Song Lyric Sunday: Why Not Come Dancing?

Posted on by


For today’s Song Lyric Sunday Jim is inviting us to play songs based on true events, as suggested by Nancy, aka The Sicilian Storyteller – the first of a complete March takeover by her, but all good suggestions though. Nancy’s blog, The Elephant’s Trunk,  is fantastic and highly recommended, by the way. Jim’s post Specific Moments In History gives the background to the theme. I considered some of the ‘big event’ type songs, like R.E.M.’s Man On the Moon, or CSN&Y’s Ohio, but have gone for a song which is based on real life with a tragic background, but on a much smaller scale. This is my choice for today:

And here are the lyrics:

They put a parking lot on a piece of landWhere the supermarket used to standBefore that they put up a bowling alleyOn the site that used to be the local palaisThat’s where the big bands used to come and playMy sister went there on a Saturday
 
Come dancingAll her boyfriends used to come and callWhy not come dancing?It’s only natural
 
Another Saturday, another dateShe would be ready but she’s always make them waitIn the hallway, in anticipationHe didn’t know the night would end up in frustrationHe’d end up blowing all his wages for the weekAll for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek
 
Come dancingThat’s how they did it when I was just a kidAnd when they said “come dancing”My sister always did
 
My sister should have come in at midnightAnd my mum would always sit up and waitIt always ended up in a big rowWhen my sister used to get home late
 
Out of my window, I could see them in the moonlightTwo silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate
 
The day they knocked down the palaisMy sister stood and criedThe day they knocked down the palaisPart of my childhood died, just died
 
Now I’m grown up and playing in a bandAnd there’s a car park where the palais used to standMy sister’s married and she lives on an estateHer daughters go out, now it’s her turn to waitShe knows they get away with things she never couldBut if I asked her, I wonder if she would
 
Come dancingCome on, sister, have yourself a ballDon’t be afraid to come dancingIt’s only natural
 
Come dancingJust like the palais on a SaturdayAnd all her friends would come dancingWhile the big bands used to play
 
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ray Davies
Come Dancing lyrics © BMG Rights Management
 
 
As I said, there is a tragic background to this song. It was written by Ray Davies in memory of his older sister, Rene, who was married and living in Canada with a husband who was purported to be abusive. Rene, who was 31,  was visiting her childhood home in Fortis Green in London at the time of Ray’s 13th birthday – 21 June 1957 – and she surprised him with a birthday present of a Spanish guitar he had tried to persuade his parents to buy him. That evening, Rene, who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of rheumatic fever, suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the Lyceum ballroom in Central London. The song is very much in the vein of Ray’s style of Englishness, and takes his sister as the inspiration for a piece about how changes are made to our towns and cities, not necessarily for the best, and how these can invoke feelings of nostalgia and loss. You’ll see that the lyrics refer to his sister waiting up for her daughters to come home from their nights out dancing – sadly, Rene never got to do this, but Ray’s poetic licence displays how much he misses her. The jaunty feel of the song belies what is hidden in the lyrics, beneath the surface.
 
When first released as a UK single in November 1982, Come Dancing didn’t make the chart. Their record company had reservations about releasing it as a single in the United States due to the English subject matter of dance halls, but it was released there in April 1983, peaking at #6. As a result of its American success, it was then re-released in the UK and second time round it got to #12. It was included on the band’s album State Of Confusion, which was released in May 1983 in the US and June in the UK. The album didn’t make the UK charts but reached #12 in the US.
 
For me, this song packs in so much. It has elements of nostalgia, of love and loss – every subsequent birthday will be a reminder of his sister’s passing – and social history and conscience, all packed into four minutes of song. It doesn’t need to be about a big newsworthy event to be meaningful.
 
That’s me done for today. See you again for Tuesday Tunes 😊🎶
 

57 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: Why Not Come Dancing?”

  1. Pingback: As Time Goes By | Take It Easy

  3. Pingback: That Was March | Take It Easy

  6. Pingback: Song Lyric Sunday: Why Not Come Dancing? – Tony Stark

  7. You had me lol regarding my “complete March takeover”; think of it as a Sicilian coup! People are going to get sick of seeing my name all over the place! 😂
    Your comments about my site were most gracious and much appreciated. Many thanks!
    The Kinks are a favorite group of ours; we saw them perform live more than any other group. I knew nothing about “Come Dancing” other than I thought it was a wonderful number and I always liked it very much. This poignant backstory changes everything. I’ll never listen to this song again without thinking about Rene. Lovely post, Clive.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I assume you made Jim an offer he couldn’t refuse? You’re welcome on the comments – all true.

      The Kinks had a strange career. It was almost as if they had two lives: the early UK rock band days in the 60s and then the US albums days of the 80s, when they did next to nothing in our charts. I’ve always liked them, and I’m glad you got to see them play live so often.

      Glad you liked the post and now know the backstory behind this song.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. I also didn’t know the backstory to this track, Clive thank you…A great songwriter who wrote some great tracks including this one ” This Strange Effect” sung by Dave Berry… I will listen to them all with new ears thats one thing you have taught me Clive to really listen xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Excellent tune, Clive, and one I had no idea was connected to Ray’s sister, who was so far away that he couldn’t protect her. I will be listening to this song with new ears from now on. Ray is one of the best songwriters — ever.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I think he was too young to protect her, but clearly felt the loss, made worse by it being so close while she was visiting. I agree on Ray’s songwriting – few come near him.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Nice vid to go along with it, but a downbeat bittersweet story. Ray always has a few lemon drops in the Fruit Pastilles. I love the spoken bit, the oh so romantic ‘silhouettes by the garden gate,” underlaid by the girls voice in the background telling her suitor to leave her presence in no uncertain fashion. Close to genius at times, Mr Davies.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Early example of cancel culture. Two of them had a fight onstage, which caused blood to be drawn and a hospital visit. Nothing was said officially as far as I know, but many radio stations told their DJs not to play Kinks records as they were a bad influence on susceptible US youth. Crazy, or what! Not the first or last instance of brothers in a band not getting along!

      Like

      Reply

  21. Love this song and this era of The Kinks, beginning with the beautiful album “Sleepwalker” and through “Give The People What They Want” and “Misfits”…fun and upbeat, hilarious they didn’t think the US would respond!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I think it was felt to be too ‘English’ in style and content. They tried telling Ray Davies to sing it in an American accent and he told them to get lost! Their career was odd. They were huge here in the 60s, at the time a lot of radio stations over there refused to play them. Then they gradually did better in the US while their sales stalled here. I always liked them.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    • It was the same here, I think. You had to dig below the surface of the lyrics to find the real story. Glad you liked it too – some of their more ‘English’ songs didn’t travel well across the pond!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • MY friends and I were big fans of the Kinks and loved Long Tall Sally, You Really Got Me and All Day and All Night to name a few. We tended to enjoy British music over American music at the time.

        Liked by 1 person

      • You beat me to it. I was going to say The Kinks were always at the top of the charts in Winnipeg with everything they did.
        I saw Ray Davies do this song at the Orpheum in Vsncouver on his One Man tour. He told us this story (that Clive related above) as introduction to the song. I think he was surprused when we sang along on the chorus. (I may have the wrong venue, but I cannot think where else he might have played.)

        Liked by 2 people

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think