The Day Before You Came

Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA wrote this song, which deals in part with his divorce from his bandmate Agnetha Fältskog. Speaking about the influence of the split on the song, Ulvaeus said: "Even if 90% of the lyrics were fiction there are still feelings in songs like 'Winner Takes It All' and 'Day Before You Came' they have something from that time in them."

This song was recorded and released by Swedish pop group ABBA as the first new song from their double compilation album, The Singles: The First Ten Years. It was their penultimate single release, and it was followed by the other new song on the album- Under Attack. It was only a minor hit, which Ulvaeus said was because it was "too different and ahead of its time for the ABBA fans."

The song was recorded and mixed on August 20, 1982, with the working title of "The Suffering Bird" featuring lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog. It was the last song that ABBA ever recorded together. According to Michael Tretow, ABBA's long-time sound engineer, Fältskog sang her lead without the lights on. He added that the mood in the studio was sad and everybody knew that it was the end.