Our Last Summer Lyrics — Mamma Mia!

Song Overview

Personal Review

Our Last Summer is the show’s postcard song—edges curled, colors fading, but the scent of river grass still vivid. ABBA cut the track during the Super Trouper sessions in June 1980, Björn Ulvaeus mining memories of an 18-year-old fling with a Swedish au pair he’d chased round Paris. On stage Paul Clarkson’s Harry unwraps that souvenir aloud; Siobhán McCarthy’s Donna steps in halfway, harmony blooming like café lights at dusk. The pit band swaps Benny’s original mandolins for bouzouki trills, yet leaves that wistful descending bass intact—nostalgia that grooves.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The lyric catalogs little Polaroids—morning croissants, grass by the Eiffel Tower—before admitting the underlying panic: “fear of slowly dying.” Musical irony sweetens the ache: the chords trace a bright I-V-vi-IV pop circle while the words confess mortality. In the show Harry begins alone, minor-key strings padding every memory; Donna joins on “our last summer,” their voices slipping into parallel sixths that suggest romance regained for a bar or two. But Donna’s spoken coda—“And now you’re working in a bank… how dull it seems”—pricks the bubble, reminding us souvenirs can’t rewrite present tense.

“We took our chance like we were dancing our last dance.”

Ulvaeus’ teen-Paris inspiration surfaces here; he has said the girl “showed me the Quartier Latin and the Eiffel Tower, but mostly I remember her.”

Verse Highlights

Flower-Power Flashback

Harry lists “crazy years” over gentle folk strumming; strings answer with a sigh motif that repeats after each memory, like turning album pages.

Duet Section

Donna’s alto slips under Harry’s tenor on “round the Notre Dame,” the harmony resolving to the major third—brief sonic smile.

Donna’s Reality Check

The meter breaks for her spoken jab about bank jobs; drums drop out, leaving just pizzicato bass: nostalgia meets paperwork.

Song Credits

• Featured: Paul Clarkson (Harry), Siobhán McCarthy (Donna)
• Producers: Nicholas Gilpin, Martin Koch
• Composers/Lyricists: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
• Release Date: October 17 1999 (cast) / November 3 1980 album
• Genre: Folk-pop / Musical theatre
• Length: 4 min 19 sec (ABBA studio) / 3 min 50 sec (cast)
• Instruments: bouzouki, acoustic guitar, electric bass, brushed kit, strings
• Mood: affectionate, bittersweet
• Poetic Meter: mixed iambic lines over straight 4/4
• Label: Polydor / Decca (cast); Polar (original)
• Copyrights: © 1999 Littlestar Ltd.; ? 1999 Polydor Ltd. UK

Songs Exploring Themes of Summer-Nostalgia

“Summer of ’69” – Bryan Adams
Where Harry recalls Parisian rains, Adams relives garage-band sweat; both trade grown-up pragmatism for six-string memories.

“The Boys of Summer” – Don Henley
Henley drives deserted beaches; ABBA stroll the Seine, but each chorus aches for one sun-bleached photograph.

“August” – Taylor Swift
Swift’s indie-folk whisper lingers on a season never named again; Harry and Donna harmonise the same wistful farewell in major-key glow.

Questions and Answers

Was “Our Last Summer” ever a single?

Not in 1980, but Polar issued it as a stand-alone CD single in parts of Europe in 1992 to promote More ABBA Gold.

Where did Björn get the idea?

From a teenage romance in Paris 1966 with a Swedish au pair; he said he “mostly remembers her, not Paris.”

Is there a famous film version?

Yes—the 2008 Mamma Mia! movie cast (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried & Meryl Streep) recorded it; the soundtrack hit No 1 on the US Billboard 200.

Any notable covers?

Hazell Dean’s 1992 Euro-dance spin and recent folk-harmony takes by Emily Linge (2025 YouTube viral) keep the song in rotation.

Did the track chart on streaming?

Combined ABBA and soundtrack versions crossed 200 million Spotify plays in April 2025.

Awards and Chart Positions

• Album track on Super Trouper; not released as a UK single in 1980.
• 1992 promotional single received airplay in Germany and Greece but did not chart nationally.
• 2008 film version entered the UK Download Chart at No 32 on soundtrack release.

How to Sing?

Range: Harry A2–D4; Donna B3–F?5.
Breath: Float the opening “I can still recall” in one airy ribbon—picture exhaling cigarette smoke across the Seine.
Tempo: 96 BPM; ride the swung acoustic strum.
Tone: Keep vowels relaxed on “summer” to emphasise warmth; tighten consonants on “last” for gentle emphasis.