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Lucy Martin

Prof. Porter

English 1201

12 February 2022

Money, Money, Money

In the musical Mamma Mia, the creators/writers incorporated many songs by the Swedish

disco band ABBA. One of the songs used in the musical is “Money, Money, Money”. This song

was first released in 1976 but did not become a hit in the United States until Mamma Mia was

released 32 years later. The music video that ABBA made shows a desperate single woman

looking for a wealthy man. The musical, on the other hand, uses the song to tell the story of one

of the main characters Donna. The cover of "Money, Money, Money" from the musical Mamma

Mia, and the original version/music video of the song by ABBA have a similar message that

points towards a relationship with a wealthy man. The two versions also have similar audiences

that target young and desperate women.

In the ABBAs version of “Money, Money, Money, the video starts off with a woman in

all white running across the city. The woman also looks like she is looking for something and she

seems to be happier. The video then switches to a scene of the same woman in a dark room,

wearing all black. At the same time, the woman says/sings “I work all night, I work all day, I pay

the bills I have to pay. Ain’t it sad”. The use of a dark room and dark indicates a more serious

message. Throughout the video, it switches back and forth from the “light” environment to the

dark/mysterious environment. A recurring lyric that is said when the woman appears happy and
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with a man is “Money, money, money, always sunny in a rich man’s world”. By using different

backgrounds/environments and different emotions (pathos) of the woman, they convey the

message that money buys happiness.

To continue, the musical Mamma Mia uses the song “Money, Money, Money” to show

the wants of Donna (one of the main characters). For over 20 years, Donna has yet to have a man

in her life. Because of the troubles she had with not knowing the dad of her daughter, Sophie, she

has stayed away from relationships. But, now that her daughter is grown up and about to get

married, Donna feels she is missing something. When the song is introduced into the film Donna

is with her two best friends and she is in her apartment (located in Greece), and she is talking

about how she has yet to have a day off in 15 years. Donna starts walking around the streets of

Greece and people start crowding her and giving her money, but she denies it. As this happens

she says/sings “All the things I could do if I had a little money, It's a rich man’s world.”. This

shows that Donna wishes she didn’t have to work and that she could just have a man that could

spoil her. A few seconds later, it shows Donna fantasizing what her world would be like if she

had a rich man in her life. She gives off the expression that she is more happy and able to live the

life she wants. By using these emotions (pathos), the message the writer is trying to convey is

that Donna would be happier if she weren’t single and if she had more money. After the song is

finished, a crack in the cement//ground Donna is standing on cracks. This shows that this part in

the musical is important and could mean something later on in the musical.

As we can see, both messages that the video and musical were trying to convey are very

similar. Both videos used the fantasies/dreams of the main character to convey the message that

money can buy happiness. They both showed a happy and joyful woman when the woman had a

man with money. In contrast, both videos, showed the woman sad and upset when she was by
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herself. Even though the versions are 32 years apart, the audience is the same. The audience for

both the music video and the musical version is a single woman in her 20’s, who feels she needs

a wealthy man in her life. Both of the versions used a woman as the main character. By using a

woman it helps connect to the audience (a single woman) better.

In conclusion, the cover of "Money, Money, Money" from the musical Mamma Mia, and

the original version/music video of the song by ABBA have similar themes and audiences. Both

versions of the song, use emotions to get the message across and to appeal to the audience. The

message in the videos is that a wealthy man can lead to happiness. And the audience is a single

woman in her 20’s. In the original version, by ABBA, the mood of the main character and the

environment she is in is much more joyful, when she is with a wealthy man. In the musical

Mamma Mia, they show how Donna has not been happy in 20 years because she has yet to have

a man come around. When they show fantasies of Donna with a rich man, Donna looks much

happier.

Works Cited

“Money, Money, Money.” Youtube, uploaded by ABBA, 8 Oct. 2008,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETxmCCsMoD0

“Mamma Mia!- Money, Money, Money.” Youtube, uploaded by Lise LS_01, 15 Dec.

2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONyd7bDYnMo
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