The Name of the Game Lyrics - Mamma Mia!

Song Overview

Personal Review

The Name of the Game slides into Mamma Mia! like an unsent postcard—ink still wet, truth still dangerous. ABBA released the single in October 1977 and watched it park at No. 1 in the UK for four weeks ; onstage, the melody trades glitter for goose-bumps. Lisa Stokke sings with a tentative ache—part diary, part detective file—while Nicolas Colicos’s Bill dodges her melodic questions. Martin Koch keeps the Fender-Rhodes tremble of ABBA’s master but tucks a lone bouzouki in the left speaker, as if the island itself is eavesdropping. The result feels like Laurel Canyon folk peering through a disco keyhole.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The lyric was once ABBA’s shy confession of new romance; in the musical it mutates into a paternity stake-out. Sophie corners Bill: “What’s the name of the game? Does it mean anything to you?” Each question flares over the same descending bass run that Benny Andersson pinched from Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish,” giving the hook its cushion-bounce swagger.

The dialogue threads between chorus reprises, letting narrative lines ride the four-on-the-floor groove. Bill hints he once brought Donna to the island—Sophie’s pulse doubles, the string section switches from pizzicato to legato, and the audience hears a sixteen-bar pop song stretch into thriller score.

ABBA’s 4:51 studio cut used layered flutes and a Leslie-rotor guitar to mimic sighs; Koch trims the intro, swaps flute for bouzouki, and nudges tempo to 96 BPM so Sophie’s interrogation can breathe. The arrangement’s heartbeat is still that elastic bass line—the same slice the Fugees sampled for “Rumble in the Jungle,” the first time Andersson & Ulvaeus ever cleared an ABBA sample.

“If I trust in you, would you let me down?”

The harmony under “down” drops to the sub-dominant—musical shorthand for a floor giving way. By the last chorus Sophie swaps bashful child for curious child; the lyric grows up in real time.

Rolling Stone ranked the ABBA original No. 3 in its 2021 list of greatest ABBA songs, calling it “the group’s stealth masterpiece of quiet anxiety.”

Verse Highlights

First Verse – Sophie

She counts meetings (“I’ve seen you twice”) like clues, melody ascending a minor third with each memory—tension on tip-toe.

Pre-Chorus Pivot

On “your smile and the sound of your voice” the strings slide into parallel sixths, imitating a blush she can’t hide.

Bill’s Intercut

Bill answers in half-spoken promises; the harmonic rhythm stalls on one chord, reflecting his hesitation to confirm paternity.

Song Credits

• Featured: Lisa Stokke (Sophie), Nicolas Colicos (Bill)
• Producers: Nicholas Gilpin, Martin Koch
• Composers/Lyricists: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
• Release Date: October 17 1999 (cast) / October 17 1977 (ABBA single)
• Genre: Folk-disco / Musical theatre
• Length: 3 min 57 sec (cast) / 4 min 51 sec (ABBA)
• Instruments: Fender Rhodes, bouzouki, electric bass, strings, brushed kit
• Label: Polydor / Decca
• Mood: inquisitive, tender
• Poetic Meter: loose iambic, syncopated off-beats
• Copyrights: © 1999 Littlestar Ltd.; ? 1999 Polydor Ltd. (UK)

Songs Exploring Themes of Father-Child Revelation

“Father and Daughter” – Paul Simon
Simon’s lullaby answers Sophie’s plea from the parent’s side: unconditional assurance over soft-rock shuffle, where Andersson & Ulvaeus offer questions over folk-disco.

“Mama Who Bore Me” – Spring Awakening
Wendla aches for knowledge her mother withholds; her minor-key prayer mirrors Sophie’s major-key curiosity, proving withheld truths vibrate in any key.

“Cat’s in the Cradle” – Harry Chapin
Chapin’s ballad shows what happens when the question “What’s the name of the game?” is never asked until it’s too late—role reversal in 6/8 time.

Questions and Answers

How did the original single chart?

No. 1 in the UK for four weeks, peaking at No. 12 on the US Hot 100 and No. 9 on Adult Contemporary.

Is it ABBA’s only song ever sampled in hip-hop?

It was the first; the Fugees’ 1997 “Rumble in the Jungle” lifted the bass line, the first sample ABBA ever approved.

Any notable cover versions?

Power-pop outfit Any Trouble turned it into jangly new-wave in 1980, earning a cult following.

Did ABBA film a video?

Yes—shot on the grounds of Långängen farm outside Stockholm for their 1978 film ABBA: The Movie.

Where does it rank among ABBA’s UK best-sellers today?

Official Charts Company lists it eighth, with 540 000 sales/streams equivalent.

Awards and Chart Positions

• UK Singles Chart: No. 1 (5 Nov 1977 – 26 Nov 1977)
• BPI Certification: Gold (500 000 + sales)
• US Billboard Hot 100: No. 12 (Mar 1978)
• Rolling Stone: #3 on 2021 list of greatest ABBA songs

How to Sing?

Range: Sophie Bb3–E5; Bill G2–D4.
Breath: Keep the opening four bars on one exhale—picture holding a secret under water until sunrise.
Tempo: 96 BPM; let the bass glide pull phrasing slightly behind the beat.
Tone: Smile on “game” to brighten resonance; darken vowels on “trust” and “down” for contrast.