Franz Ferdinand

Van Tango

13 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Van Tango Lyrics

Van Tango had a mean old scene, Van Tango!
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
Van Tango had a mean old scene, Van Tango!
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
He worked night-shift at the opera
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
Watching the girls go by
(Girls go by, Van Tango)
He's singled out tonight
(Singled out, Van Tango)
He's singled out every night
(Singled out, Van Tango)

Caretaker of the night
He's the king of the night
Caretaker of the night
He's the king of the night

Van Tango had a mean old scene, Van Tango!
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
Van Tango had a mean old scene, Van Tango!
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
He wore his quiff Venetian style
(Venetian style, Van Tango)
His fags were cheap, but with a filter
(Really cheap, Van Tango)
He don't suck up to no-one
(Don't suck up, Van Tango)
He don't suck up to no-one at all
(Don't suck up, Van Tango)
Van Tango, Van Tango
Van Tango, Van Tan-Tan-Tan-Tan-Tango

Caretaker of the night
He's the king of the night
Caretaker of the night
He's the king of the night

Van Tango, Van Tango, Van Tan-Tan-Tan-Tan-Tango

Submitted by

tristax! On Jun 04, 2004

Michael

Take Me Out

The Dark of the Matinee

Auf Achse

Walk Away

Van Tango had a mean old scene, Van Tango!
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
Van Tango had a mean old scene, Van Tango!
(Mean old scene, Van Tango) 
He worked night-shift at the opera
(Mean old scene, Van Tango)
Watching the girls go by
(Girls go by, Van Tango)
He's singled out tonight
(Singled out, Van Tango)
He's singled out every night
(Singled out, Van Tango)

Caretaker of the night
He's the king of the night
Caretaker of the night
He's the king of the night

Van Tango, Van Tango, Van Tan-Tan-Tan-Tan-Tango

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Tristax!

Submitter

2004-06-04 11:28:34

13 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by jerem200

22y ago

I wish I was Van Tango.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by tilly_the_kid

21y ago

Is Van Tango a caretaker at an Opera house who works nights? Maybe im taking it a bit too literally though

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by GoochyLittlePig

21y ago

He's the queen, the leader of the night nancies. Recognize!

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by bkat004

21y ago

What a bloody groovy song! Too bad it didn't make the cut for the album. The song has a Bohemian quality to it. Van Tango seems like the Phantom of the Opera. Bloody Groovy song!