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ABBA — Fernando
Album: ABBA Gold
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1363









Released: 1977
Length: 4:03
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Can you hear the drums, Fernando?
I remember long ago another starry night like this
In the firelight, Fernando
You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar
I could hear the distant drums
And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar

They were closer now, Fernando
Every hour, every minute, seemed to last eternally
I was so afraid, Fernando
We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die
And I'm not ashamed to say
The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando

Now we're old and grey, Fernando
And since many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand
Can you hear the drums, Fernando?
Do you still recall the frightful night we crossed the Rio Grande?
I can see it in your eyes
How proud you were to fight for freedom in this land

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando
Yes, if I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando...
Comments (222)add comment
 steviedeant wrote:

Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.

Me too. And I can see Priscilla sailing across the Desert or Murial coming into her own.

Long live RP for being different
 timmus wrote:

 Thank you Bill... even ABBA deserves some airplay here.  You definitely picked their best song.


I disagree. Their best song (in my opinion) was the b-side of their first single (and Eurovision winning song, 1974) it was called 'Watch Out' and sounded nothing like anything else they did. Just my tu'pence worth as always. Cheers. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
 Thank you Bill... even ABBA deserves some airplay here.  You definitely picked their best song.
So happy to hear this, back in the day only the females would admit to liking this.
 
Can you hear the drums?
Slim Borgudd died today. He was ABBA ‚s drummer. RIP
I wonder how many people ABBA exposed to world history by this song?  As many as Les Misérables?  
Skip!
 steviedeant wrote:

Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.




You shouldn't be shy about ABBA in any respect. Guys (BB) are just great composers in the pop music field they choose. And the girls (AA) perfectly interpreted these songs.  I think this stands beyond the usual '(musical)' tastes are not under discussion' statement. 
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
 
OK after 45 years I finally figure out it's not "for you and me, for me and tea".
 BCarn wrote:

Everyone loves or likes ABBA or at least a song or two. If they deny it, they're lying.



Who are you calling a liar?
PSD now!
 BCarn wrote:

Everyone loves or likes ABBA or at least a song or two. If they deny it, they're lying.


I like quite a few ABBA songs, though this is not one of my favorites.  I did see them in concert in 1979 at Radio City Music Hall.  In contrast, that was about two weeks after I had seen The Clash at The Palladium.
I never cared for ABBA. Just not my cup of tea. I originally rated this song a 3 when I first heard it here on RP. However, today I paid closer attention to the vocals. They really have a unique and beautiful blending of voices on this song. I think I'll raise my rating.
What a hoot! Bravo!
Oh wow, never thought I'd hear this on RP....
 Pieter wrote:

OMG. Is this allowed?



RP man.  Love it or leave it.  Or hit PSD.....
 davidgweeden wrote:

been listening to RP a few months now and its rare I really, really dislike a song or a band..  usually they blow me away or occasionally not my cuppa, but I really, really don't like ABBA. I don't know why, but its one of the few bands and this song is my least fav that gives me the heebie jeebies...



Part of the magic of RP is listening to songs you've heard before in an entirely different context/light/perspective. I believe this is accomplished by the song sets that Bill and Rebecca choose. Although you may be listening to a song you've heard hundreds, if not thousands, of times before; on RP you are hearing it before and after a songs that you likely have not previously heard played together. Bill and Rebecca create their playlists based off from musical themes and patterns that are often subtle and cross genres and time. This creates a new context which allows you to let go of preconceived notions and find you may actually like the song. I'm a long-time RP listener and can't count how many times this has happened to me. Welcome to RP and enjoy!
This has always been my #1 favourite Abba song.
never owned an ABBA record, or wanted to. Now I have the Cher version in my head after a Graham Norton clip memory, I think...please play something catchy?!

So.. What actual went down that night?

They didn't think they could lose.. But did they?



I didn't get that far.  I'm still trying to figure out who shot the deputy.
 nickt1 wrote:

This is completely inconsistent with RPs policy of not playing top 40 songs that were bashed to death to the point they have become painful. 
Bill if you think you are being clever or funny - you are not.



Where exactly is this policy you speak of?

From the "who they are" section of this website:

"Together they have created a radio station quite unlike any other — one that breaks more rules than it follows. Their goal is to create a station that you can listen to every day, for as long as you choose, and remain entertained, delighted,  and surprised by their music choices."

This definitely surprised me, and having not heard it ever before on RP, I was delighted because I enjoyed it more than I expected to.
OK.  This band has a few catchy, cheeesy pop songs. 

This ain't one of them. This sucks. 

What's next: the Osmonds? Bobby Sherman?  
Pop perfection
All I can think of is Bea Arthur with a rose between her teeth.
 steviedeant wrote:

Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.



I hate this song. It's my 1st name and you can imagine... 
Ha ha. Not normal RP material. But I love it.
A segue. Submitted for your approval. 

Claude Debussy "Jardins sous la pluie" ---> Abba "Fernando"


posted 12 years ago by Pieter:
OMG. Is this allowed?


hortsman wrote:
It is his station. I'm sure he's sitting back reading the comments and laughing his silly ass off.
Way to go Bill, shake it up.

 folkes.tom wrote:

I was thinking exactly the same thing when this came on. It is a pleasant song. Don't tell my friends



In '77 this was a guilty pleasure, never spoken of. Years later I found several friends felt the same way, Solid 7 for me.
 steviedeant wrote:

Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.




i had to log in to say i completely hate this song, and abba as well
 pbouchar wrote:

All I have to say about this song is....I was 11 when it came out.




And i was 1
The older I get the more I appreciate the simple craftsmanship ABBA produced. They are one of those cultural phenomenons you can't fully grasp at the time but thankfully as time moves on you see how music can unify us regardless of where you come from. 
 steviedeant wrote:
Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.
 
I was thinking exactly the same thing when this came on. It is a pleasant song. Don't tell my friends
All I have to say about this song is....I was 11 when it came out.
The lyrics are better than the vocal style

YMMV
 steviedeant wrote:
Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.
 

I won't. Believe me.
I'm sure I love something that others find as loathsome as I find this. Hitting the PSD button to find it.
 uxbiff wrote:
Hearing this I just had to check the comments. It didn’t let me down! Another RP moment
 
Agree...just to see how many minds explode over a quite joyful song.  Isn't that anger better reserved for bigger issues like hunger, social injustice, pollution etc?  
Keep the mix going Bill, Rebecca & the RP team!
I used to love their song SOS!!!
Much simpler, down to Earth times. Will be dearly missed. <3
I can't hear Abba w/o thinking of some cousins of mine in Ireland. I spent a few summers there as a kid in the 70s and we got into a passionate argument about who was the greater band, Abba or the Beatles. I had no idea how huge Abba was in Europe then.

bumped from 6 to 7
This song makes me happy and I don't even know Fernando.
 Pumpkincat wrote:
Guilty pleasure! Play the whole album! 
 
Sweet guilty pleasure.  Abba reminds me of Australia. Thanks Muriel.
Guilty pleasure! Play the whole album! 
 Mackmoney3000 wrote:
Landing on this track after a piece by Debussy is why we're here.
 
Word. :)
Landing on this track after a piece by Debussy is why we're here.
No rating. Just listened to Claude Debussy -> now ABBA -> What's next?! -> ZAPPA? 
I hope so, 'cause in the 70s we had the 2 opposing fan groups: ABBA or ZAPPA at school. :) 
Yes. And More.
HaHa... Just ended a Teams meeting and this was playing...

First thought was 'What the hell has my computer done'...

Thanks guys - Quality
Frequency distribution of ratings shows equal number of 1s and 10s. Interesting. 
Otherwise, ABBA rulz. 
So.. What actual went down that night?

They didn't think they could lose.. But did they?
I had just started my career in radio as a new announcer/dj when this song was breaking. I became so sick of it, it forever turned me off anything by ABBA. So, these are the times I appreciate the 'Advance' function on RP!  (And, thus I  have not and will never watch "Momma Mia"..)
These guys were FANTASTIC at times. Brilliant songwriting and performance. No shame in loving them.
Everyone loves or likes ABBA or at least a song or two. If they deny it, they're lying.
Ouch
SEE YA....... 
Love it! Guilty pleasure
 SpinyNorma wrote:
At some point back in the late seventies when I was a teen, I had the legend, 'KILL ABBA' on my bedroom door.  I don't remember when the switch in the Department of Music Appreciation in my noggin got thrown, but I appreciate their genius in my mid-fifties.  Who'd've thunk it?
 
Pretty much sums up how I feel also.
Oh Non au secours!
By all means, play Abba but please make it "The Day Before  You Came" 
Abba showed us that the family business is something that might not work well.
You have a great sense of humour Bill 😂🤣😂🤣
 horstman wrote:

It is his station. I'm sure he's sitting back reading the comments and laughing his silly ass off.

Way to go Bill, shake it up.

 

I, for one am grateful.
This is what makes RP worth getting up for in the morning.
And why I love Bill and Rebecca so. 
Keep on shaking on.
Abba and I were ships passing in the night - and I am fine with that.
 aelfheld wrote:
 planet_lizard wrote:
Love it when you through in a gem like this that'll annoy the music snobs!
 

1) It's 'throw', not 'through'

2) One doesn't have to be a music snob to find this unbearably saccharine.


 

I really dislike ABBA and this song in particular

But

I will fight to keep it playing
Good memories. This reminds me of being at my grandmother's house. She liked ABBA and Neil Diamond.   
I prefer ABBA's later stuff, when the angst in their ranks came out in the writing
At some point back in the late seventies when I was a teen, I had the legend, 'KILL ABBA' on my bedroom door.  I don't remember when the switch in the Department of Music Appreciation in my noggin got thrown, but I appreciate their genius in my mid-fifties.  Who'd've thunk it?
I know a lot of RP listeners hate this. However, many of
their songs are pop classics;;;;;I have to give this hit a "8"..
ok, I succumb. {#Propeller}  Bill wins the universe.

 
Penso em ti Fernando.

  rate 10 
No sir I didn't like em
 philbertr wrote:
 
Yeah your right it REALLY is crap and polarizes listeners the Donald would be proud!
 planet_lizard wrote:
Love it when you through in a gem like this that'll annoy the music snobs!
 
You mean polarize listeners by playing insipid top 40 -way to go RP!
I guess the US no longer has a functioning democracy and is technically a dictatorship and nobody is doing anything about helps explain why RP is playing insipid top 40 music that was bashed to death (outside the US at least) and RP calls this "eclectic" and "diverse"but as intended has the effect of polarizing.
Giving this a 10 because my older -- and coincidentally gay -- brother  graced my childhood with Abba, Abba and Abba. Thanks, bro'! And thanks Bill and Rebecca.
Whaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 nickt1 wrote:
This is completely inconsistent with RPs policy of not playing top 40 songs that were bashed to death to the point they have become painful. 
Bill if you think you are being clever or funny - you are not.
 
I think you must have missed his intro. Yeah, it got "bashed into his head", but he kind of likes it there now. I don't object. Not that it matters a bunch.
Oh, and playing it is entirely in keeping with RP’s actual policy of playing any recorded song from any genre or decade that they darn well feel like playing. For which policy I am grateful even though it does entail enduring or skipping some songs. The net positive enjoyment more than compensates. 
There is nothing wrong with ABBA on Radio Paradise. But why this song? They made a lot better.
Where are the jumpsuits? 
Not my favourite ABBA song, but still not bad. How about Slipping Through My Fingers? Get all the mums (and possibly a few dads) crying. 😉
 Proclivities wrote:

ABBA had a lot of songs that I like, not this one so much though.  I'm glad Bill plays them though - it is funny to see some of the outraged comments here.
 
Funny, and thankfully for me (having not been old enough yet) this WAS NOT sledgehammered into my brain back in the day...so I'll go +1 to 5 on this one...Long Live RP with or without a sledgehammer!! 
 redart wrote:


I don't care who you tell, I like this song too.  In fact, I like a lot of ABBA's music.......always have, always will.   Modern pop music owes an awful lot to Sweden's fab four, IMO.   Tack för musiken, ABBA  
 
ABBA had a lot of songs that I like, not this one so much though.  I'm glad Bill plays them though - it is funny to see some of the outraged comments here.
ABBA?

I always wondered why you never played them? Been listening a long time - never heard them.

Delighted you did.

Thanks
Sweden's biggest export after Volvo. A 10.
Just very good. 

Dancing Queen -  10
 steviedeant wrote:
Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.
 
Why not? I'm seriously asking. Do you care what other people think about your musical tastes? Do you noly listen to RP with headphones on? 
 tonyjory wrote:
Oh! And "Chiquita" "Voulez-vous" - all of 'em!!

 

 tonyjory wrote:
Abba - Genius pop!

 

 Rockit9 wrote:
Come on..That chorus HOOK makes this a great POP song.
 

Come on..That chorus HOOK makes this a great POP song.
One of the best from a group that dominated the world for a decade and produced some of the best pop music ever recorded. Sheer genius!
If you told me I could only have an ABBA CD or a Led Zeppelin CD on the desert island, I'd have a tough time deciding. They both give me goosebumps for different reasons.
Thankfully, I don't have to decide. Radio Paradise gives me ABBA to Zep and everything in between.
Long live RP! Thank you Bill and Rebecca!
  
Okay, yeah, this is pop, even silly pop, but like most Abba hits, it's fun and super hummable.  I was a member of the rock vs disco era, and now I think that whole thing is nuts.  I just enjoy Abba, even if not as much as a lot of bands out there.
Well I unashamedly love ABBA. I love nearly every track they ever released. There are less saccharine songs though, that aren’t disco.
Jetzt muss ich mir auch hier trivialen ABBA-Scheiß anhören! Ich bin echt enttäuscht und schalte aus.
In the same way I do when any Coldplay comes around, I was just about to turn this off ... but then didn't. In a screwed up world, we actually need more Abba. So there.
 steviedeant wrote:
Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.
 

I don't care who you tell, I like this song too.  In fact, I like a lot of ABBA's music.......always have, always will.   Modern pop music owes an awful lot to Sweden's fab four, IMO.   Tack för musiken, ABBA  
When you're known for playing an eccentric mix, you play an eccentric mix. Bravo!
 well played Bill, well played indeed...
SEE YA! .....gotta PSD right away!
And now for something completely different...
I was busy doing "stuff" but had to check out the comments when I heard this song come on.  Pop and popular as it was, and probably still is, I have to admit that it makes a nice change once in awhile from the "heavier" normal playlist.
I thought my computer was playing a trick on me.
Well, for '77, at least it isn't disco. 
 planet_lizard wrote:
Love it when you through in a gem like this that'll annoy the music snobs!
 

1) It's 'throw', not 'through'

2) One doesn't have to be a music snob to find this unbearably saccharine.


 steviedeant wrote:
Don't tell anybody, but I like this song.
 

I know, right? Don't care for ABBA, but have always liked this song, popular in high school
I agree with some of the commenters -- I got sick of this when it was played on the air back then, but I haven't heard it in a while.

With a fresh listen, I'm impressed how well the bass arpeggios work in the quiet sections, and then how well they transition to a great 1-3-5-6-5 line when the tempo picks up.

Having said that .. once a month is probably plenty.
Ops, wrong radio station!
Horrible song
 pawelcitak83 wrote:
It's my parents music but when going older I start to like and appreciate the wonderful ABBA's music, this music is beautiful with all the harmonics, and instruments and vocal lines meeting together.Masterpiece of the genre.
 
I'm with you on the 'now that I'm older' so I'll go +1 and call it acceptable with a 4 - LLRP!!
Yuk
Love it when you through in a gem like this that'll annoy the music snobs!
It's my parents music but when going older I start to like and appreciate the wonderful ABBA's music, this music is beautiful with all the harmonics, and instruments and vocal lines meeting together.Masterpiece of the genre.
Ahahaha, as soon as I heard the kitschy tune, instinct kicked in - go check the comments. They never disappoint :D
ABBA's music is a guilty pleasure for me. 
Debussy followed by Abba. Brilliant!! Long live RP. {#Cheers}