Fernando: A Song by Abba

by Kay Dickinson

Overview

Since its release in 1976, ABBA’s song “Fernando” has been loved by fans around the globe both for its sing-along chorus and its revolutionary spirit. In Fernando, Kay Dickinson takes readers from Sweden and Chile to Australia and Poland, tracing the complicated ways the song could express support with anticapitalist and Third World liberation struggles while remaining an unrepentant commodity. A song about freedom fighters was unlikely to become a pop mega-hit, yet as Dickinson demonstrates, ABBA’s lucrative, longstanding appeal rests on their ability to bridge contradictions within everyday life. Five decades later, “Fernando’s” rousing calls for freedom continue to resonate with gay liberation movements and other social struggles, demonstrating how a song can be both revolutionary and an envoy for global capital. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478029120
Publisher:	Duke University Press
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Series:	Singles
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 7.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kay Dickinson is Programme Convenor for Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Glasgow and author of Supply Chain Cinema: Producing Global Film Workers.

Table of Contents

Intro  1
1. “There Was Something in the Air”: The Ambiguous Liberties of “Fernando”  13
2. “They Were Closer Now”: “Fernando” amid the Shifting Global Economy  69
Outro  121
Acknowledgments  125
Notes  127
Bibliography  135
Index  143

Editorial Reviews

In this deeply researched analysis, Kay Dickinson approaches ‘Fernando’ as a rich and complex text, exemplifying tensions between revolution and global commodification. In applying sociopolitical, musicological, and technological lenses to ‘Fernando,’ Dickinson’s book is a deftly woven, insightful, and highly engaging critical appraisal of one of ABBA’s greatest hits.”—Samantha Bennett, Professor of Music, The Australian National University

“ABBA’s ‘Fernando’ winked at legibility, seduced the world with multitracked layers of improbable connection. Kay Dickinson’s Fernando sees the song as a marketed revolution on her study’s A-side, revolutionary marketing on its flip, and without clarifying squat renders each and every layer a semiotic postcard.”—Eric Weisbard, author of, Songbooks: The Literature of American Popular Music

"Dickinson writes with academic rigor, but her prose is accessible and, at times, even lyrical, mirroring the lush sentimentality of the song itself. This trim book ultimately stands as a testament to the power of pop and how even the softest, most polished melodies can carry the weight of revolution, heartbreak, and liberation. Dickinson’s work will appeal to anyone curious about how a four-minute song can move millions, literally and symbolically."—Claire Sewell, Library Journal

From the Publisher

ABBA’s ‘Fernando’ winked at legibility, seduced the world with multitracked layers of improbable connection. Kay Dickinson’s Fernando sees the song as a marketed revolution in her study’s A side, revolutionary marketing on its flip, and without clarifying squat renders each and every one of those layers a semiotic postcard.

Songbooks: The Literature of American Popular Music - Eric Weisbard

In this deeply researched analysis, Kay Dickinson approaches ‘Fernando’ as a rich and complex text, exemplifying tensions between revolution and global commodification. In applying sociopolitical, musicological, and technological lenses to ‘Fernando,’ Dickinson’s book is a deftly woven, insightful, and highly engaging critical appraisal of one of ABBA’s greatest hits.

Samantha Bennett