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"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" | ||||
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![]() Austrian picture sleeve | ||||
Single by ABBA | ||||
from the album Ring Ring | ||||
A-side |
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B-side |
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Released | October 1973 (France) 1974 (Austria) | |||
Genre | Europop | |||
Length | 2:53 | |||
Label | Polar Music | |||
Songwriter(s) | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus | |||
Producer(s) | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus | |||
ABBA singles chronology | ||||
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Audio video | ||||
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" on YouTube |
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" is a song recorded in November 1972 by Swedish pop group ABBA and released on their debut album Ring Ring .
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" is a third-person story song written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song describes a mundane lifestyle of a young woman who works at an office, but on a Friday night, she transforms and lives her dream on the dancefloor. [1]
The initial recording took place on 17 October 1972 alongside "He Is Your Brother" in Europa Film Studios, Stockholm, but the end result of this song was unsatisfactory. [2] The song was re-recorded in 2 November 1972 at Kungliga Musikhögskolan, Stockholm’s Royal College of Music. [2] This is considered to be the first ABBA song to have the ABBA sound, where Agnetha Fältskog and Frida Lyngstad have lead vocals in unison. [1]
Several sound effects are used including a train whistle and cheering. [1] Andersson and sound engineer Michael B. Tretow pioneered a technique similar to Vari-speed, where the song tape had been slowed down and the piano score had been overlayed. [1] [2] With the song back in the original speed, this resulted in the instrument being sped up, so fast that it would not be possible to play. [1]
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" was released on 7" vinyl record in France in October 1973 without any chart success. After radio success in Austria, the song was released in February 1974, [3] serving as the seventh and final single from the band's debut album Ring Ring . The single reached #8 on the singles chart in Austria.
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
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Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [4] | 8 |
Region | Date | Title | Label | Format | Catalog |
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France | Oct 1973 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "He Is Your Brother" | Vogue | 7-inch vinyl | 45. X. 3027 |
Austria | 1974 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "I Am Just A Girl" | Polydor | 2040 111 | |
Kenya | 1977 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)" | 2001 736 | ||
Philippines | 1977 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "So Long" | PRO-3512 (2001 741) |