"Hasta Mañana" (Spanish for "Until tomorrow" or "see you tomorrow") is the fourth track on Swedish pop group ABBA's second studio album, Waterloo. It was released in 1974 as the album's third and final single.
Background Initially fearing that "Waterloo" might be too risky to enter for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, the group considered performing the ballad "Hasta Mañana" instead, as they thought that it was more in style with previous Eurovision winners. Eventually, they decided on "Waterloo", primarily because it featured Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sharing lead vocals, whereas "Hasta Mañana" had Fältskog as the sole lead vocalist. ABBA believed that this would give the wrong impression of them to the world.
The song was still known under its original working title "Who's Gonna Love You?" when the backing track was recorded. The lyrics were later written by Stig Anderson while on a Christmas holiday to the Canary Islands and dictated over the telephone.
While the song was being recorded, they decided to give up on it at one point because none of them could sing it properly. Agnetha alone was in the studio and decided to play around with it. She felt that if she could sing it in a Connie Francis style it would work — and it did.ABBA - In Their Own Words, compiled by Rosemary York, 1981, p. 65, Omnibus Press,
In Australia, "Hasta Mañana" was used as a B-side on the "So Long" single (which never charted). After being featured in the popular The Best of ABBA TV Special, broadcast in March 1976, the song was re-released and became a Top 20 hit in Australia and Top 10 hit in New Zealand.
It reached number 2 on the charts in South Africa in November 1974.
Charts
Chart (1974)PeakpositionItaly (Musica e dischi)Spinetoli, John Joseph. Artisti In Classifica: I Singoli: 1960-1999. Milano: Musica e dischi, 200028South Africa (Springbok Radio)2Sweden (Tio i Topp)1 Chart (1976)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)16 Chart (1980)PeakpositionArgentina (CAPIF)4 The Boones cover Chart (1977)PeakpositionCanada Adult Contemporary (RPM)37US Easy Listening (Billboard)32
Release history RegionDateTitleLabelFormatCatalogReferenceSouth Africa, MadagascarSep 1974"Hasta Mañana" / "Watch Out"Sunshine, EMI7-inch vinylSUN 8, GBS 101Italy1974Dig-It International RecordsMM 0031Japan"Hasta Mañana" / "Honey, Honey"PhilipsSFL-1867PortugalPolydor2040 124New Zealand1975"Hasta Mañana" / "So Long"RCA Victor102560Argentina1980"Hasta Mañana (Spanish version)" / "Al Andar"41A-3209Chile, Peru31028
Cover versions A recording by ABBA featuring Polar Music artist Lena Andersson on lead vocals was a 1974 Svensktoppen hit, as well as a cover version by dance band Schytts the same year. Lena Andersson also recorded German and Swedish language versions of the song, all using the original ABBA backing track. This recording was a Swedish #1 single in 1975.Scott, Robert (2002), ABBA: Thank You for the Music - The Stories Behind Every Song, Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p. 49, In 1977, American Christian singer Debby Boone, daughter of singer Pat Boone, included a cover of the song as the B-side of her 1977 #1 hit, "You Light Up My Life", which became the best-selling single of the 1970s. The family group The Boones had recorded and released an earlier version.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Light_Up_My_Life_(song) In 1992, Swedish dance group Army of Lovers released a version on the Swedish compilation ABBA - The Tribute.Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irwin, C: ABBA: The Name of the Game, p. 209. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995,
References
External links