Knowing Me, Knowing You

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in February 1977 as the third single from the group's fourth album, Arrival (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with Anni-Frid Lyngstad singing the lead vocals.

Background
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was recorded in 1976 at the Metronome Studios in Stockholm and was released as a single in February 1977, becoming one of the group's more successful hits. The B-side was "Happy Hawaii", an arrangement of another ABBA song, "Why Did It Have to Be Me?", but with a different lead vocalist and lyrics.

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was one of the early ABBA songs to deal with the break-up of a relationship. It predates the divorces of the ABBA members as well as further break-up songs to come: "The Winner Takes It All", "One of Us" and "When All Is Said and Done". "Conociéndome, Conociéndote" is the Spanish-language version of the song. It was included in the compilation Oro: Grandes Éxitos released in 1993 and Gracias Por La Música released in 1980.

Reception
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" proved to be one of ABBA's more successful singles, hitting #1 in West Germany (ABBA's sixth consecutive chart-topper there and had sold over 300,000 copies there by September 1979), and the United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico and South Africa, and reaching the top 3 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It was a top 10 hit in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand and Norway. In the United States, it became ABBA's sixth top 20 single, peaking at #14 on the Hot 100 and reaching #7 on Billboard's AC chart.

In the UK, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was one of the biggest singles of 1977. It also began a second run of three consecutive #1 singles for ABBA (followed by "The Name of the Game" and "Take a Chance on Me"), the group having had three consecutive #1 hit singles in 1976. As of September 2021, it is the group's third-biggest song in the country with 1.02 million chart sales, made up of pure sales and streams.

Billboard reviewed the song and described it as a "melodically energetic but sad worded ditty about a romantic breakup." Cash Box called it "a softly rocking record that combines memorable pop hooks in their distinctive reverb-soaked ambiance" and said that it has "a sound agreeable to just about any top 40 station." Record World said that "Its chorus is a mighty hook, capping another superb melody."

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" continues to be regarded as one of ABBA's finest songs. In 2017, Billboard ranked the song number four on their list of the 15 greatest ABBA songs, and in 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the song number two on their list of the 25 greatest ABBA songs.

Music video
The music video for "Knowing Me, Knowing You" depicts the band against various colored backdrops singing while facing each other, turning away as a new line is sung. At the end of the video, the band's female members are seen walking away through thick snow. The video was directed by future Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallström, and most other videos of the band were directed by him.

Personnel

 * Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals
 * Agnetha Fältskog – backing vocals
 * Björn Ulvaeus – guitar, backing vocals
 * Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer
 * Rutger Gunnarsson – bass, string arrangements

Cover versions

 * A cover recorded in 1977 by the Top of the Poppers appears on the 2002 compilation album Knowing Me, Knowing You.
 * British singer Cilla Black recorded a cover for her 1980 album Especially for You.
 * Swedish pop group A-Teens included the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their debut album The ABBA Generation.
 * The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded an instrumental version of the song.
 * Richard Clayderman played an instrumental version on his album The ABBA Collection.

Live cover performances and appearances in other media

 * Brief clips from the original ABBA recording features in the film ABBA: The Movie (1977) when Ashley is stuck in a traffic jam; it is presumably coming from the radio of another car.
 * Live versions have been performed by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and Swedish band Eskobar.
 * The song is performed in the musical Mamma Mia! by the character of Sam. In the context of the musical, the song is used as Sam's description of his failed marriage.
 * It is featured in the film adaptation's sequel, performed by younger versions of Sam (Jeremy Irvine) and Donna (Lily James), as well as the present-day Sam (Pierce Brosnan) and Sophie (Amanda Seyfried).
 * The song is the theme of the Steve Coogan 1990's comic vehicle Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge.