"Dancing in the Dark" was the last song written and recorded for Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen's producer and manager Jon Landau liked the album but wanted a sure-fire first single, one that was fresh and directly relevant to Springsteen's current state of mind (as much of Born in the U.S.A. had been written two years earlier). Landau and Springsteen got into an argument, but later on Springsteen wrote "Dancing in the Dark", and his irked mood from the day's argument combined with the frustrations at trying to complete the album quickly poured out into the lyrics.
Released as a single prior to the album's release, the song spent four weeks at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (his highest charting song to date) in June–July 1984 (it was kept off the #1 spot by Duran Duran's "The Reflex" and that year's song of the summer, Prince's "When Doves Cry"). It did reach #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. It was also the first of a record-tying seven top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A. "Dancing in the Dark" also held the #1 spot for six weeks on Billboard's Top Tracks chart.
Although the song only peaked at #5 in Australia, it remained on the charts for most of 1984 and was that country's highest selling single of the year. It spent a total of 64 weeks in the Top 100.[citation needed]
In the UK, "Dancing in the Dark" originally reached number 28 in the UK Singles Chart when released in May 1984. However, the song was re-released in January 1985 and subsequently reached number 4 in the charts, becoming the 27th best-selling single of the year.
The recording also won Springsteen his first Grammy Award, picking up the prize for Best Rock Vocal Performance in 1985. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. In the 1985 Rolling Stone readers poll, "Dancing in the Dark" was voted "Song of the Year". The track has since gone on to earn further recognition and is as such listed one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The Brian DePalma-directed video, set at a live performance, is perhaps best remembered for the appearance of Courteney Cox as a fan who is invited on stage by Springsteen, and dances with him. Cox was subsequently cast in Misfits of Science and Family Ties, and would later go on to be one of the stars of NBC's hit sit-com Friends. Although Cox had previously appeared in television commercials and had other roles, it is thought that her part in the video played a large role in launching her career.
The video was filmed in June 1984 at the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, before and during the initial show of the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. The completed video was first aired on MTV on July 10, 1984. It received heavy airplay on MTV, and thus helped introduce Springsteen's music to a new, younger, and wider audience.
In a first for Springsteen in an effort to gain dance and club play for his music, and more non-whites in his audience, remix maestro Arthur Baker created the 12-inch "Blaster Mix" of "Dancing in the Dark", wherein he completely reworked the album version. Overdubbed were tom-toms, dulcimers, glockenspiel, assorted backing vocals, bass and horn sythesizer parts, and gunshot sounds. Springsteen's vocal part was chopped up, double-tracked, echoed and repeated, with certain lines such as "You sit around getting older" and "Heeey, baby!" made even more prominent. The remix was released on July 2, 1984.
The result generated a lot of media buzz for Springsteen, as well as actual club play; the remix went to #7 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and had the most sales of any 12-inch single in the United States in 1984. However, many of Springsteen's hard-core rock fans, who had been suspicious of the new sound of "Dancing in the Dark" to begin with, despised the remix. Baker was subsequently quoted in angry response: "I got really offended. What is so different? It has a fucking glockenspiel, which Bruce has used before, background vocals ... it's no different. See, if any of those mixes had come out before, with no one knowing the other version, no one would have said a word."
Dancing in the Dark
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I ain't got nothin' to say
I come home in the mornin'
I go to bed feelin' the same way
I ain't nothin' but tired
Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself
Hey there, baby, I could use just a little help
You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Messages keeps gettin' clearer
Radio's on and I'm movin' 'round my place
I check my look in the mirror
Wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain't gettin' nowhere
I'm just livin' in a dump like this
There's somethin' happenin' somewhere
Baby, I just know that there is
You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
You sit around gettin' older
There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me
I'll shake this world off my shoulders
Come on, baby, the laugh's on me
Stay on the streets of this town
And they'll be carvin' you up alright
They say you gotta stay hungry
Hey baby, I'm just about starvin' tonight
I'm dyin' for some action
I'm sick of sittin' 'round here tryin' to write this book
I need a love reaction
Come on now, baby, gimme just one look
You can't start a fire
Sittin' 'round cryin' over a broken heart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
You can't start a fire
Worryin' about your little world fallin' apart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Hey baby
In Bruce Springsteen's hit song "Dancing in the Dark," the singer expresses his restlessness and dissatisfaction with his life. He begins by describing his monotonous routine of going out at night without any real purpose, only to come home feeling tired and unfulfilled. He craves a little help in the form of some excitement or inspiration. The song's chorus emphasizes the idea that in order to make a change in his life, he needs a spark to ignite the fire within him. He offers himself as a "gun for hire," so to speak, willing to take on any challenge or opportunity that comes his way.
As the song progresses, he continues to analyze his life and the world around him. He mentions the passing of time and the feeling of being stuck, unable to make progress. He desires to shake off this feeling of stagnation by making a change in his appearance and attitude. He feels that something important is happening somewhere in the world, and he wants to be a part of it, to experience the thrill of living fully. The song's final verse reveals that he has been writing a book, but he is growing restless with the process and craves a love reaction, or some inspiration to make the words come alive.
Overall, the song is both a commentary on modern life and a call to action to break out of the monotony and find fulfillment in something extraordinary. It urges the listener to take risks, to embrace change, and to pursue their passions with vigor.
Line by Line Meaning
I get up in the evenin'
I wake up in the evening
And I ain't got nothin' to say
I have nothing to say
I come home in the mornin'
I return home in the morning
I go to bed feelin' the same way
I go to bed feeling the same as when I woke up
I ain't nothin' but tired
I'm just exhausted
Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself
I'm bored with myself and my own life
Hey there, baby, I could use just a little help
Hey there, I could use some help
You can't start a fire
You cannot ignite a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
You need a spark to ignite a fire
This gun's for hire
I am available for hire
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Messages keeps gettin' clearer
The message is becoming clearer to me
Radio's on and I'm movin' 'round my place
The radio is playing and I'm moving around my house
I check my look in the mirror
I look at myself in the mirror
Wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
I want to change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain't gettin' nowhere
I'm not getting anywhere
I'm just livin' in a dump like this
I'm just living in a place like this
There's somethin' happenin' somewhere
There's something happening somewhere
Baby, I just know that there is
I just know that there is
You sit around gettin' older
You sit around and age
There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me
There's a joke somewhere and I am the punchline
I'll shake this world off my shoulders
I'll get rid of this burden on my shoulders
Come on, baby, the laugh's on me
Come on, baby, make fun of me
Stay on the streets of this town
Stay on the streets of this town
And they'll be carvin' you up alright
They will harm you
They say you gotta stay hungry
They say that you must stay motivated
Hey baby, I'm just about starvin' tonight
Hey baby, I'm really hungry tonight
I'm dyin' for some action
I'm desperate for some excitement
I'm sick of sittin' 'round here tryin' to write this book
I'm tired of sitting here and trying to write this book
I need a love reaction
I need love
Come on now, baby, gimme just one look
Please give me a chance
Sittin' 'round cryin' over a broken heart
Crying over a broken heart
Worryin' about your little world fallin' apart
Worrying about everything falling apart
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Hey baby
Hey baby
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@songs-80s
"暗闇の中でのダンス"
私は夕方に起きます
そして、私は何も言うことはありません
朝家に帰ります
同じ気持ちで寝ます
疲れただけじゃない
男私はただ疲れていて、自分自身に退屈しています
Hey there baby 少しだけ助けてあげられるよ
火を起こすことはできません
火花がないと火を起こすことはできません
この銃はレンタル用です
暗闇の中でただ踊っていても
メッセージはより明確になります
ラジオがオンになっていて、私は自分の場所を移動しています。
鏡で自分の姿を確認する
服も髪も顔も変えたい
どうにもならない男
私はこのようなダンプに住んでいます
どこかで何かが起こっている
ベイビー、そこにいることを知っているだけ
火を起こすことができない
火花がなければ火を起こすことはできない
この銃はレンタル用です
暗闇の中でただ踊っていても
あなたは年を取ると座って
冗談があります、ここのどこかで、それは私にあります
この世界を肩から振り払う
歌詞の意味: 赤ちゃんに来てください。
この街の通りにいて
そして、彼らはあなたをうまく切り刻むでしょう
彼らはあなたが空腹のままでなければならないと言います
Hey baby 今夜はもうお腹が空くよ
私はいくつかのアクションのために死にます
この本を書こうとしてここに座っているのはもううんざりだ
愛のリアクションが欲しい
さあ、ベイビーギミー一目だけ
傷ついた心に泣いて座って火を起こすことはできない
この銃はレンタル用です
暗闇の中でただ踊っていても
あなたの小さな世界が崩壊することを心配して火を起こすことはできません
この銃はレンタル用です
暗闇の中でただ踊っていても
暗闇の中でただ踊っていても
暗闇の中でただ踊っていても
@juliopontigo6971
A 1980 hit is still a hit in 2024. Anyone agree?
@riyer5030
1984
@imelmunthe3485
❤ i still listen
@Neyolia.
agreed.
@chrisgonzalez9809
Yes
@venusleoz826
Agree!
@jerrynavratil2629
My wife and I are now 75 n 76 yrs old and every time this song comes on she gets up and dances like she's 20 yrs old is terrific and I'm playing the drums on the table like I know what I'm doing thank you Bruce for a great song
@helenehamon1237
Greetings from France ❤
@josiereedus45
Greetings from Germany!😍💖
@robertwagner8544
@@josiereedus45 So süß...and more greetings from Germany!