Ode to ABBA

ODE TO ABBA

(A Garland of ABBA Songs)

(by TōnFerns)

When I first met her,
She was a Nina,

Pretty Ballerina,

a Chiquitita, a Dancing Queen,
with Angel Eyes,
I sure thought she was
'My Kind of Girl'

She said ‘Take A Chance On Me’
'Gimme, gimme, gimme'

And I wondered:
'Why Did It Have To Be Me?'

'Knowing Me,

Knowing You'

‘Does Your Mother Know’ ‘I asked

She said, no, 'It’s The Name Of The Game’

‘I’m a One Man, One Woman’ you know? I replied,

She said, 'I Have A Dream' Tony 'Fernando'

‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ she added

I’ve a dream too,
And some also call me Felicio I confided.

It was just like 'Head Over Heels'

And we both then said 
"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"

'Super Trouper', she went on,

‘Andante, Andante’ she cried,
And with no hesitation, I complied.

I sent her an 'S.O.S.'

'The Way Old Friends Do'

I said 'When All Is Said And Done'

'I Let The Music Speak'.

And then we both

joined in chorus

and sang 'Mamma Mia

here I go again'

'My my, just how much I've missed ya'.

And then came 'Our Last Summer'
I was like a 'Man in the Middle'
In the end the Winner Took It All

She Thanked Me For The Music

Saying Honey Honey,
Taking all my Money, Money, Money,

Hasta Mañana until then.

Tony Fernandes

But Now We Hardly Talk Anymore

TALKING TERMS

When I was a 'Bachelor Boy'

 living among 'The Young Ones'

I often went on a 'Summer Holiday'
'Travelling Light'.

I thought 'Constantly' that

 she was like a 'Living Doll'

with 'Lucky Lips' -
a perfect 'Theme For a Dream'
'A Human Work of Art'.

When she sang
she sounded like
'A Voice in the Wilderness'
She sure was
'Wired for Sound'

When we met,
We were like 'Silhouettes'
in ' Spanish Harlem'
But when I asked her
'Do You Wanna Dance'
She replied: 'Move it'
See you 'The Next Time'.

'I'm your Puppet' I said
'My Heart is an Open Book' I pleaded'It was all in the Game', she said
but I still 'Miss You Nights'
with love "Ocean Deep' she added.

But now
it's like 'The Twelfth of Never';
like 'When Two Hearts Drift Apart'
and 'Nine times out of Ten'
'We Don't Talk Anymore'!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htZir_Taizg

Hasta Mañana at Khan Creek, Sharjah, UAE

HASTA  MANANA

Where is the spring and the summer

 that once was yours and mine?

Where did it go?

I just don't know.

AL KHAN CREEK - Sharjah, 1974 - United Arab Emirates
Water colour painting by Tony Fernandes
Size 20" x 16 "

Warm summer evening, humidity is in the air. As usual on such days, our friends meet us the creek there. Swimming or just relaxing on the beach, watching the sunset. Talking, catching up on things. We carried our portable radio with us and tuned in to Dubai FM. 'Hasta Manana' turned out to be yet another hit for 'ABBA' among other songs of that era that got a lot of air time. 

The late evening scene, just like my water colour painting above, was warm, still, serene. Beautiful and sleepy little ancient village of Al Khan at sunset. Then in the twilight, towards the east glowed dimly the lights of Sharjah town, and in the distance, west by south-west, glimmered the lights of Dubai, and their hopes and dreams of becoming modern and beautiful cities.

Click on the link below to give a listen, just for old times’ sake,
to that wonderful old classic of 40 years ago. 

......Hasta Manana 'til we meet again,
my good old friends.
Don't know where, don't know when.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xonWnxQcmNE