The Safety Dance

Album

Rhythm of Youth

Label

Backstreet

Genre

Synthpop

Media Type

45s

Duration

2:47

Composer(s)

Ivan Doroschuk

Entered Chart

Jun 25, 1983

Peak Date

Sep 10, 1983

Released

1982

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Backstreet 52232

B-Side

N/A

"The Safety Dance" is a song by Canadian new wave and synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from Rhythm of Youth. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been ejected from a club for pogo dancing. The song entered the Canadian top 50 on February 19, 1983, peaking at No. 11 on May 14. In the meantime, "The Safety Dance" was released in the US on March 16, but did not enter the US chart until June 25. It became a bigger hit than in Canada, spending four weeks at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September and October 1983. It also reached number 1 the week of October 1, 1983 on Cash Box, as well as number 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart. "The Safety Dance" found similar success in other parts of the world, entering the UK chart in August and peaking at No. 6 in early November, and entering the New Zealand chart in November, eventually peaking at No. 2 in early 1984. The song was also a massive success in South Africa, reaching No. 1 on the Springbok chart. The song has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2021, the band released a recording of a new version of the song, reimagined as a mid-tempo ballad, under the title "No Friends of Mine." The track is included on their 2022 EP Again (Part 1).

We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance
Well, they're no friends of mine

Say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come
From out of this world
Leave the real one far behind

And we can dance
Or sing

We can go when we want to
Night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat
From our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the victory cry

Say, we can act if we want to
If we don't, nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile

And say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
They're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance
Safety dance
Oh well, the safety dance
Ah yes, the safety dance

We can dance if we want to
We've got all your life and mine
As long as we abuse it, never gonna lose it
Everything'll work out right

I say, we can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
Because your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance
Well, they're no friends of mine

I say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance

Oh well, the safety dance
Ah yes, the safety dance
Oh well, the safety dance
Oh well, the safety dance
Oh yes, the safety dance
Oh, the safety dance, yeah
Well, it's the safety dance
It's the safety dance
Well, it's the safety dance
Well, it's the safety dance
Oh, it's the safety dance
Oh, it's the safety dance