Dissecting song lyrics: The Safety Dance.

TDK · 12-29-2008, 02:41 PM

This isn't meant to be taken seriously, obviously.

The song. (And the video, wherein the main guy looks like me, as my friend pointed out. o.O )

First, the name of the band: Men Without Hats. What this implies is that there existed an era where the norm was for men to wear hats.

That is a world I want to live in. Not because of any particular inclination to wear hats (in fact, I rarely wear hats) but because society and fashion having an inclination toward a certain item of clothing (especially the hat, which is a silly and awesome piece of clothing all at the same time and in essence*.) to the degree that it is considered abnormal to LACK that piece of clothing, so that one would have to specify men WITHOUT hats, is awesome.

(Run on sentence FTW. :P)

So in this world, the name Men Without Hats is the rough equivalent of Men Without PANTS.

...And that should be a band name too.

*For those wondering why: It is an item of clothing which, for the most part, signifies some kind of rank or career position (pirate, for example.). In addition to this, you wear it by placing it on your head. If the placing it on your head isn't silly enough, it more often than not represents something in an official capacity. It is a silly piece of clothing.

Anyway, on to the Safety Dance:

The lyrics.

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 are no friends of mine

This guy is very bigoted. Or at least he sticks to his convictions to a very great degree. He is actually willing to end a relationship based on whether or not the potential friend dances or not. This guy is awesome.

I 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

Now with the opening lyrics, the song would appear to be silly and facetious, but as it goes on it appeals more to the free nature of the listener and addresses real issues and things, the way the world should be and what people should do, but it sadly isn't and they do not. And yet he continues to do whatever he likes regardless. In this case, leave the area wherein people are not dancing, find another place where people don't know you and act however you like, be yourself because in this separate area, where people will likely never see you again, you can behave how you like with no long-term repercussions.

This again goes back to the name of the band. Men Without Hats. A deviation from the social norm, the lack of a hat. Having abandoned the place where people do not dance, and finding another where people don't know him, he is free to act how he likes, dance, act silly, and as long as this act, being yourself and being free, is kept up, the rest of the world doesn't matter, its all distant and gone.

And yet eventually, he must go back to the norm, but there are still times when he can escape, dance, act silly and be himself.

To be a man without a hat.

Ah we can go when we want to the 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

This elaborates farther on the meaning of the previously stated meanings in the song. The escaping of the normal world is done at night, as one might have guessed. And along with the acting silly and dancing, he dresses oddly as well, and surprises the normal denizens of the area he escapes to with a loud cry, possibly a greeting or something.

I say we can act if want to if we don't nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile
I say we can dance, we can dance everything out control
We can dance, we can dance were doing it wall to wall
We can dance, we can dance everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance everybody takin' the chance
Safety dance

Here he seems to be elaborating further on it, possibly to another party, another potential man without a hat. He specifies, you can act rude or antisocial or stupid, and no one will care, or at least it does not matter in the long run because no one knows you there. He goes on to state several times that dancing is acceptable.

The normal society in this world requires strict adherence to laws, it seems. No dancing, hats are required, etc. A strange distopian, possibly totalitarian society.

However, the statement "everybody taking the chance" indicates that there is a chance of being caught for the transgressions of dancing and acting silly, so perhaps it is a sort of underground movement or clandestine society, where they gather to dance and act silly, as previously established. But contrary to what is initially implied, they may not be safe and in a completely different area or world. Rather, the rest of the world seems to fade away in the euphoria of dancing and acting silly.

The others who are dancing and acting silly are likely other members of the strict society, also escaping to be themselves for a short time. Their identities may or may not be kept secret, it is no implied anywhere in the song, but I find secret identities more likely.

Once the true nature of the society is revealed, one can now see that the first lyrics are not of bigotry, but rather he does not want to risk the safety of the hidden society by including those who would not dance and be silly, or perhaps they are even spies.

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

This further drags out the meaning of the rest of the world fading away as they dance, everything else seems unimportant, as they are having so much fun and all their worries wash away. However, the tone seems to indicate that this is a false sense of security, and that they are indeed abusing and overdoing it, and it will not, in fact, work out right, and they are going to lose it, they do not have all of "your life and mine".

It takes a depressing turn as they subconsciously admit to themselves that it will not last. In educating the new member, they have a horrible realization that their way of life can't last forever.

The rest of the song is repetition of "Oh yes its safe to dance" "Its the safety dance" and things of that nature.

The reason for the name of the song becomes evident, the dance provides a sense of security and safety, hence: The Safety Dance.

However, it is a false sense of security as noted, and the whole song is perhaps a commentary (by exaggeration) on the social fads and peer pressure of modern society (or rather, 80s society, as that is when the song was written.) and the almost totalitarian nature of social groups and cliques.

It begins silly and evolves (or rather, devolves, depending on your point of view) into a social commentary, or perhaps just a work of fiction, about a world where things are bad and people need to escape. Perhaps with equivalencies and exaggerations to our society, and/or perhaps others, maybe even other fictional ones.

Martyr · 01-08-2009, 04:06 PM

I am trying to write a thesis to get into a graduate school, and I cannot think of a dang think worth talking about that has to do with literature.

I have The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in front of me and all it's infinite topics, and I swear I can't think of ANYTHING. Meanwhile, you have written a veritable page of solid, albeit nonsensical, analysis of this 80s pop song so flawlessly and analytically that I worry whatever I write for my 10 odd pages could be fazed out by your BS.

I could cry.

But I suppose you did a fine job here.

I'm going back to hell where I can study and work some more.

TDK · 01-23-2009, 11:07 PM

Damn, I didn't see that post until just now. XD

Thanks!

Kaneda · 01-25-2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martyr

I have The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in front of me and all it's infinite topics, and I swear I can't think of ANYTHING. Meanwhile, you have written a veritable page of solid, albeit nonsensical, analysis of this 80s pop song so flawlessly and analytically that I worry whatever I write for my 10 odd pages could be fazed out by your BS.

You can write 10 pages on how big a dick Tom Sawyer is.

Also excellent analysis of Safety Dance, I always felt there was a correlation between their lack of hats and the song's themes.

Ex. 68471 · 01-28-2009, 05:38 PM

Of course, this begs the question, "Will you do more dissections?"

Damaged · 01-30-2009, 12:24 AM

I daresay, Tee-Dee-Kay. You've proven yourself to be quite the surgeon, leaving no minuscule detail to assumption. Do keep them coming if it suits you. Cracked, yet educated minds like my own love the occasional keen observation of properly gutted lyrics.

Patrat · 01-30-2009, 01:59 PM

This is a very silleh place.
If i remember correctly, I heard from my videography teacher that this song was actually an outcry against "Slam-dancing", also known as moshing. If you've ever been in a mosh pit, you know an ass or two is getting kicked.
This is simply a response saying, "we don't have to injure ourselves to dance"

Fun stuff.

TDK · 01-30-2009, 07:16 PM

I've heard real (read: non-silly) interpretations ranging from speaking out against slam-dancing, to not liking skinheads, to it just being about Swinging.

Mine is no less relevant!

I hadn't planned to do more. :P Perhaps. I hadn't thought of it.

Damaged · 01-30-2009, 08:42 PM

I still like the song the same, but I won't stop moshing. Evar. As for silly and non-silly interpretations, I find them both to be worthwhile when it comes to songs that can't be easily interpreted. People who use their imagination remind me that I can use my own.

Mondt · 01-30-2009, 08:57 PM

What's so unsafe about a bunch of people smashing into each other?

I mean they help each other up!

Totally okay!

XD

Edit: Safety Dance = Circle mosh.

...

I kid. =p

12-29-2008, 02:41 PM	#1
TDK Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Reality Posts: 2,914	Dissecting song lyrics: The Safety Dance. This isn't meant to be taken seriously, obviously. The song. (And the video, wherein the main guy looks like me, as my friend pointed out. o.O ) First, the name of the band: Men Without Hats. What this implies is that there existed an era where the norm was for men to wear hats. That is a world I want to live in. Not because of any particular inclination to wear hats (in fact, I rarely wear hats) but because society and fashion having an inclination toward a certain item of clothing (especially the hat, which is a silly and awesome piece of clothing all at the same time and in essence.) to the degree that it is considered abnormal to LACK that piece of clothing, so that one would have to specify men WITHOUT hats, is awesome. (Run on sentence FTW. :P) So in this world, the name Men Without Hats is the rough equivalent of Men Without PANTS. ...And that should be a band name too. For those wondering why: It is an item of clothing which, for the most part, signifies some kind of rank or career position (pirate, for example.). In addition to this, you wear it by placing it on your head. If the placing it on your head isn't silly enough, it more often than not represents something in an official capacity. It is a silly piece of clothing. Anyway, on to the Safety Dance: The lyrics. 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 are no friends of mine This guy is very bigoted. Or at least he sticks to his convictions to a very great degree. He is actually willing to end a relationship based on whether or not the potential friend dances or not. This guy is awesome. I 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 Now with the opening lyrics, the song would appear to be silly and facetious, but as it goes on it appeals more to the free nature of the listener and addresses real issues and things, the way the world should be and what people should do, but it sadly isn't and they do not. And yet he continues to do whatever he likes regardless. In this case, leave the area wherein people are not dancing, find another place where people don't know you and act however you like, be yourself because in this separate area, where people will likely never see you again, you can behave how you like with no long-term repercussions. This again goes back to the name of the band. Men Without Hats. A deviation from the social norm, the lack of a hat. Having abandoned the place where people do not dance, and finding another where people don't know him, he is free to act how he likes, dance, act silly, and as long as this act, being yourself and being free, is kept up, the rest of the world doesn't matter, its all distant and gone. And yet eventually, he must go back to the norm, but there are still times when he can escape, dance, act silly and be himself. To be a man without a hat. Ah we can go when we want to the 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 This elaborates farther on the meaning of the previously stated meanings in the song. The escaping of the normal world is done at night, as one might have guessed. And along with the acting silly and dancing, he dresses oddly as well, and surprises the normal denizens of the area he escapes to with a loud cry, possibly a greeting or something. I say we can act if want to if we don't nobody will And you can act real rude and totally removed And I can act like an imbecile I say we can dance, we can dance everything out control We can dance, we can dance were doing it wall to wall We can dance, we can dance everybody look at your hands We can dance, we can dance everybody takin' the chance Safety dance Here he seems to be elaborating further on it, possibly to another party, another potential man without a hat. He specifies, you can act rude or antisocial or stupid, and no one will care, or at least it does not matter in the long run because no one knows you there. He goes on to state several times that dancing is acceptable. The normal society in this world requires strict adherence to laws, it seems. No dancing, hats are required, etc. A strange distopian, possibly totalitarian society. However, the statement "everybody taking the chance" indicates that there is a chance of being caught for the transgressions of dancing and acting silly, so perhaps it is a sort of underground movement or clandestine society, where they gather to dance and act silly, as previously established. But contrary to what is initially implied, they may not be safe and in a completely different area or world. Rather, the rest of the world seems to fade away in the euphoria of dancing and acting silly. The others who are dancing and acting silly are likely other members of the strict society, also escaping to be themselves for a short time. Their identities may or may not be kept secret, it is no implied anywhere in the song, but I find secret identities more likely. Once the true nature of the society is revealed, one can now see that the first lyrics are not of bigotry, but rather he does not want to risk the safety of the hidden society by including those who would not dance and be silly, or perhaps they are even spies. 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 This further drags out the meaning of the rest of the world fading away as they dance, everything else seems unimportant, as they are having so much fun and all their worries wash away. However, the tone seems to indicate that this is a false sense of security, and that they are indeed abusing and overdoing it, and it will not, in fact, work out right, and they are going to lose it, they do not have all of "your life and mine". It takes a depressing turn as they subconsciously admit to themselves that it will not last. In educating the new member, they have a horrible realization that their way of life can't last forever. The rest of the song is repetition of "Oh yes its safe to dance" "Its the safety dance" and things of that nature. The reason for the name of the song becomes evident, the dance provides a sense of security and safety, hence: The Safety Dance. However, it is a false sense of security as noted, and the whole song is perhaps a commentary (by exaggeration) on the social fads and peer pressure of modern society (or rather, 80s society, as that is when the song was written.) and the almost totalitarian nature of social groups and cliques. It begins silly and evolves (or rather, devolves, depending on your point of view) into a social commentary, or perhaps just a work of fiction, about a world where things are bad and people need to escape. Perhaps with equivalencies and exaggerations to our society, and/or perhaps others, maybe even other fictional ones. Last edited by TDK; 12-29-2008 at 02:45 PM.

01-08-2009, 04:06 PM	#2
Martyr Whatever Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Around. Here, there... Posts: 838	I am trying to write a thesis to get into a graduate school, and I cannot think of a dang think worth talking about that has to do with literature. I have The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in front of me and all it's infinite topics, and I swear I can't think of ANYTHING. Meanwhile, you have written a veritable page of solid, albeit nonsensical, analysis of this 80s pop song so flawlessly and analytically that I worry whatever I write for my 10 odd pages could be fazed out by your BS. I could cry. But I suppose you did a fine job here. I'm going back to hell where I can study and work some more. __________________ Behold the Nightmare

01-28-2009, 05:38 PM	#5
Ex. 68471 Nice going, numbnuts! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Look out your window. Posts: 282	Of course, this begs the question, "Will you do more dissections?" __________________ Experiments 68469, 68470, and 68472 were perfect successes. I am Experiment 68471, the catastrophic failure. "Hi, we're America! We built monster trucks for fun! We developed top-fuel dragsters that go from 0 to 330 miles per hour in 5 seconds 'cause, well, we were bored! Piss us off, and see what we build!"

01-23-2009, 11:07 PM	#3
TDK Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Reality Posts: 2,914	Damn, I didn't see that post until just now. XD Thanks!

01-30-2009, 12:24 AM	#6
Damaged Born Fallen Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Isolated Posts: 59	I daresay, Tee-Dee-Kay. You've proven yourself to be quite the surgeon, leaving no minuscule detail to assumption. Do keep them coming if it suits you. Cracked, yet educated minds like my own love the occasional keen observation of properly gutted lyrics.

01-30-2009, 01:59 PM	#7
Patrat D8 Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 732	This is a very silleh place. If i remember correctly, I heard from my videography teacher that this song was actually an outcry against "Slam-dancing", also known as moshing. If you've ever been in a mosh pit, you know an ass or two is getting kicked. This is simply a response saying, "we don't have to injure ourselves to dance" Fun stuff.

01-30-2009, 07:16 PM	#8
TDK Sent to the cornfield Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Reality Posts: 2,914	I've heard real (read: non-silly) interpretations ranging from speaking out against slam-dancing, to not liking skinheads, to it just being about Swinging. Mine is no less relevant! I hadn't planned to do more. :P Perhaps. I hadn't thought of it.

01-30-2009, 08:42 PM	#9
Damaged Born Fallen Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Isolated Posts: 59	I still like the song the same, but I won't stop moshing. Evar. As for silly and non-silly interpretations, I find them both to be worthwhile when it comes to songs that can't be easily interpreted. People who use their imagination remind me that I can use my own.