Fernando Lyrics Song by ABBA
Enjoy This Video of Fernando – Lyrics Sung by ABBA
(and sing along using the lyrics)
Fernando by ABBA
Can you hear the drums, Fernando?
I remember long ago another starry night like this
In the firelight Fernando
You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar
I could hear the distant drums
And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar
They were closer now Fernando
Every hour, every minute, seemed to last eternally
I was so afraid Fernando
We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die
And I’m not ashamed to say
The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry
There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though we never thought that we could lose
There’s no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando
Now we’re old and grey Fernando
And since many years I haven’t seen a rifle in your hand
Can you hear the drums Fernando?
Do you still recall the fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande?
I can see it in your eyes
How proud you were to fight for freedom in this land
There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though we never thought that we could lose
There’s no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando
There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though we never thought that we could lose
There’s no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando
Yes, if I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando…
Interesting Facts About the Song Fernando Lyrics and ABBA
“Fernando” is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the group’s first non-album single and was released in March 1976 through Polar Music. Solo parts were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The track was featured on the 1976 compilation album Greatest Hits in some countries, although in Australia and New Zealand, “Fernando” was included on the group’s fourth studio album Arrival. “Fernando” is also featured on the multi-million selling Gold: Greatest Hits compilation.
The song was to become ABBA’s best-selling single of all time, with 6,000,000 copies sold in 1976 alone. It is one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.
Originally named “Hernandez”, the writers made last-minute changes to the title before recording. The suggestion of the name “Fernando” was given by their limousine driver Peter Forbes in Shepperton, England. Tony Fernando, a wealthy exports director for celebrities such as Princess Anne and Tom Selleck, was a friend of Peter Forbes.
After the success for Frida with her Swedish version of this song, the group decided to record an English version. This was a wise step, as “Fernando” became one of ABBA’s best-selling singles, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide and topping the charts in at least 13 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, West Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland.
In Australia, “Fernando” stayed at number 1 for 14 weeks and spent 40 weeks in the charts, making “Fernando” one of the best-selling singles of all time in Australia. It still holds the record for the single spending the most weeks at number 1 (along with The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”). “Fernando” also reached the Top 3 in ABBA’s native Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway, Spain, and Rhodesia. Lyngstad’s version stayed at number 1 on the Swedish radio charts for 9 weeks. It was also released as a single in Norway, where it did not chart.
In the United States, “Fernando” peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it, at the time, ABBA’s highest-charting American single after “Waterloo”. However, “Fernando” did reach number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the first of two number ones for ABBA on this chart (the second being “The Winner Takes It All”).
The song remains an airplay staple on American radio stations specializing in the MOR, adult standards and easy listening formats.
“Fernando” was the second of three consecutive UK number 1 singles for ABBA, after “Mamma Mia” and before “Dancing Queen”.
The song was also chosen as the “Best Studio Recording of 1975”, ABBA’s first international prize.