ABBA Voyage Series – Part 7: 'Keep An Eye On Dan' | History & Review

"I know that this shouldn’t be a traumatic event, but it is…"

Let’s discuss ABBA’s "Keep An Eye On Dan".

0:00 Intro
0:30 Lyrics, vocals, mood
2:34 A most catchy hook
3:36 Back to the 80’s?
5:26 "I have been waiting for these Visitors"
7:18 Complex blend
8:24 "A demon ABBA chant" – Hidden messages
12:48 "What happened to our love?" – Sending an S.O.S.
15:04 Conclusion

———

Written, narrated, recorded & edited by Bobby’s Brother.

#abba #voyage #abbavoyage

[chrispretorius]

The ABBAs will always be the best group in the world to me. I play their music daily because it makes me happy and reminds me of my eldest daughter Maria who died of cancer at the age of 48. She loved their music When I hear their music I remember all the good times we enjoyed together.

[alexioverdo]

9:22-till the end of the 'hidden messages section"...no matter it's nearly 3 years since released i still melt.

[alexioverdo]

0:44! lol...Love it.Agnetha's still wearing her headphones the same way she used to.Some girls never change...fortunately.

[alexioverdo]

The dolby atmos series to VOYAGE album from this channel made me love them even more.A perfect deconstruction that digged out its multiple hidden treasures .

[scottpeacock]

I got into ABBA from the age of 6 in 1979, Because of the sytheizers Benny was playing, When Voluz Vous album was about to be release, 1980 was the decade for new wave sound when Spandau Ballett was making it debut in the UK single chart with cut the long story short. ABBA Voyage is a masterpiece.

[QuantumJ]

I love how layered every ABBA composition is. This analysis makes me appreciate this track even more. There’s no arguing that Benny’s music is a masterpiece but some may overlook Bjorn’s lyrics as simplistic. There’s so much to his lyrics beneath the surface and you’ve done a wonderful job deconstructing that to help us understand how complicated and intentional they are. I’ve loved your entire series of vids on Voyage. Thank you for helping fans appreciate this monumental gift to us fans.

[JulianGarbiso]

I'm so glad that you're out there doing these reviews and sharing in them all these rich details that you observe. You are giving this album the treatment it deserves. This is by far the content I enjoyed the most in the Voyage era besides the album itself.

I'm still amazed of how complex these songs are! One of my faves on this album, for sure! And I can't describe the warmness that I feel inside with the interpolation of SOS in the whole song, the end of the song with that "wink" is just the cherry on top haha. Such an amazing video! And thank you for the shoutout!

[kimmo]

Thank you BB once again, for the intriguing review! Totally awesome track with so many details.

[christianoazzuro]

What a very beautiful backing track is to this one.9:21-10:15 those vocals 'marching in"/11:26-12:05 MAGICAL!

[BlackRose]

Wow, just WOW!!! What a phenomenal deep dive into this awesome track. I want to play this through several more times because I need to process everything you are conveying in your video. But when I realised the father was singing "my Dan", it choked me up! Here we have the anxiety of the mother juxtaposed with the father who will take care of his beloved Dan. <3

[rodneybaer]

I find this fascinating. Especially because I've always loved ABBA's arrangements and was always so curious about their recording process. Back in the day, we heard very little about ABBA behind the scenes. As they have always been so private, humble and reserved. Very grateful for this new experience....all these years later...my love for and interest in them has never gone away. How fortunate I am for that.

[davidmarshall]

The ending paid tribute to 'sos' which was a thoroughly clever way to end the record. ..keep up the great reviews Bobby's brother 👍

[themotownboy]

Thank you again for a wonderful insight video! I totally agree that this song is one of the highlights of "Voyage" and of the entire ABBA canon. I want to say that the voice singing the synth line in the intro is actually Agnetha and not Benny. I was surprised to discover this when I extracted the vocals from the rear channels of the 5.1 Atmos mix. I did incorporate it in the intro of the mix I did and it sounds like a female human voice.

The song is a masterpiece of Bjorn's storytelling. It has the best first line of a song I have heard in decades! It sets the stage for the very intriguing storyline. "Keep An Eye On Dan" is not just catchy as a phrase, but as a melody. It could be an expression that could go viral on Tik Tok, Instagram, and YT. You very cleverly deconstructed the unique relationship between Benny and Bjorn's backing vocals lyrics and the girls' lyrics. I hadn't thought of out in such detail, but it certainly makes sense. I am hopeful that it will be released as a single, but maybe just before the first concert in May. It would be great for it to become a hit single at that time. I am sure you saw the email from Universal mentioning "No Doubt About It." Perhaps, this is an interim single?

I am looking forward to the remaining insights into "Voyage", especially "Ode To Fteedom." For me, OTF is the modern day companion and at least as relevant as John Lennon's "Imagine." Both songs are a response to the troubles and struggles the world is facing. While Lennon's lyrics are written from an idealist view of what the world could be, Bjorn's lyrics are written based on the current reality of the political, economic, and cultural divisions and a sense of frustration regarding the solution. Yet both long for the same thing, a "world that will live as one" (Lennon), and a "wish someone would write an Ode to Freedom that we all could sing" (Ulvaeus). The humanist in Bjorn shines through loud and clear!

[danielpalmer]

I have to admit that I having been anxiously awaiting this video - and it exceeded my expectations! Like you, when we only knew the title, I was quite curious, especially with my name being Dan. When I finally got to hear it, it was amazingly well done and enjoyable. I immediately like the melody and the sound. It took a little while to get the full impact of the lyrics, but once I got them, there is no denying it is a powerful song. I think this is the song I play most often from Voyage, and hence why I was looking forward to your video.

You outdid yourself. I knew that there were male backing voices, and I could make out some of them, but with this video, I have a new and different understanding of the song. Thank you! I agree with you, the talking past each other does make the situation seem inevitable, and though the potential for reconciliation exists, it seems unlikely that they can reach it.

I appreciate your insights and efforts.

[bobbyyounger]

Excellent BB ! enjoyed this, especially learning and understanding what the guys are chanting in the background....made a difference for sure. KAEOD is definitely one of the highlights on VOYAGE

[Wanderlustwaltz]

Brilliant dissection of this beautiful track. You are the best, my friend! Bravo! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[joemccarthy]

ABBA STILL CREATES MAGIC, one of the GREATEST GROUPS EVER

[davidmarshall]

Hi Bobby's brother! When i saw the song title I had no idea what to expect!! As it turned out it is yet another Agnetha masterpiece and of course the excellent back up by Frida & the sheer excellence of both guys in the construction of the song 🎵

[stanielatungarova]

Now I understood why Keep an eye on Dan is my #1 song from Voyage. SOS was my favourite ABBA song.