In the 1970s, he moved away from his previous hard-bop jazz base and began to record jazz fusion and rhythm and blues. Teaming up with the Mizell Brothers, he produced Black Byrd, which was enormously successful and became Blue Note Records' highest-ever selling album. The follow-up albums, Places and Spaces, Stepping Into Tomorrow, and Street Lady, were also big sellers, and have subsequently provided a rich source of samples for hip-hop artists such as Us3.
He has taught music at Rutgers University, the Hampton Institute, New York University, Howard University, and Oberlin College. In 1974 he created The Blackbyrds, a fusion group consisting of his best students. They scored several major hits, including "Walking In Rhythm" and "Blackbyrds Theme".
Dancing in the Street
Donald Byrd Lyrics
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We're dancing in the dark and it soon ends,
We're waltzing in the wonder of why we're here,
Time hurries by, we're here and gone;
Looking for the light of a new love,
To brighten up the night, I have you love,
And we can face the music together,
The song "Dancing in the Dark" by Donald Byrd is a beautiful written piece about love, time, and the joy found in dancing. The opening verse- "Dancing in the dark / Till the tune ends / We're dancing in the dark and it soon ends / We're waltzing in the wonder of why we're here / Time hurries by, we're here and gone."- speaks to the fleeting nature of time and how quickly life can pass us by. The metaphor of dancing in the dark is used to represent the unknown nature of life and how we are often left to navigate it blindly. The waltzing represents the graceful movements of life, but also how it can feel like we are twirling around aimlessly.
The second verse- "Looking for the light of a new love / To brighten up the night, I have you love / And we can face the music together / Dancing in the dark."- speaks to the comfort found in love and how it helps us navigate the unknown aspects of life. The search for a new love to brighten the night can be exhausting and never-ending, but once we find it, we can face the music together and dance through the hardships.
Overall, "Dancing in the Dark" is a beautiful song filled with metaphors for life and love. The joy of dancing with a loved one represents the joys found in life, even during the difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Dancing in the dark Till the tune ends,
We are dancing in the dark until the music ends.
We're dancing in the dark and it soon ends,
Our dance in the dark will not last forever, it will end soon.
We're waltzing in the wonder of why we're here,
We are dancing slowly, pondering about the purpose of our existence.
Time hurries by, we're here and gone;
Time quickly passes by, and our presence is only temporary.
Looking for the light of a new love,
Searching for a new romance to bring joy.
To brighten up the night, I have you love,
You are the one who brings light and happiness into my life.
And we can face the music together,
We can overcome any obstacle together.
Dancing in the dark.
We dance in the dark, enjoying the moment, with our love guiding us through.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JO MILLS, KATHERINE ELLIS, MATT SCHWARTZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind