En ledig dag

En ledig dag (A Day Off) is a song written by Bengt Sten and Matteo Chiosso. En ledig dag was originally released by Swedish singer Östen Warnerbring. A cover version was the debut single released by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The melody is based on another song titled "Weekend in Portofino", composed by Bruno de Filippi.

Östen Warnerbring version
Warnerbring's version was backed by Marcus Österdahls Orkester, first released on the EP “Sommarvind” in February 1967. The song then released as a single and was a minor hit, charting in the Svenkstoppen at 9th place in June 1967, staying in the chart for 1 week.

Dagen-H performance, recording session
After winning the Swedish talent competition Nya ansikten (New Faces) in the national final held at Skansen on 3 September 1967, Lyngstad performed the song live on TV the same night. The day was Dagen H (right hand traffic reorganization day), when Sweden changed from driving on the left to driving on the right. Lyngstad's first professional recording session was on 11 September 1967 at Europafilm Studio, Stockholm when she recorded the vocals for En ledig dag in a single take.

Legacy and impact
Lyngstad's version of En ledig dag did not enter the Svensktoppen chart but had circulated in the Toppentipset chart at 11th place on 15 October 1967 and 13th place the following week. Most of Lyngstad's continuous singles had this fate. She did not reach to her breakthrough until two years later, she appeared as a contestant for Melodifestivalen, singing "Härlig är vår jord" and toured with Charlie Norman's cabaret shows. Nonetheless, this single marked the turning point of Anni-Frid's life that her singing career would become successful in the future. This single was originally released as a non-album single in September 1967, but has been included on her compilation albums, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, "Tre kvart från nu" and "Frida 1967–1972".