"Arrival", which had working titles of "Fiol", "Ode To Dalecarlia" & "Arrival In Dalecarlia", was the instrumental title track from Swedish pop group ABBA's album of the same name. It was the second and last song from the group not to contain lyrics, following "Intermezzo No.1" the previous year.

As with "Intermezzo No.1", the choral tune, heavily influenced by traditional Swedish folk music, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was recorded on August 30, 1976 at Stockholm's Metronome Studio.

In 1983, a different version of the song with lyrics, called "Belle", was sung by Daniel Balavoine and Anni-Frid Lyngstad ("Frida") as part of the French musical ABBAcadabra. Also in 1983, it was re-recorded with different lyrics, and released as "Time" by B. A. Robertson.

The title of the album, Arrival, gave the instrumental its name, rather than vice versa. It was also one of the last tracks to be recorded for the album before its release on October 11, 1976.

Mike Oldfield cover version

In 1980 Mike Oldfield made a cover-version of the song, which is found on his QE2 album. The artwork for Oldfield's single is a parody of ABBA's album artwork depicting the artist in a Bell 47G helicopter.

Track listing

1. "Arrival" - (2:46)
2. "Polka" (live on European tour 1980) - (3:34)

Other cover versions, sampling, etc.

• French singer Michèle Torr covered the song and added lyrics, under the title "J'aime".
• German dance group Scooter sampled "Arrival" in the song "Roll Baby Roll" on their 2003 album The Stadium Techno Experience, although some chords are slightly altered.
• The British rock band The Darkness played "Arrival" as their opening song on headlining tours.
• Sarah Brightman recorded a version for her 2008 seasonal album A Winter Symphony.

References

External links

• Song information at ABBA's official site