Unlike many other ABBA songs, the final mix of the track was sparsely produced - the entire track consisting of the soloist's vocals, synthesized strings, and a music box melody (also synthesized). The sound of a ticking clock, also heard throughout the track, was produced by Andersson's MiniMoog

Minimoog

The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...

.

The designer of the album sleeve for The Visitors, Rune Söderqvist, was partly inspired by this song's theme when he conceived the idea of photographing the group standing before Julius Kronberg

Julius Kronberg

Julius Kronberg, Swedish painter, 1850 - 1921.Julius Kronberg received education at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm in the 1860s. A travel scholarship brought him to Paris via Düsseldorf and Copenhagen. He stayed in München where he continued studying before settling in Rome in 1877...

's painting of an angelic-looking Eros.

Cover versions

• The melody featured in the 1983 London version of the musical Abbacadabra
  Abbacadabra
  Abbacadabra is the name of a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA, originally produced for French television in 1983 by Alain and Daniel Boublil, but which was later also transferred to an English stage version and two other television programs.-French television...
  
   and was re-titled "When Dreamers Close Their Eyes" with new lyrics by David Wood
  David Wood (actor)
  David Wood OBE is an English-born actor and writer, called "the National Children's Dramatist" by The Times.He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and Worcester College, Oxford....
  
   and Don Black.
• British singer Hazell Dean
  Hazell Dean
  Hazell Dean is a British dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top ten hits "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who"...
  
   recorded a cover of the song for her 1996 album The Winner Takes It All: Hazell Dean Sings Abba.
• In October 2000, Benny Andersson returned to this track when he was invited to play piano on Anne Sofie von Otter's cover version, which appears on the album Anne Sofie von Otter meets Elvis Costello - For The Stars.
• Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø
  Sissel Kyrkjebø
  Sissel Kyrkjebø , also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano.Sissel is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Sissel's musical style runs the gamut from pop recordings and folk songs, to classical vocals and operatic arias...
  
   included an English language cover of the song on her 2006 album Into Paradise.
• German
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
   singer Nina Hagen
  Nina Hagen
  Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
  
   performed the song live on a TV special.
• In 1999, William Orbit
  William Orbit
  William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
  
   recorded a version of the song with Madonna
  Madonna (entertainer)
  Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
  
   for her album Music
  Music (Madonna album)
  Music is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on September 19, 2000 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records...
  
  but it was never released. It was leaked onto the Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
  in August, 2008.