ABBA The King Has Lost His Crown Reaction 1. I like the beat 2.I like Frieda's voice in that lower register 3. I didn't like their use of the lyrics "The King Has Lost His Crown" it didn't really jive with anything else. I didn't understand it at all.
As someone else has said, it's said from the point of view of a mocking ex, who's been betrayed by this putative "king", who always, no doubt, thought of himself as a bit of an alpha male, strutting his stuff, who's now been given a taste of his own medicine by an alpha lady who's in turn dumped him without a care. "Oh what a shame", as Frida so sardonically says. The lyrics make sense if you understand them as deeply sarcastic. More the same vein, also sung by Frida, in the song "Should I Laugh or Cry", which is another very bitter look at a pathetic male.
The King is a metaphor for the narcissistic type that uses women. He is finally dethroned when he falls in love with a woman that plays him just as he has played women. It’s not a topic I particularly like but I appreciate the dramatic composition and Frida’s sultry vocals are showcased. I think Coldplay had an even more elaborate royal methaphor about heartbreak. (Viva la vida/ something like that) I wonder if people caught the meaning there too. Listen one more time in a few days see it the song changes to you, maybe.
In my opinion, this song really deserves to be much, much more visible, noticeable and played all around. One of my absolute favourite ABBA songs. Best regards, Lena
Frida's voice is terrific here, with sharp enunciation and clarity. You're honest in your appraisal of the song, even though you didn't get the lyrics.
This song always makes me think of Agnetha's "Queen of Hearts" (she's SUCH an amazing songwriter, btw!!) - it's a very different song from this one musically but kind of a sibling lyrically, if there's such a thing? In that song Agnetha is advicing her friend not to fall for "the queen of hearts" because she will break his heart. I think King & Queen were analogies for players in Sweden back in the seventies. If you go back and listen to Dancing Queen you'll realize that the seventeen year old girl in the lyrics is out carelessly flirting with guys. In "The King has lost his crown" the former King has fallen for a woman who doesn't want him and it's sung by someone who had her heart crushed by him in the past.
I like it. It's kinda spiteful and a bit dark. Got a story/allegory to it. Good beat. I like when there's a very picturesque/dramatic allegory to a song, another example from Abba is _"the piper."_ It's storytelling and who doesn't like a good story?
Big Berger's fan since early 70s love abba and the carpenters appreciate the great reactions esp deep tracks everybody forgotten. With that said with ur music appreciation I like to challenge ur ears . Yngwie malmsteen doing black star . Be cool if u find a live video
The analogies written in the comments sums up the songs meaning well. It all makes sense when you understand the viewpoint. Please react to a video performance too Jaybriel like you have on other songs lately.
Thanks for the reaction. Hope You had a Merry Christmas. Also hope that the aftermath of stepping on little toys throughout the house is being avoided. This isn't a bad song, just not a great one. Make sure you do "I have A Dream". It's one of Frida's best. I don't know what it is about this album. It be interesting to know what else was going on with them at this point. It just feels incomplete or something. But then it has some really good songs too. Who knows maybe they were all just all tired by this point. Also don't miss doing "I Wonder" That to me is another of Frida's best and is overlooked.
For your information, Frida considers this song as on of her favourite songs. Yeah, I like some other ABBA songs more than this one. BUT I realized that except Watch Out, there is no ABBA song I don't like.
Basically the song tells the story of some guy who has ruled the roost when it comes to seducing the ladies and having his way. Lord of the manor, King of his realm etc. Now the tables have turned. The shoe is now on the other foot and it's the female who is telling him what to do, pushing him around. etc. The great Casanova has lost his crown etc. Now clumsy like a clown. The seductive King of the ladies reduced to a laughable clowning court jester etc. Yeah the analogy is all a bit of a stretch but I kind of thought it was all pretty obvious after only one listen. Never a big fan of the song either.
They meant king as the men in the relationship probably thought himself to be a big guy, ego maniac and now he realised he isnt therefore he lost its crown
Let me help you understand this song in a way that few others probably do. By the way, if I was to pick a favorite ABBA song, this might be it and I'll hint to you why. You shrewdly picked up on ambiguity and constant reinforcement of the king losing his crown theme not seaming to make sense, and there is a reason for this I alluded to in my commentary for your video about "The Winner Takes it All". As I said in that post, Bjorn and the rest of the band denied the songs were at all autobiographical, or at best they might say that some of their personal experiences might somehow have bled into certain songs, but that it was usually fiction or an amalgam of people's experiences. A few years ago, however, Bjorn, probably tired of denying it and being cryptic at best, finally admitted songs like The Winner Takes All was about Agnetha. I also mentioned that there was a clear winner regarding the song's meaning as Bjorn either dated soon after or before the separation/divorce as Agnetha painfully alluded to when she said with a hint of bitterness that he started dating two weeks after they ended their marriage (not likely). Bjorn had early on said things like "We're not like Americans, divorces in Sweden don't have to be bitter events" (I'm paraphrasing slightly). The truth is he was being evasive. His divorce was bitter, but in a passive aggressive way which was evident when he admitted these songs were about Agnetha decades later. Like I also said in the previous comment, he was in a rather unique position to stick it to his ex-wife (for the lack of a better expression), and if anyone doubts this, Agnetha also talked about how when they went on their first tour after his divorce Bjorn's room with his new girlfriend (who he's married to with addition children to this day) was booked right next to hers (which she didn't expect), and she had to retire for the night by watching them enter their room (and presumably may have heard them behind a shared wall). That's pretty freaking harsh, so when you think about Bjorn being the band's Lyricist (he wrote 99% of their lyrics), he was in a position to write from his perspective and then transposed the lyrics for Agnetha & Frida to sing (from the female perspective). As such, I believe the song was really about the QUEEN who lost her crown. It's been said men, in the entertainment industry in particular, have a particularly hard time reconciling taking a backseat to their wives (which is understandable and reflected in the music he conducted later with only Benny and other men as his partners). In "The King Has Lost His Crown", Bjorn was drilling home the idea in my opinion that it was really the queen who had lost her crown as he left her and not the other way around (she didn't want the divorce) and found another less famous person reporting the news on television who he then married and raised a family. He repeated this dig Super Trouper (which was obviously about his girlfriend & soon to be wife) as well as The Winner Takes it All" and likely a few others. Agnetha once made a comment (when she was asked about the meaning of such songs) that she never knew who Bjorn was singing about, and when she said it, she was clearly annoyed as it obviously conjured up some painful memories (especially since she hasn't been able to maintain a successful relationship ever since). Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to pass judgment on Bjorn as I don't know the situation. For all I know Agnetha is the one who royally screwed up (pun intended), and perhaps he couldn't help feeling vindictive about it (and for all I know she deserved it). I'm not saying that's what happened, nor do I even think that's what happened, I am merely making the point that I have no idea what the truth is, but given what we've been able to piece together over the last half century about their relationship then and now, it is evident in my opinion that this song was intended to be about the Queen with the golden hair who lost her crown (gender roles necessarily swapped). The end result is that she would always be wondering, deservedly or not. I was once in a situation where I thought I was on top of the world, and through no fault of my own, I was betrayed and lost my crown in more ways than one in a single day. So having that experience obvously makes me sensitive to the song as I suspect anyone who lost something significant in their life can identify with. Once you understand this, the constant repetition of "the king has lost his crown" suddenly makes sense. That was the whole point he was driving home about the queen.
ABBA The King Has Lost His Crown Reaction
1. I like the beat
2.I like Frieda's voice in that lower register
3. I didn't like their use of the lyrics "The King Has Lost His Crown" it didn't really jive with anything else. I didn't understand it at all.
As someone else has said, it's said from the point of view of a mocking ex, who's been betrayed by this putative "king", who always, no doubt, thought of himself as a bit of an alpha male, strutting his stuff, who's now been given a taste of his own medicine by an alpha lady who's in turn dumped him without a care. "Oh what a shame", as Frida so sardonically says. The lyrics make sense if you understand them as deeply sarcastic. More the same vein, also sung by Frida, in the song "Should I Laugh or Cry", which is another very bitter look at a pathetic male.
I don't understand how you'' didn't understand it at all''! Ha! Ha! Read the lyric's again.
One of my favourite 🤩
I love Frida’s voice on the verses. Beautiful.
This song is amazing!
The King is a metaphor for the narcissistic type that uses women. He is finally dethroned when he falls in love with a woman that plays him just as he has played women.
It’s not a topic I particularly like but I appreciate the dramatic composition and Frida’s sultry vocals are showcased.
I think Coldplay had an even more elaborate royal methaphor about heartbreak. (Viva la vida/ something like that) I wonder if people caught the meaning there too. Listen one more time in a few days see it the song changes to you, maybe.
In my opinion, this song really deserves to be much, much more visible, noticeable and played all around. One of my absolute favourite ABBA songs. Best regards, Lena
Anni-Frid Lyngstad once said that her favourite song during ABBA is precisely "The King Has Lost His Crown" 😁🥰❤️
Such an underrated abba song, new fave!!
Frida's voice is terrific here, with sharp enunciation and clarity. You're honest in your appraisal of the song, even though you didn't get the lyrics.
Enunciation is much more important than most people think
This song always makes me think of Agnetha's "Queen of Hearts" (she's SUCH an amazing songwriter, btw!!) - it's a very different song from this one musically but kind of a sibling lyrically, if there's such a thing? In that song Agnetha is advicing her friend not to fall for "the queen of hearts" because she will break his heart.
I think King & Queen were analogies for players in Sweden back in the seventies. If you go back and listen to Dancing Queen you'll realize that the seventeen year old girl in the lyrics is out carelessly flirting with guys. In "The King has lost his crown" the former King has fallen for a woman who doesn't want him and it's sung by someone who had her heart crushed by him in the past.
hmm interesting. Did not realize all that stuff.
Like Mr Angel Eyes then.
You haven’t done As Good As New yet. I believe one of the best tracks from the album
I like it. It's kinda spiteful and a bit dark. Got a story/allegory to it. Good beat. I like when there's a very picturesque/dramatic allegory to a song, another example from Abba is _"the piper."_ It's storytelling and who doesn't like a good story?
Big Berger's fan since early 70s love abba and the carpenters appreciate the great reactions esp deep tracks everybody forgotten. With that said with ur music appreciation I like to challenge ur ears . Yngwie malmsteen doing black star . Be cool if u find a live video
I like this song jay, it sounds like a payback song for their split. Good sound girl. Jay👍👍💞
The analogies written in the comments sums up the songs meaning well. It all makes sense when you understand the viewpoint. Please react to a video performance too Jaybriel like you have on other songs lately.
You're right. I need to get on that.
Thanks for the reaction. Hope You had a Merry Christmas. Also hope that the aftermath of stepping on little toys throughout the house is being avoided. This isn't a bad song, just not a great one. Make sure you do "I have A Dream". It's one of Frida's best. I don't know what it is about this album. It be interesting to know what else was going on with them at this point. It just feels incomplete or something. But then it has some really good songs too. Who knows maybe they were all just all tired by this point. Also don't miss doing "I Wonder" That to me is another of Frida's best and is overlooked.
Pretty sure I'd never heard this one before. Weirdly, in places it reminds me of some of the rockier Dan Fogelberg songs!
For your information, Frida considers this song as on of her favourite songs.
Yeah, I like some other ABBA songs more than this one. BUT I realized that except Watch Out, there is no ABBA song I don't like.
I have a few I'm not a fan of but nothing i hate for sure. They got a lot of gems I'm slowly uncovering though.
Basically the song tells the story of some guy who has ruled the roost when it comes to seducing the ladies and having his way. Lord of the manor, King of his realm etc. Now the tables have turned. The shoe is now on the other foot and it's the female who is telling him what to do, pushing him around. etc. The great Casanova has lost his crown etc. Now clumsy like a clown. The seductive King of the ladies reduced to a laughable clowning court jester etc.
Yeah the analogy is all a bit of a stretch but I kind of thought it was all pretty obvious after only one listen.
Never a big fan of the song either.
The verses sound amazing with Frida on lead in a great performance, but the chorus is a bit disappointing.
They meant king as the men in the relationship probably thought himself to be a big guy, ego maniac and now he realised he isnt therefore he lost its crown
Let me help you understand this song in a way that few others probably do. By the way, if I was to pick a favorite ABBA song, this might be it and I'll hint to you why. You shrewdly picked up on ambiguity and constant reinforcement of the king losing his crown theme not seaming to make sense, and there is a reason for this I alluded to in my commentary for your video about "The Winner Takes it All".
As I said in that post, Bjorn and the rest of the band denied the songs were at all autobiographical, or at best they might say that some of their personal experiences might somehow have bled into certain songs, but that it was usually fiction or an amalgam of people's experiences. A few years ago, however, Bjorn, probably tired of denying it and being cryptic at best, finally admitted songs like The Winner Takes All was about Agnetha.
I also mentioned that there was a clear winner regarding the song's meaning as Bjorn either dated soon after or before the separation/divorce as Agnetha painfully alluded to when she said with a hint of bitterness that he started dating two weeks after they ended their marriage (not likely). Bjorn had early on said things like "We're not like Americans, divorces in Sweden don't have to be bitter events" (I'm paraphrasing slightly). The truth is he was being evasive. His divorce was bitter, but in a passive aggressive way which was evident when he admitted these songs were about Agnetha decades later.
Like I also said in the previous comment, he was in a rather unique position to stick it to his ex-wife (for the lack of a better expression), and if anyone doubts this, Agnetha also talked about how when they went on their first tour after his divorce Bjorn's room with his new girlfriend (who he's married to with addition children to this day) was booked right next to hers (which she didn't expect), and she had to retire for the night by watching them enter their room (and presumably may have heard them behind a shared wall).
That's pretty freaking harsh, so when you think about Bjorn being the band's Lyricist (he wrote 99% of their lyrics), he was in a position to write from his perspective and then transposed the lyrics for Agnetha & Frida to sing (from the female perspective). As such, I believe the song was really about the QUEEN who lost her crown. It's been said men, in the entertainment industry in particular, have a particularly hard time reconciling taking a backseat to their wives (which is understandable and reflected in the music he conducted later with only Benny and other men as his partners).
In "The King Has Lost His Crown", Bjorn was drilling home the idea in my opinion that it was really the queen who had lost her crown as he left her and not the other way around (she didn't want the divorce) and found another less famous person reporting the news on television who he then married and raised a family.
He repeated this dig Super Trouper (which was obviously about his girlfriend & soon to be wife) as well as The Winner Takes it All" and likely a few others. Agnetha once made a comment (when she was asked about the meaning of such songs) that she never knew who Bjorn was singing about, and when she said it, she was clearly annoyed as it obviously conjured up some painful memories (especially since she hasn't been able to maintain a successful relationship ever since).
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to pass judgment on Bjorn as I don't know the situation. For all I know Agnetha is the one who royally screwed up (pun intended), and perhaps he couldn't help feeling vindictive about it (and for all I know she deserved it). I'm not saying that's what happened, nor do I even think that's what happened, I am merely making the point that I have no idea what the truth is, but given what we've been able to piece together over the last half century about their relationship then and now, it is evident in my opinion that this song was intended to be about the Queen with the golden hair who lost her crown (gender roles necessarily swapped). The end result is that she would always be wondering, deservedly or not. I was once in a situation where I thought I was on top of the world, and through no fault of my own, I was betrayed and lost my crown in more ways than one in a single day. So having that experience obvously makes me sensitive to the song as I suspect anyone who lost something significant in their life can identify with. Once you understand this, the constant repetition of "the king has lost his crown" suddenly makes sense. That was the whole point he was driving home about the queen.