I have a dream

Who can forget the inimitable Abba, the, to me, ultimate Euro pop band, the band that entered the scene like a supernova way back in 1972. I have to admit that I'm not embarrassed to admit that I loved them and still do. There was a period when it was uncool to admit you liked Abba and suppressed the feeling but then "Muriel's Wedding" came out and all those old childhood memories came flooding back - me with my pigtails, in my kneehigh Abba socks, cycling circles around Belmore Park. And I started listening to them again.

I think that one of the first albums I put on my record player as a child was an Abba album. I can't for the life of me remember the name of it but I know it was black and the band members were in a kind of "circle", girls standing at the back, boys kneeling in front. I liked Frida 'cause she was dark haired like me and was always, even though she usually sang lead vocals, seemed "second best" to Agnetha who was "the girl with golden hair", the pretty one. I didn't have golden hair and most certainly was never the pretty one, far from it, so Frida was a hero.

They mixed so many styles - from disco in "Dancing Queen" or "Waterloo" to the latin-esque in "Fernando" to moving ballads like "I have a dream" or "One of us". During their "out" period I dismissed their song writing as dumb, crass, bubblegum stuff. But listening to them now, I have to say that that perception is totally wrong. I mean, who could compare a break up to Napolean's ultimate downfall or a soldier in the Mexican revolution or sending out an SOS like Abba did? And compared to today's pop standards, Bjorn and Benny were bloody Mozart and Beethoven!

Way back when, I liked the high energy stuff, "Mamma mia" and "Ring, ring" were my favourites. But I now prefer the more "high brow" stuff, if you can call an Abba song that!!! Two of my favourite songs nowadays are "I have a dream" and "Thank you for the music", in particular the latter. Although I'm not the "girl with the golden hair" or "have a talent", the song rings so true to me. The lyrics go like this:

I'm nothing special, in fact Im a bit of a bore
If I tell a joke, you've probably heard it before
But I have a talent, a wonderful thing
cause everyone listens when I start to sing
I'm so grateful and proud
All I want is to sing it out loud

Refrain:
So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk
She says I began to sing long before I could talk
And I've often wondered, how did it all start?
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart
Like a melody can?
Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan

Refrain

I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair
I wanna sing it out to everybody
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!

Now, it would be a huge lie to say "I have a talent" 'cause I don't. But I don't think that's the entire point. Nothing can capture my heart like a melody can. And so, I'm gonna try and make my dream come true 'cause as Abba says "If you see the wonder of a fairy tale you can take the future even if you fail".

Why not give it a try even if I do fail? We learn from our mistakes, don't we? And isn't life too short not to go after your dreams? So when I come back from France in a week and a bit, I'm gonna write an email to my friends at 101 and see how I can go about recording a CD. I know I ain't gonna be an Eva or Ella or Edith but hey, I can be a Mary, can't I? Will keep you posted :)

And here's the song:



Take care and go after your dreams,
The Knitting Songbird