Cassandra

[Jim Colyer]

Cassandra prophesied the fall of Troy. No one believed her prophecies, and the Greeks went on to ransack the city in the Trojan War as recounted by Homer in The Iliad. "Cassandra" is in keeping with ABBA's theme of war with such songs as "Waterloo" and "Fernando."

ABBA's Cassandra leaves on a ship at sunrise. It is raining, and her eyes are filled with pain. Trojan Cassandra was taken by the Greek hero Agamemnon as his mistress and murdered by Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, afer arriving in Greece.

There is a hint of predestination as we are told Cassandra was lost from the start. There are lots of shadows in ABBA's music, and here the future casts a shadow.

Which one of the ABBA girls is Cassandra? It is probably both of them because both Benny and Bjorn went on to stable marriages with other women. There is a reference to Cassandra's father. Frida'a estranged father, Alfred Hasse, came into her life after ABBA got famous. She and her father stopped seeing each other when ABBA broke up. "Staying Alive" may be a nod to The Bee Gees' monster hit. "Dreams you would weave" conjures up Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver."

"Sell our secrets" is interesting. The women in ABBA songs cherish their private lives. They guard secrets, and it is by these secrets, probably sexual, that they identify their innermost selves.
1 "They wouldn't know her little secrets" - Nina, Pretty Ballerina
2 "Secrets that my paradise can bring" - Tropical Loveland
3 "My secrets he learned" - Just Like That

ABBA was the city (Stockholm) incarnate. If the city is dead, so is ABBA. Their last day has dawned. The final hour! Troy and ABBA fall together!

"Cassandra" makes use of alliteration: Street, singing, shouting, staying, shame, start, suffer, sell, secrets, sorry, sleep, ship, sailing, sister, sunrise, sails, slack, stood. This is poetry!



CASSANDRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2SQhnOxqiU

Down in the street they're all singing and shouting
Staying alive though the city is dead
Hiding their shame behind hollow laughter
While you are crying alone on your bed

Pity Cassandra that no one believed you
But then again you were lost from the start
Now we must suffer and sell our secrets
Bargain, playing smart, aching in our hearts

Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood
Now the last day is dawning
Some of us wanted but none of us would
Listen to words of warning
But on the darkest of nights
Nobody knew how to fight
And we were caught in our sleep
Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe
You really had the power
I only saw it as dreams you would weave
Until the final hour

So in the morning your ship will be sailing
Now that your father and sister are gone
There is no reason for you to linger
You're grieving deeply but still moving on
You know the future is casting a shadow
No one else sees it but you know your fate
Packing your bags, being slow and thorough
Knowing, though you're late, that ship is sure to wait

Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood
Now the last day is dawning
Some of us wanted but none of us would
Listen to words of warning
But on the darkest of nights
Nobody knew how to fight
And we were caught in our sleep
Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe
You really had the power
I only saw it as dreams you would weave
Until the final hour

I watched the ship leaving the harbor at sunrise
Sails almost slack in the cool morning rain
She stood on deck, just a tiny figure
Rigid and restrained, blue eyes filled with pain
Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood
Now the last day is dawning
Some of us wanted but none of us could
Listen to words of warning
But on the darkest of nights
Nobody knew how to fight
And we were caught in our sleep
Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe
You really had the power
I only saw it as dreams you would weave
Until the final hour

I'm sorry Cassandra
I'm sorry Cassandra