Dance Away
Roxy Music Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yesterday, well it seemed so cool
When I walked you home, kissed goodnight
I said "it's love" you said "all right"
It's funny how I could never cry
Until tonight and you pass by
Hand in hand with another guy
You're dressed to kill and guess who's dying?
Dance away the heartache
Dance away the tears
Dance away

Loneliness is a crowded room
Full of open hearts turned to stone
All together all alone
All at once my whole world had changed
Now I'm in the dark, off the wall
Let the strobe light up them all
I close my eyes and dance till dawn
Dance away

Now I know I must walk the line
Until I find an open door
There was I, many times a fool
I hope and pray, but not too much
Out of reach is out of touch




All the way is far enough
Dance away

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Roxy Music's song "Dance Away" describe the painful feelings associated with unrequited love. The singer reflects on a previous encounter with the person he loves, where he believed everything was going well, but is now left feeling heartbroken after seeing them with someone else. He observes as they walk past him hand in hand with another guy, dressed to kill, as the singer is dying on the inside. The chorus "Dance away the heartache, dance away the tears" suggests that the singer must move on from this heartache by dancing and letting go of his emotions.


The second verse further speaks to the singer's sense of loneliness and isolation, despite being surrounded by people. The metaphor "loneliness is a crowded room, full of open hearts turned to stone" highlights the idea that even in a room full of people, we can still feel alone if we're not connected to others emotionally. The singer explains that since he is now in the dark, off the wall, he'll let the strobe light up them all as he closes his eyes and dances until dawn.


Overall, the song is about dealing with heartbreak and finding a way to move on. The singer knows that he must walk the line until he finds an open door, and while he has been a fool before, he knows that he must not get too invested in people who are out of reach. Instead, he must dance away the pain and tears.


Line by Line Meaning

Yesterday, well it seemed so cool
The past seemed great


When I walked you home, kissed goodnight
We ended our date affectionately


I said "it's love" you said "all right"
I confessed my love and you agreed to continue dating


It's funny how I could never cry
I never thought I'd get emotional like this


Until tonight and you pass by
But seeing you tonight changed everything


Hand in hand with another guy
You were with someone else


You're dressed to kill and guess who's dying?
You looked amazing and it hurts me


Dance away the heartache
I need to dance to forget my pain


Dance away the tears
I need to dance to stop crying


Dance away
I need to dance to feel free


Loneliness is a crowded room
Even surrounded by people, I feel alone


Full of open hearts turned to stone
Everyone is hurt and closed off


All together all alone
We're all in the same boat, yet isolated


All at once my whole world had changed
My life took a drastic turn suddenly


Now I'm in the dark, off the wall
I'm lost and don't know what to do


Let the strobe light up them all
I'll let the music and flashing lights distract me


I close my eyes and dance till dawn
I'll dance all night to avoid thinking


Now I know I must walk the line
I need to be cautious and stay strong


Until I find an open door
I'll keep searching for a way out


There was I, many times a fool
I made mistakes in the past


I hope and pray, but not too much
I'm optimistic, but not overly so


Out of reach is out of touch
If something's too far away, it's impossible to connect with


All the way is far enough
I don't need to go too far to find what I'm looking for


Dance away
I'll keep dancing to overcome my troubles




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRYAN FERRY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@szurtospeti

Yesterday, when it seemed so cool
When I walked you home, kissed goodnight
I said, "It′s love" you said, "All right"
Its funny how, I could never cry, yeah
Until tonight, when you pass by
Hand-in-hand with another guy
You're dressed to kill, and guess who′s dying?

Dance away the heartache
Dance away the tears
Dance away the heartache
Dance away the fears
Dance away

Loneliness, is a crowded room
Full of open hearts, turned to stone
All together, all alone
All at once, my whole world had changed
Now I'm in the dark, off the wall
Lit the strobe light up the wall
I close my eyes, and dance 'til dawn


Dance away the heartache
Dance away the tears
Dance away the heartache
Dance away the fears
(Dance away)
(Dance away)
(Dance away)

Now I know, I must walk the line
Until I find an open door
Off the street or onto the floor
There was I, many times a fool
I hoped and prayed, but not too much
Out of reach is out of touch
All the way is far enough

Dance away the heartache
Dance away the tears
Dance away the heartache
Dance away the fears
Dance away the heartache
Dance away the tears
Dance away the heartache
Dance away the fears
Dance away the heartache



All comments from YouTube:

@patrickverlinden71

“Loneliness is a crowded room, Full of open hearts turned to stone, All together all alone” It's pure poetry.

@terrygilbey5827

Yes I agree there. I wish I'd written it

@rickgass2471

Patrick Verlinden Its good to see you have found Roxy

@clivesangster7274

Pure poetry from a truly great singer songwriter.

@jakeburns7331

Kids today can only DREAM of writing lyrics like that!

@imagecarpenter

Coronavirus

14 More Replies...

@jimpickard3850

The first verse alone is a fabulous little vignette of unrequited love. 'I said it's love, you said "alright" ' , sets it up and 'your're dressed to kill, and guess who's dying ?' delivers the perfect punchline. Amazing lyric. We've all been there !

@Sol-Cutta

Over and over for some of us still single and never married at 50.

@Serenoj69

The guy is full of amazing lyrics. A class of his own, never matched and will be difficult to be matched for a long time. Great lyrics, but Ladytron, In every dreamhome and Mother of PEarl are to my mind in another class alltogether. Ferry knows so well how to play this classy creep, a somewhat disturbed millionair or a hopeless romantic and puts all that in the words so they match all that. Just fantastic. He is a bit like Maradona on the pitch: his topclass work did not last as long as some others (Messi in the case of Maradona and Bowie in the case of FErry). But at his peak no one came anywhere close to his achievements.

@davidnavarro4821

Your comment made the song much more relatable to me! Unrequited love is such a life-degrader.

More Comments

More Versions