All You Wanna Do Is Dance
Billy Joel Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh baby, you don't get turned on by the radio.
Oh baby, you got nothing to play on your stereo.
"Why don't the Beatles get back together?"
"Why don't nobody sing of romance?"-
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Oh baby, I think you are lost in the seventies.
Oh baby, "The music she ain't what she used to be."
You don't understand what they're saying,
You've given it every chance
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Well you wish you were back in the good old days,
When tomatoes were cheaper,
And you never heard the words of your favorite songs
Through a three inch speaker.
And you never messed around with dangerous drugs,
You were all getting sick on beer-
And you didn't get any (unless you went steady and made out for a year).

Well you can hide away honey, in your rock and roll dreams,
You can stand by your blue suede shoes-
But the party is over,
And I'm getting tired of waiting for you.

Oh baby, "Where are the oldies they used to play?"
Oh baby, you want to crawl back into yesterday,
You don't want to deal with the future,




You don't want to make any plans-
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Overall Meaning

The classic rock song All You Wanna Do is Dance by Billy Joel is a commentary on the music industry's changing landscape in the 70s. The lyrics indicate a sense of longing for simpler times when music was more melodious and unpretentious. The song's protagonist, 'you', is someone who resists the cultural shift and innovation that the era brought and prefers the comforting familiarity of music from the 50s and 60s- the 'oldies'. The song also implies that the radio and stereo are inadequate media for experiencing music as they don't provide listeners with the quality or immersive experience they used to.


The verse "You don't want to deal with the future, You don't want to make any plans- Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance" illustrates how some people choose to escape rather than face the coming changes. By "dance", Joel means partying and avoiding difficult tasks. The singer encourages them to "deal with the future" and "make plans." However, the singer is nostalgic for an era when one did not have to confront societal issues such as political instability, drugs, or crime. This song is a testament to the yearning for the past in the face of an uncertain future.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh baby, you don't get turned on by the radio.
You're not interested in the latest music played on the radio station.


Oh baby, you got nothing to play on your stereo.
There's no music in your collection that you want to listen to.


"Why don't the Beatles get back together?" "Why don't nobody sing of romance?"- Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.
You're nostalgic for the music from a previous era and feel that current music doesn't focus enough on romance. However, despite these thoughts, all you really want to do is just dance.


Oh baby, I think you are lost in the seventies.
You seem to be stuck in an era that has passed.


Oh baby, "The music she ain't what she used to be."
You believe that modern music is not as good as it used to be.


You don't understand what they're saying, You've given it every chance Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.
Even though you've given current music a chance, you don't understand the lyrics and meaning behind them, and just want to dance to the beat.


Well you wish you were back in the good old days, When tomatoes were cheaper, And you never heard the words of your favorite songs Through a three inch speaker. And you never messed around with dangerous drugs, You were all getting sick on beer- And you didn't get any (unless you went steady and made out for a year).
You miss the past when life was simpler, and you could listen to your favorite songs without any interference. Additionally, you didn't engage in dangerous activities like drug use, and instead spent time with your significant other becoming close before sexual intimacy.


Well you can hide away honey, in your rock and roll dreams, You can stand by your blue suede shoes- But the party is over, And I'm getting tired of waiting for you.
You can continue to dream of the past and hold onto your love for that era, but it's time to face the present and all that it has to offer. The party is over, so it's time to move on.


Oh baby, "Where are the oldies they used to play?" Oh baby, you want to crawl back into yesterday, You don't want to deal with the future, You don't want to make any plans- Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.
You're yearning for the past and the music that went along with it, and you're afraid of what the future holds. You don't want to think about tomorrow or make any plans, all you want to do is dance as an escape from it all.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILLY JOEL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Alexander Smith

Oh baby, you don't get turned on by the radio.
Oh baby, you got nothing to play on your stereo.
"Why don't the Beatles get back together?"
"Why don't nobody sing of romance?"-
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Oh baby, I think you are lost in the seventies.
Oh baby, "The music she ain't what she used to be."
You don't understand what they're saying,
You've given it every chance
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Well you wish you were back in the good old days,
When tomatoes were cheaper,
And you never heard the words of your favorite songs
Through a three inch speaker.
And you never messed around with dangerous drugs,
You were all getting sick on beer-
And you didn't get any (unless you went steady and made out for a year).

Well you can hide away honey, in your rock and roll dreams,
You can stand by your blue suede shoes-
But the party is over,
And I'm getting tired of waiting for you.

Oh baby, "Where are the oldies they used to play?"
Oh baby, you want to crawl back into yesterday,
You don't want to deal with the future,
You don't want to make any plans-
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance



Alexander Smith

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

SIMILAR SONGS

1 of 3

2 of 3

Oh baby, you don't get turned on by the radio.
Oh baby, you got nothing to play on your stereo.
"Why don't the Beatles get back together?"
"Why don't nobody sing of romance?"-
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Oh baby, I think you are lost in the seventies.
Oh baby, "The music she ain't what she used to be."
You don't understand what they're saying,
You've given it every chance
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Well you wish you were back in the good old days,
When tomatoes were cheaper,
And you never heard the words of your favorite songs
Through a three inch speaker.
And you never messed around with dangerous drugs,
You were all getting sick on beer-
And you didn't get any (unless you went steady and made out for a year).

Well you can hide away honey, in your rock and roll dreams,
You can stand by your blue suede shoes-
But the party is over,
And I'm getting tired of waiting for you.

Oh baby, "Where are the oldies they used to play?"
Oh baby, you want to crawl back into yesterday,
You don't want to deal with the future,
You don't want to make any plans-
Oh baby, all you wanna do is dance.

Songwriters: Billy Joel

All You Wanna Do Is Dan



All comments from YouTube:

Transformed Mind

Turnstiles is addictive. Summer Highland Falls and All you want to do is Dance. It just lifts my mood.

Ernie Guy

can not forget james and angry young man

Margaret Pariera

I think you are lost in the 70s. THIS SONG WAS MADE IN 70s. Billy's always been ahead of himself. Such a mature gentleman.
Now it's 2018 and IM stuck in the 70s. Oh boy 🤗

Holly Brookfield

I was born in 2002 and I’m stuck in the 70s

rm

I take it as, he's making fun of someone from an older generation who is "lost" as in they can't move on from old stuff (like the Beatles and "oldies") and accept new stuff.

utub

I literally just realized that today and funny thing was it wasn't even from reading this comment. I just heard it and went "Wait a minute." It's funny that he almost wrote this song for the future.

Anthony LaBarbera

Holy crap true and I can relate

thezombiecreeper

Turnstiles was definitely a weird album. It only had 8 songs, and really didn’t have the same feel the whole way through. It’s still a masterpiece nonetheless

brian drier

nice sound quality--and i forgot how infectious this tune is. if you can stand still while listening to this, you are not breathing! thanks for posting.

Tara Cat

Best album from Billy

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