The Name Of The Game

Album

ABBA: The Album

Label

Atlantic Records

Genre

Art pop

Duration

0:00

Composer(s)

Benny Andersson;Bjorn Ulvaeus

Entered Chart

Dec 24, 1977

Peak Date

Mar 11, 1978

Released

17 October 1977 (Sweden)[1] 14 October 1977 (UK)[2] 14 October 1977 (US

Recorded

31 May 1977 at Marcus Music Studio

Catalog #

Atlantic 3449 A

B-Side

I Wonder (Departure)

“The Name of the Game”, first called “A Bit of Myself”, was the first song to be recorded for ABBA’s fifth studio album, following the band’s European and Australian tour. It was their most complex composition yet – with Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sharing the lead vocals but with solo passages from both women – and contained the influences of the laid-back California sound of the day. The opening riff on bass and synthesizer is inspired by Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” from the 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life, and both Andersson and Ulvaeus have acknowledged being inspired by Wonder’s music during this part of ABBA’s career. A preliminary version of “The Name of the Game” was worked into the 1977 feature film ABBA: The Movie, for which it was written. When it was eventually finished, it was released as the lead single from ABBA: The Album in October 1977. Originally, another track entitled “Hole in Your Soul” was intended for release, but those plans were soon shelved. “The Name of the Game” was released with a live version of “I Wonder (Departure)” as the B-side. This B-side was one of several songs written for the mini-musical The Girl with the Golden Hair, written by Ulvaeus and Andersson and originally performed by ABBA on their 1977 world tour. The recording used on “The Name of the Game” single was recorded at Sydney Showground, Sydney, Australia on 3 or 4 March 1977. A studio recorded version of the song was included on ABBA: The Album. “The Name of The Game” also marks the last time Stig Anderson helped with the lyrics of a single.

[Verse 1: Agnetha & Frida]
I've seen you twice, in a short time
Only a week since we started
It seems to me, for every time
I'm getting more open-hearted

[Pre-Chorus: Agnetha & Frida]
I was an impossible case
No one ever could reach me
But I think I can see in your face
There's a lot you can teach me
So I wanna know

[Chorus: Agnetha & Frida]
What's the name of the game?
Does it mean anything to you?
What's the name of the game?
Can you feel it the way I do?

[Post-Chorus: Frida]
Tell me, please, 'cause I have to know
I'm a bashful child beginning to grow

[Bridge: Frida & Agnetha]
And you make me talk (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
And you make me feel (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
And you make me show (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
What I'm trying to conceal (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
If I trust in you (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
Would you let me down? (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
Would you laugh at me (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
If I said I care for you? (Ah-ah)
Could you feel the same way too, I wanna know
The name of the game
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[Verse 2: Agnetha & Frida]
I have no friends, no one to see
And I am never invited
Now I am here, talking to you
No wonder I get excited

[Pre-Chorus: Agnetha & Frida]
Your smile, and the sound of your voice
And the way you see through me
Got a feeling, you give me no choice
But it means a lot to me
So I wanna know

[Chorus: Agnetha, Frida & Björn]
What's the name of the game?
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Does it mean anything to you?
(Got a feeling you give me no choice, but it means a lot)
What's the name of the game?
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Can you feel it the way I do?

[Post-Chorus: Frida]
Tell me, please, 'cause I have to know
I'm a bashful child beginning to grow
[Bridge: Frida, Agnetha & Frida]
And you make me talk (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
And you make me feel (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
And you make me show (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
What I'm trying to conceal (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
If I trust in you (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
Would you let me down? (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
Would you laugh at me (Doo-doo, doo-doo)
If I said I care for you? (Ah-ah)
Could you feel the same way too, I wanna know
Oh, yes, I wanna know

[Chorus: Agnetha, Frida & Björn]
The name of the game
(I was an impossible case)
Does it mean anything to you?
(But I think I can see in your face that it means a lot)
What's the name of the game?
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Can you feel it the way I do?
(Got a feeling you give me no choice, but it means a lot)

[Chorus: Agnetha, Frida & Björn]
The name of the game
(I was an impossible case)
Does it mean anything to you?
(But I think I can see in your face that it means a lot)
What's the name of the game?
(Your smile and the sound of your voice)
Can you feel it...