# Dig in the Dancing Queen



## Steno1

Hi there,

What does " dig in " mean in that famous Abba's song ?

"See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen"


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## TimLA

Howdy

Apparently it means absolutely nothing.
Abba chose it because they liked the sound.
There is one theory that says it's a translation from a Swedish phrase,
but no details were posted.

It makes no sense to me...


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## aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

Well, in American slang, especially Afro-American slang from the seventies, to dig meant to like, understand or appreciate something- 'I really did her hair' it may mean this.


Ya dig?


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## Steno1

Yap,

Thank you both !

I dig it !


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## london calling

Morning, Tim! (It's morning for me, anyway!)
A Swedish spelling mistake?!

Maybe it's _diggin' _the dancing queen, which is what aaahhhh! has suggested.


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## shamblesuk

london calling said:


> Morning, Tim! (It's morning for me, anyway!)
> A Swedish spelling mistake?!
> 
> Maybe it's _diggin' _the dancing queen, which is what aaahhhh! has suggested.


 
Ecco cosa pensavo che fosse comunque!! 

Lee


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## TimLA

london calling said:


> Morning, Tim! (It's morning for me, anyway!)
> A Swedish spelling mistake?!
> 
> Maybe it's _diggin' _the dancing queen, which is what aaahhhh! has suggested.


 
Now it's morning for me! 

HERE's the official ABBA site with "dig in".
Over HERE is the discussion about meaning.


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## london calling

TimLA said:


> Now it's morning for me!
> 
> HERE's the official ABBA site with "dig in".
> Over HERE is the discussion about meaning.


 
Well now, that's interesting! The theory about their keeping a Swedish expression in there is fascinating. Any Swedes online today?


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## TimLA

london calling said:


> Well now, that's interesting! The theory about their keeping a Swedish expression in there is fascinating. Any Swedes online today?


 
I just started a thread in the Nordic Languages forum HERE.
Let's see what they say.


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## london calling

TimLA said:


> I just started a thread in the Nordic Languages forum HERE.
> Let's see what they say.


Well done!  I hadn't thought about doing that!


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## TimLA

london calling said:


> Well done!  I hadn't thought about doing that!


 
And we've already had a response!


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## london calling

TimLA said:


> And we've already had a response!


 
Ok, so the Swedes go for the spelling mistake!


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## fidobsa

Yes, I wondered about that song myself. Perhaps there as a brand of fertiliser in Sweden called "Dancing Queen", as in "Dig in some well rotted Dancing Qeeen"  I've also wondered about the Fleetwood Mac words: "She won't shake her money maker" My theory is that this is also a horticulture reference i.e. the lady in question refuses to artificially pollinate her tomato plants.


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## Vanja85

Could it be (in my opinion): "Ammirate la regina del ballo"?


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## redhairedgirl

Ciao a tutti!
Volevo riaprire il thread (spero che sia giusto, admin!) - ma per chiedervi di "Dancing Queen".
In un sottotitolo ho
BUS STOP *DANCING QUEEN *e si vede una signora che, credendo di non essere vista, balla alla fermata dell'autobus. 
"Regina del ballo/della festa" è un discreto calco e si riferisce ad un contesto preciso: diva, principessa non mi convincono, andrei più per un "*Genio del ballo*", "*Super ballerina*" - qualche idea?

Grazie!
RHG


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## sorry66

Ciao RHG,
'Dancing Queen'  - le due parole insieme qui sono talmente conosciuto (grazie alla canzone di Abba) allora devi trovare una espressione conosciuta!


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## redhairedgirl

È talmente conosciuta che l'hanno lasciata in Inglese! Il video originale è questo (io ho solo un paio di frame): grazie, sorry66!


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## bicontinental

Ciao RHG,

Sembra che il titolo italiano di ‘Dancing Queen’ sia *Regina Danzante*:  http://www.tirrenoresidence.it/TV/testi/test13.html

Bic.

PS: E' carino il video


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## redhairedgirl

Ciao, Bic
non so, ho cercato *regina danzante*, ma non mi convince tanto, perché si perde il riferimento agli ABBA (giustamente mantenuto nel video, perché c'è la canzone in sottofondo!); per tradurlo, però, vorrei anche mantenere il significato (cito Wikipedia) «"regina della festa", intesa come una festa da ballo, cioè la ragazza più bella che si fa notare per la sua avvenenza». Stravolgendo, mi verrebbe "*diva del sabato sera*".


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## bicontinental

Ciao di nuovo, RHG

Pensavo che 'Regina Danzante' fosse la traduzione 'ufficiale' della canzone siccome e’ il titolo usato in ogni traduzione italiana che ho trovato su internet, ma forse si tratta di un errore copiato ripetutamente.

Sono d’accordo che ‘regina della festa’ funzionerebbe bene nel contesto della canzone... anche ‘diva del sabato sera’, pero’ secondo me il titolo inglese Dancing Queen... in se... non ha questo significato sottinteso (di venerdì sera ecc.)

Quindi, mi chiedo se invece sara’ più semplice usare il titolo originale in inglese, _Dancing Queen_. Non so quant'era conosciuta questa canzone all'epoca in Italia, ma immagino che il titolo inglese sia un riferimento istantaneo agli ABBA ...almeno per la gente che e’ cresciuta  con la loro musica!

Bic.


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## london calling

The dialogues in the _Mamma Mia!_ film are dubbed into Italian, Bic, but the songs are left in English. Abba have always always been popular here, by the way. I think what you found on the Internet was just a translation of the lyrics, a common enough phenomenon as not everyone understands English.  A pretty standard request: I'm often asked to translate bits of songs for people.


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## bicontinental

Ah, interesting LC Since the songs are left in English in the Mamma Mia movie, it might be the best option to keep the English song title...


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## redhairedgirl

Ciao a tutti, scusate il ritardo:
I agree with bicontinental; not only I'm a big ABBA fan, but the reference is so clear that I think I can just leave "Dancing Queen" in English. Moreover, the movie is aimed at young people (is this "aimed at" correct?) so there's definitely no need of _domestication._
GRAZIE!
RHG


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## sorry66

'aimed at' is correct but 'domestication'?


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## redhairedgirl

Ops! Domestication is a term we usually refer to in translation theory: it is a strategy we use to "domesticate" a term otherwise completely obscure in the target language. One chooses to use a term closer to the culture of the target language (sometimes agreeing upon losing part of its original meaning or external references): "Regina della festa" would have been the "domesticated" version of "Dancing Queen". 
(I hope my English is understandable, looks like I can't write properly, today)


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## OrioMenoni

My interpretation:
"Watch the scene dig in the dancing queen"
means
"Look at the crowd as it gathers around the dancing queen"
Where dig in is a metaphor for the admirers "burying" the beautiful girl by circling her in.


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## evolah

OrioMenoni’s interpretation looks great!


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## Braeden

It's friday night. Look for a place to go. Get in the swing. Look for a king. Dont worry you can still dance. You can have a time of your life. You are not old. You can be seventeen again. DIG IN THE DANCING QUEEN.

-Rediscover the child in you.
-Have fun again.
-Do something childish
-Dance
-Remember who you were before the world told you who you should be.
-Relive the child in you.
-Dig in the dancing queen


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## bearded

I'm probably mistaken, but in the song is an allusion to a dancing gay/transvestite really impossible? I'm thinking of the expression ''drag queen'', and I know that ''queen'' can be slang for a gay man (''a fag''). Effeminate men often call themselves a girl, a queen. Or is this all too far-fetched?


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## rrose17

bearded said:


> Or is this all too far-fetched?


Definitely!  I was never a big Abba fan but I would say their lyrics were very simple, mainstream, white bread, vanilla, middle-of-the-road, cliché, determinedly inoffensive, etc.


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## bearded

rrose17 said:


> white bread, vanilla


Thank you for your reply, rrose.


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## london calling

rrose17 said:


> Definitely!  I was never a big Abba fan but I would say their lyrics were very simple, mainstream, white bread, vanilla, middle-of-the-road, cliché, determinedly inoffensive, etc.


I've always hated Abba. 

I agree with you 100%. Abba was so mainstream it hurt.


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## You little ripper!

bearded said:


> Or is this all too far-fetched?


I agree with rrose, but I must say its association with effeminate, gay men on the dance floor was immediate and still continues. 



london calling said:


> I've always hated Abba.


It's funny how you can go off people in an instant!


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## bicontinental

london calling said:


> I've always hated Abba.



Awww, really! What was it...the platform boots or the spandex?   I loved ABBA, memorized the lyrics to all their songs.

Some really interesting interpretations above, but I agree with others that you probably don't have to search high and low for a deeper meaning here. I was 10 when ABBA gained popularity and their audience seemed to include mostly children, teens and young adults so when they sing about a 16 year old dancing queen, I think that's exactly what they mean, they are addressing their audience (pointing at some girl in the crowd on videos), not an older woman who longs for her lost youth, not gays, drag queens or transvestites, just one of their many young fans...at least that's my interpretation.


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## Pietruzzo

Actually the song is more about sex than dancing. The girl goes to the disco and acts on the dance floor in a way that makes it clear she's looking for guys. So to me those infamous lines sound like someone's comment about that scene:
Guardate quella ragazza
Guardate che scena
Trattenete la "regina del ballo"
(ma non ci riuscirete)
Anyway most of Italians (and I for one) listen to the songs in English without understanding  the lyrics. A volte è meglio


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## Dearson

london calling said:


> I've always hated Abba.



If your nickname is a reference to what I think, I’m sure you do hate them. 
I agree with you, anyway!


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## funkysax

Hi guys, some time has passed and yet here is another idea on this gamechanging topic: 
Someone of ABBA might have listened to Bunny Clarke's "Be Thankful" which had been released in the previous year (1975) and mixed it up a little (Diggin' the dancing Queen instead of the scene): 

Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean


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## london calling

I still think it was a spelling mistake and even the Swedes think the same:


TimLA said:


> I just started a thread in the Nordic Languages forum HERE.
> Let's see what they say.





london calling said:


> Ok, so the Swedes go for the spelling mistake!


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