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December 18, 2004 Agnetha appeared on Swedish TV channel 4 on a program called Nyhetsmorgon, and does an interview with Lasse Bengtsson. The interview was done earlier in the week in one of the homes on her property, and there is a brief showing of Agnetha, Lasse and his dog walking on the road with the Bockholmssundet in the background.
(4 pics from Charles Pyland and the rest from SVT4, ABBA On TV and raffem.com)
Translation below is by ©2004 Claes Davidsson/Whitread Pty Ltd
ABBA's Agnetha speaks out:
Lasse Bengtsson: ABBA is without comparison one of the world's biggest
groups, they have sold lots of records,
almost 400 million. They broke through 30 years ago in Brighton with "Waterloo". The interest in ABBA is
huge and not the least in Agnetha Fältskog who is the most reclusive of
the stars. I have spoken with her on
and off for 4 years and the other day I had a conversation with her, a longer conversation.
Please note, she didn't see the questions in advance, she hasn't seen the editing until now.
Playing parts of "Om tårar vore guld"
LB (Lasse Bengtsson): Well, Agnetha, as I was driving the other day and listened to this song and your other old
songs. Hi by the way.
AF (Agnetha Fältskog): Hi Lasse!
LB: Then I thought, what good songs you wrote. 
AF: Yes, I did.
LB: Where is it these days?
AF: Somewhere in here, inside me and up here. <Pointing towards her head>
LB: But you don't compose anything now?
AF: No, I don't compose much these days.
LB: Why not?
AF: It's as if I got it all out of me during that time. I was very productive then,
with my own music and lyrics. So there was a lot to get inspiration from then.
LB: But they're all so sad.
Why are they so sad?
AF: Well, I don't know. Later on somebody else wrote the lyrics. I became too critical.
LB: Oh, you did?
AF: Yes, I was very critical.
LB: Have you always been critical of yourself?
AF: Yes, I have. Very much. Especially when it comes to my lyrics I think. There are very many that I'm not so fond of, lyrics that I think are very naïve.
LB: But then last spring you released your first album in a long time.
AF: Yes.
Playing video snippet from "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind"
LB: What do you think of this one when you hear it now?
AF: It's good.
LB: How did you reason when you chose to come back again with an album?
AF: Well, it was quite a long process, it took two, three, four years from me getting the idea until we began recording. I felt that I didn't think I was all done yet, that I had to make some more music and record another album. I'm very fond of these 60's songs
and it was a lot of fun, it was a nostalgic trip for me. And old songs that I had forgotten came back to me. These songs had made such an impression on me, it was like taking them out again. And of course you remember things that took place around that period
in your life. 
LB: What is it that makes a song make an impression
on you?
AF: I think that these songs, they came along when I
was in my teens and that
is a very sensitive period when you're very open to impressions of what's happening.
LB: What were you like as a teenager?
AF: Well, I think I was like most teens. There were
guys, there were dreams
and by then I already
worked a lot. I began to
sing with a dance orchestra
as a 15 year old and we traveled around playing dance music and I started doing that when I was 15.
Playing part of "Utan dig"
LB: Do you remember that time, what dreams and thoughts did you have about music then? What were your goals with your music in those days?
AF: In those days I probably just wanted to perform because I felt I had a voice and
it was fun seeing that people liked dancing to our music. But my ambition later was
to eventually get to make a record, to become a singer, it was my dream.
LB: Why did you want that? 
AF: Well, it was probably in connection with feeling that I had a voice, many others told me that. And then I knew how to compose and write songs and even lyrics sometimes, so I felt that this was probably my job.
LB: But you weren't shy in those days, were you?
AF: I was very shy.
LB: You were?
AF: Yes, I still am today. It's probably a lot because of that I feel a bit anxious about doing an interview like this. It's not at the top of my wish list. <Laughs>
LB: Yeah, I've figured that out.
AF: Yes, exactly.
LB: But still you do it?
AF: Yes, still I do it. Probably because I don't want to seem strange when I have something new to present, then I also want to talk about it.
It's when you get too close to my private life that it starts getting uncomfortable.
LB: But what was it like to break this isolation, you could say, or that you had retired
and then step back into the limelight again. How did you think that was? 
AF: I was a bit concerned in a way since it had been so many years so I didn't know
if my voice would still be there,and it was difficult with my voice at the beginning
and it's easy to build up a fear of the microphone as well, because you're so close
to it when you sing that every noise and every breath can be heard. So there's a
certain technique and a certain obstacle to overcome.
LB: Did you also feel that you had high demands on yourself then so.
AF: Then as well? Yes, I did.
LB: But somewhere it was demanded that you had to appear in public a bit in
connection with this. 
AF: No, there were never any demands.
Instead I made it very clear by saying that I
can do this and this, and I want to do this and that but I can't travel and appear on TV and work the same way I did in the past, because
it simply wears me out. It's too difficult for me.
So I think everyone has understood that.
LB: So that's why you didn't choose to give a
lot of public interviews and hold a press conference and so on?
AF: Yes. Because it easily gets too much and I can't handle it these days.
LB: What is it that wears you out, in what way do you get worn out?
AF: Well, I don't know. There are too many nerves in a way. It's anxiety and I also
want to present a good image of myself and so on. And then it doesn't always work
out that way. And then media is still in charge of the image of myself and it many times
it can be rough since that image isn't right. And then I feel like "God, now I have to try
to correct it and show how I really am", and that's a lot of strain.
LB: Do you think that you're treated in a bad way by the media?
AF: Yes, I think so, on and off. And there's also been a lot that's incorrect and it gets exaggerated.
LB: Do you have an example?
AF: Well, what can I say. I've been through so much I think.
LB: What is the worst one? 
AF: I don't really know which one is the worst. But one thing was when we were on
our way home, from England and I was traveling in a bus because I didn't want to fly and there were a few of us. Then we got into an accident with the bus and the bus
tipped over and I flew out through a window and it was a big story in the papers. And then it said. At the time I was making a film with Gunnar Hellström, "Raskenstam", and
it said that I was pregnant and then they interviewed some doctor and they wrote
"Can a fetus be injured if you're in an accident like this?". But it was in the movie that I played a pregnant woman. But this was turned into reality so people were fooled to believe I was pregnant in real life. And it's incorrect stories like this which make people believe it if they're time after time presented
with an image of someone. It's been written about me for example that I've locked myself in, isolated myself out on Ekerö, but I haven't. Instead they've created this image of me locking myself in since I'm not visible that often. But that is not the way it is.
LB: But since you think you're misunderstood, how would you describe yourself?
AF: <laughs> Well, it's very difficult for me to say, but I think I'm very much the same person I've always been. Very down-to-earth. Of course I also have my flaws, but I'm a very nice person. Down-to-earth. Normal. Curious about life and I don't like stress.
I try to keep it very quiet around me, as good as I can. It's not so easy nowadays.
But I easily get stressed and I'm also a very anxious person.
LB: What are you worried about? 
AF: Everything. <Laughs> No, not everything, but I
easily get anxious in various situations. I'm afraid that something may happen to someone or something.
I easily take things personally. I'm a huge animal lover.
It's difficult for me to look at pictures of animals and children being mistreated, I can't deal with that emotionally.
LB: Well, Vilma notices that you are a real animal lover
I have to say.
(Vilma is Lasse's dog I assume, she's lying on the floor next to them. Claes' note)
AF: Yes, she's mellow as she lies there on the floor.
LB: She likes you. But this talk about Garbo, you don't
like that either from what I understand.
AF: No, it's not something I have said, but once again
it's something that the media has created because,
well, why they have, I don't know. But it's probably a punishment because I don't show myself off enough. And then I usually say that I'm rather an original than a bad imitation.
LB: I wonder what happens when you agree to an interview, because from what I've understood, it's not completely uncomplicated for you. 
AF: No.
LB: Tell me what happens.
AF: Well, I've tried to be very consistent and I receive a lot of requests, not only from Sweden but from abroad as well. And I think it's even more uncomfortable to give an interview in English and not have a good command of the language. But that is my
own fault.
LB: Do you feel that English is a problem?
AF: Yes, it really is. My tongue really gets tied then. So I rather decline. And what happens is if I accept doing an interview during the years that have passed, then immediately 9-10 others want me.
LB: What is an average day in your life like?
AF: Well, these days it's pretty calm. I enjoy being outdoors, going for a lot of walks
and I try to spend a lot of time with my children, I also have a grandchild and it's an incredible experience.
LB: Recently? 
AF: She will soon turn 4 years old. So it's an incredible joy. Really. Then I read a bit and watch TV.
LB: What do you read?
AF: I don't read as many books as I used to, but I read newspapers and I like watching news programs and things where you learn something.
LB: Do you watch movies and what kind of music do you listen to?
AF: I don't watch TV very much, but once in a while I enjoy going to the movies. there's a small fly here. <laughs> It wants to be here all the time. It's very, very rare that I go to the movies. It's been quite a while since last time actually.
LB: Have you seen a movie you remember and that you liked?
AF: No, but there are many that I would like to see, I'm a bit behind.
LB: For example?
AF: For example "Moulin Rouge" with Nicole Kidman, I would like to see that one,
I still haven't.
LB: But what happens, do you ever go to Stockholm, can you walk around freely I wonder. Do you walk around among other people?
AF: Oh yes, I do. Absolutely. But of course I have to be observant sometimes.
LB: What happens when you appear in public?
AF: Really not that much. I notice that people react and recognize me but often
it's very calm. Sometimes someone approaches me if I'm in a restaurant to ask for an
autograph. But there are no problems. There's no commotion.
LB: But do you think it's uncomfortable to be out in public in a big city for example?
AF: No, not that much. But it's nothing I long for either, but it can be fun to go shopping sometimes and meet some people. And I also do that. But like I said earlier, I think it's nice when it's quiet and I think there's too much noise (in the city).
LB: Are you sensitive to sounds? 
AF: Yes, I'm very sensitive. Especially if there's a lot of noise at the same time. Then I get incredibly stressed.
LB: Where does that come from? Has it always been
like that?
AF: No, it's something that's been happening more and more.
I can listen to music at quite a high volume, but I can't deal with a lot of sounds mixing together. I'm very sensitive towards that.
LB: What do animals mean to you?
AF: Animals? Animals mean a lot. They mean serenity and harmony and nice to be with.
LB: Do you have a special relation with animals? Can you talk with them?
AF: Yes, in a way I think I can. You have some kind of understanding for each other, because I live with a lot
of horses in my surroundings.
LB: Can you hear what they say?
AF: <laughs> Well, that may be too much. I probably shouldn't say I can speak with horses too because then there may be problems.
LB: But almost?
AF: But almost, yes. And if I'm in a certain kind of mood, it can be nice to go and talk
a bit to the horses.
LB: I wonder, making friends for Agnetha Fältskog and creating new contacts, new., well, new friends, is that difficult? 
AF: Difficult? That's a tough question. It might be. You never really know what people think about you and maybe they have preconceived notions about you. I don't really have a great need for having a large, large group of friends, instead I'm probably a bit of a loner in a way. I actually use to compare myself with the bull Ferdinand sometimes, who sits by the oak tree. So it's probably a bit like that. ..........
