ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Reveals: “The Winner Takes It All” Was Written Under the Influence 🍷🎶
For more than four decades, “The Winner Takes It All” has stood as one of ABBA’s most iconic and emotionally raw songs—a haunting ballad that captures the anguish of love lost with heartbreaking clarity. Now, in a revelation that has left fans stunned and moved, Björn Ulvaeus has shared a secret behind the song’s creation: he was under the influence of alcohol when he wrote it.
Speaking in a recent interview reflecting on ABBA’s greatest hits, the 79-year-old songwriter opened up about the night the lyrics came to him. “It was one of those moments,” Björn confessed, “where I had a few glasses of wine, and suddenly, everything I’d been holding back just… poured out. The words came so quickly, almost painfully.”
The song was released in 1980, just after Björn’s very public divorce from Agnetha Fältskog, his fellow ABBA bandmate and former wife. Although Björn has often said the lyrics weren’t a direct account of their breakup, this new admission suggests that the emotions behind them were very real—and very raw.
“It wasn’t meant to hurt Agnetha,” he explained. “It was never meant to be a message to her. But in that moment, I needed to express something I didn’t have the words for in conversation. The wine helped me lower the filter.”
Fans have always speculated about the song’s deeply personal tone. Lines like “The winner takes it all / The loser’s standing small” hit differently now, knowing they were written in a vulnerable state of heartache and altered clarity.
What makes the song even more extraordinary is that Agnetha herself agreed to sing it—pouring her soul into the performance of a lyric penned by the man she had recently separated from. The result was not just a chart-topping hit, but an emotional masterpiece.
“She didn’t say much when she read the lyrics,” Björn remembered. “But when she sang them, I knew she understood everything I couldn’t say out loud.”
In the years since its release, “The Winner Takes It All” has become an anthem for anyone who has endured heartbreak. It’s not just a song—it’s an emotional confession wrapped in melody. And with this new insight into its creation, it feels even more intimate.
Social media exploded after the interview aired, with fans expressing shock, admiration, and deep emotional resonance. One longtime listener wrote, “I always cried when I heard that song. Now I know why—it came from a place of real pain.”
Björn’s honesty has only deepened the respect fans hold for him—not just as a brilliant songwriter, but as a man who, even in his most difficult moments, had the courage to turn sorrow into song.
And in that late-night haze of heartbreak and wine, he gave the world one of the most unforgettable love songs of all time.