8 the song spent 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, more than any other ABBA single).

It reached the Top 5 in Austria, Finland, France, West Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Zimbabwe, while peaking in the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain and the United States (where it became ABBA's fourth and final American Top 10 hit, peaking at No. 1 in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

'The Winner Takes It All' was a major success for ABBA, hitting No. Record World said of it that 'Gripping vocal drama is augmented forcefully by plush orchestration.' Chart performance The booklet for the double CD compilation The Definitive Collection states 'The Winner Takes It All' is the song where Bjorn admits that the sad experience of his and Agnetha's divorce the previous year left its mark on the lyrics.' He said: 'Neither Agnetha nor I were winners in our divorce.' American critic Chuck Klosterman, who says 'The Winner Takes It All' is ' pop song that examines the self-aware guilt one feels when talking to a person who has humanely obliterated your heart' finds Ulvaeus' denial hard to believe in light of the original title. However, Ulvaeus admitted that the heartache of their breakup inspired the song, but noted that the words in the song should not be taken literally. A lot of people think it's straight out of reality, but it's not'. 'Cause one thing I can say is that there wasn't a winner or a loser in our case. Ulvaeus denies the song is about his and Fältskog's divorce, saying the basis of the song 'is the experience of a divorce, but it's fiction. He said, 'I was drunk, and the whole lyric came to me in a rush of emotion in one hour.' Ulvaeus said that when he gave the lyrics to Fältskog to read, 'a tear or two welled up in her eyes. According to Ulvaeus, he drank whiskey while he was writing, and it was the quickest lyrics he ever wrote. Ulvaeus then recorded a demo using nonsense French words for lyrics, and took the recording home to write the lyrics for 'The Winner Takes It All'. Four days later they returned to the song, and Andersson came up the idea of using a French chanson-style arrangement with a descending piano line and a looser structure. However, they felt their first effort 'much too stiff and metrical', so they left the song for a few days while they worked on other songs. The demo had an original title of 'The Story of My Life' and the first arrangement for the song was uptempo with a constant beat. According to Andersson, the idea for the song suddenly came up 'from old ideas, from old small musical pieces' they had. Ulvaeus and Andersson started writing 'The Winner Takes It All' in the summer of 1979 in a cottage on the island of Viggsö.

In a 2006 poll for a Channel Five programme, 'The Winner Takes It All' was voted 'Britain's Favourite Break-Up Song.' This feat was replicated in a 2010 poll for ITV. In a 1999 poll for Channel 5, 'The Winner Takes It All' was voted Britain's favourite ABBA song. It was written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with Agnetha Fältskog singing the lead vocal. It was also the group's final top 10 hit in the United States. The song peaked at No.1 in several countries, including the UK, where it became their eighth chart-topper. The single's B-side was the non-album track ' Elaine'. Released as the first single from the group's seventh studio album, Super Trouper (1980), it is a ballad in the key of G-flat major, reflecting on the end of a relationship. ' The Winner Takes It All' is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. For other uses, see Winner takes all (disambiguation).

The winner takes it all chords