film a video for an official single. The Spanish version was filmed in the Polar Music Studios on the same day as the "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" video (and even featured ABBA wearing the same clothes). If "I Have a Dream" had been intended as a single at that point, then presumably they would have filmed that as well. As it stood, a live performance from the tour was used to promote the single, causing some confusion to record buyers who may have been disappointed to discover the studio-recorded version on the record itself.

[edit] Versions

The live version of "Take a Chance on Me" on the B-side was 1 of 3 mixes of the same recording to be issued. Released soon after the concerts, this version is thought to be the genuine recording. A very slightly extended version, featuring spoken introductions from the group, was used as the B-side in Australia. This extended version has recently been released internationally on the deluxe edition of The Album. Finally, a 3rd mix was included on ABBA Live issued in 1986. This is considered the inferior version as it contains overdubs added at the time of release (and not by ABBA themselves).

[edit] Reception

"I Have a Dream" was a hit around the world, reaching Number 1 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, & Switzerland while peaking at Number 2 in the UK, where it was held off the top spot by Pink Floyd's single "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)". "I Have a Dream" reached the Top 5 in Ireland, Rhodesia, South Africa and West Germany, while also becoming a Number 1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. The Spanish-language version of the song, "Estoy Soñando", reached Number 15 in Spain & was a Top 5 single in both Argentina & Mexico.

"I Have A Dream" was not commercially released in the United States, but did become an airplay favorite on Easy Listening & Adult Contemporary radio stations^{[citation needed]}. Country Gospel singer Cristy Lane's cover of the song reached Number 17 on the U.S. country singles chart in 1981.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Cover versions

• A recording by the dansband Streaplers, with lyrics in Swedish by Ingela Forsman, "Jag har en dröm", was Number 1 on the Swedish Svensktoppen radio chart for 17 weeks from 31 May - 6 December 1987
• American country-gospel music singer, Cristy Lane recorded a cover of the song and released it as a single to the Billboard Country Chart, peaking at Number 17 in 1981
• Greek singer Nana Mouskouri recorded a French cover of this song entitled "Chanter La Vie" for her 1983 album Quand on revient. She also recorded an English version, which was released as a single in 1986 and included on her 1990 album Alone
• Local Hawaiian singers the Makaha Sons have covered this song on their 1994 album Ke Alaulau
• U.S. indie music artist Stueym covered the song, which was available for download on the Internet
• An electronica cover version by H-Hustler can be found on the 2001 compilation The Electronic Tribute To ABBA
• Swiss chef/singer Dan Daniell recorded a cover as a duet with original ABBA member Anni-Frid Lyngstad for his album Lieber Gott^[1]
• Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell has covered the song for his 2004 double album Songs of Inspiration/I Believe
• Irish folk music duo Foster & Allen have covered the song for their 2005 album Sing The Number 1's
• A duet version was recorded by German celebrity Barbara Schöneberger and American singer Sydney Youngblood for the German 2005 ABBA Mania compilation, which coincided with a TV special
• Italian-American singer Al Martino included a cover of the song for his 2006 album Come Share The Wine
• German AC/DC tribute band Riff Raff recorded a cover in AC/DC style for their 2006 album Rock 'N' Roll Mutation Vol. 1: Riff Raff Performs ABBA
• In 2007, Connie Talbot covered the song on Over The Rainbow
• The song was covered in a jazz/lounge music style by American group BNB on their 2008 album Bossa Mia: Songs of ABBA^[2]
• The song is featured in the Mamma Mia! musical as a recurring musical theme sung by the character of Sophie. It is also featured in the trailer for the film based on the musical. At the beginning of the musical, the context of the song is interpretted that Sophie dreams about her real father coming to the wedding when she sends the invitations, to her potential fathers, away. At the end of the musical, Sophie sings this song when her and Sky set off the Island to go around the world. The context of the song is used in this case as Sophie, now knowing what she really wants, hopes to achieve her dream as she goes around the world with Sky. The song is included on the 2008 Mamma Mia! movie soundtrack and is sung by actress Amanda Seyfried
• This song was featured on The X Factor when covered by all of the auditionees from the last 5 years

[edit] Westlife version

"I Have a Dream"/"Seasons in the Sun"
Single by Westlife
from the album Westlife
Released	6 December 1999
Format	CD single
Genre	Pop ballad, teen pop
Label	Sony BMG
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus
Certification	Platinum (UK)
Westlife singles chronology
"Flying Without Wings" (1999) (3) "I Have a Dream / Seasons in the Sun" (1999) (4) "Fool Again" (2000) (5)
Westlife track listing "Flying Without Wings" (3) "I Have a Dream" (4) "Fool Again" (5) Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 track listing "Flying Without Wings" (3) "I Have a Dream" (4) "Fool Again" (5)

Westlife released a cover of "I Have a Dream" in December 1999, twenty years after ABBA's original release. The song became the group's fourth UK number 1 single. The release was a double-A-side limited edition single with "Seasons in the Sun" and became the UK's Christmas number-one single of 1999, extending its peak into January 2000. So far, it occupies the 47th biggest Christmas number-one single in UK, the song was also the last number-one single of the 1990s

The song was the 26th best selling single of 1999 in the UK.

In 2001, as part of a UNICEF fund-raising campaign, the song was re-recorded with additional vocals by Indonesian child singer, Sinna Sherina Munaf.

The song has received a Platinum sales certification in the UK for over 600,000 copies sold.

[edit] Track listing

1. "I Have a Dream" (Single Remix) - 4:06
2. "Seasons in the Sun" (Single Remix) - 4:10
3. "On the Wings of Love" - 3:22

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] External links

• "I Have a Dream" - Westlife music video

[edit] References