Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, who also produced it, the song has lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and is about a woman trying to revive a relationship she had ended.

[2] "One of Us"—which had the working titles "Number 1" and "Mio Amore"—was one of the last songs recorded for ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors, and features a lead vocal by Agnetha Fältskog.

It was one of a number of tracks that explored the darker territory of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's songwriting, as the two men's divorces were beginning to influence their musical output.

Despite misgivings on the part of manager Stig Anderson, and its somewhat depressing lyric, "One of Us" was released as the first single from The Visitors, coupled with the non-album track "Should I Laugh or Cry".

Ulvaeus had favoured releasing it as the first single from the new album, and the majority of the record companies agreed with him; it proved a wise move, as it would become ABBA's final No.

American magazine Cash Box reviewed the single, saying that "a strong but subtle orchestration provides the backdrop for Agnetha Faltskog’s vocals, with a cadre of mandolins adding a romantic flourish".

[3] In 2017, Billboard named "One of Us" the fifth best ABBA song in their list of "The 15 Best ABBA Songs", writing, "The single marked a darker shift in the group's later material, while blending uplifting harmonies on the heartbreaking chorus ("One of us is crying / One of us is only / Waiting for a call… / Wishing she had never left at all") to encapsulate the emotional depth baked into the group's history that makes them sound so good.

"One of Us" proved a successful hit in Austria, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland, reaching the Top 10 in all of these countries.

[8] "One of Us" was not released as a single in the United States until February 1983, and proved to be ABBA's worst-ever performing charting song in that territory, reaching a high of No.

As an attempt to promote the A-Teens a bit more, Universal Music Group released a one-track promo single of "One of Us" on radio in late 1999.

"One of Us" was chosen as the third single from Cher's 2018 ABBA tribute album Dancing Queen, released by Warner Bros. Records on 28 September 2018.

Writing for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos felt that ""One of Us" in particular sees the biggest musical shift of any of the songs; the original is a breezy, tropical, mid-tempo pop moment that almost disguises the sadness of the lyrics.

But that sadness can never hide from Cher, who strips it down to strings, piano and vocals, making sure you can feel every bit of the ego-shedding on the track.

The vinyl represents the Dancing Queen album while the B-side contains the songs "Mamma Mia", "Chiquitita", "Fernando", "The Winner Takes It All" and "One of Us".

[43] Cher tweeted that after one of the shows of her Here We Go Again Tour she went into empty arena and sang "One of Us", claiming that it was "not ready....but it was pretty good" and that she was "working on it".