This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
You look out of your window
Into the night
Could be rain, could be snow
But it can't feel as cold as you're feeling inside
And all of you friends are either married, vanished
Or just left alone
But that's no reason to just stop living
That's no excuse to just give in to a sad and lonely heart
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Don't forget to smile
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while
'Cause darling, darling
I bet you danced a good one in your time
And if this were a party
I'd really make sure the next one would be mine
Yes, you with the broken heart
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Don't forget to smile
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while
You walk down the street
And all the young punks whistle at you
A nice bit of old
Just goes to show what you can achieve
With the right attitude
As you pass them by
They whisper their remarks one to another
And you give them the eye
Even that you know that you could be their mother
You do the thing you love the most
What separates you from the rest
And what you love to do the most?
And when they ask me how you dance
I say that you dance real close
No, no , no , don't forget to dance
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Don't forget to dance
Don't forget to dance
Into the night
Could be rain, could be snow
But it can't feel as cold as you're feeling inside
And all of you friends are either married, vanished
Or just left alone
But that's no reason to just stop living
That's no excuse to just give in to a sad and lonely heart
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Don't forget to smile
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while
'Cause darling, darling
I bet you danced a good one in your time
And if this were a party
I'd really make sure the next one would be mine
Yes, you with the broken heart
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Don't forget to smile
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Forget it for a while
You walk down the street
And all the young punks whistle at you
A nice bit of old
Just goes to show what you can achieve
With the right attitude
As you pass them by
They whisper their remarks one to another
And you give them the eye
Even that you know that you could be their mother
You do the thing you love the most
What separates you from the rest
And what you love to do the most?
And when they ask me how you dance
I say that you dance real close
No, no , no , don't forget to dance
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no
Don't forget to dance
Don't forget to dance
Lyrics submitted by Elan Morin Tedronai
Don't Forget to Dance Lyrics as written by Ray Davies
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is crazy that I'm the first person to comment on this song. First of all the first time I heard it, I was thinking it was kind of lame. Within a day or 2 I couldn't stop playing it. It's a beautiful song with great lyrics, enough said :)