Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Safety Dance" (Men Without Hats)

Welcome to Tuesday!!! The best day of the week!!!  On Tuesday, it's too late to have the back to work blues and it's too early to be workin' for the weekend.  So enjoy!!! Revel in the splendor that is Tuesday!!!  In fact, you can dance if you want to...

Men Without Hats - "The Safety Dance"

It is amazing what 1 major US hit can do for you.  For Canadian band Men Without Hats, it can mean the release of 6 more studio albums and 5 greatest hit/compilation albums.  That's right.  Men Without Hats, the artists behind "The Safety Dance", long thought of as one hit wonders,  have 12 full length albums and 2 EPs.  I guess hitting #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Dance Chart, can provide some longevity in the record making universe. 

Legends abound regarding "The Safety Dance".  But in reality it is a simple protest song.  No, it is not a song about "safe sex" (the only true "safe sex" is in the context of a man and woman's happy marriage).  It also is not a song about nuclear disarmament.  In truth, it was written as a result of lead singer Ivan Doroschuk being kicked out of a dance club for "pogoing". "We can dance if we want to..."  This was a style of dance popular in the early to mid 80's that became the precursor for modern day mosh pits. (see a local teenager for a description of "mosh pits")  It was a dance performed by standing straight and bouncing around as if on a pogo stick.  Considered quite annoying in the day, it was frowned upon by many dance clubs in the 1980's as the performers would usually bump into other patrons, thus disturbing their ability to dance when they wanted to.  "We can act like we come from out of this world and leave the real one far behind."  

As with many other popular songs of the decade of our youth, the music video for "The Safety Dance" aided in propelling  the song to its eventual chart success.  While positioning  your arms to form an "S" never really caught on as a dance craze, the infectious synth melody, the unique madrigal setting and quirky behavior of the main characters in the video immediately drew the viewers attention.  In fact, there are several blog posts dedicated to the video and its characters.  You can read one of them here:

"You Can Dance If You Want To" - blogpost

It is difficult to explain why "The Safety Dance" became as popular as it did.  It is neither lyrically nor musically deep.  But there is a catch to it that begs the listener/watcher to continue imbibing in the nuances of its synthesized fun.  I want to be more like that.  I want to be so much fun that I attract people.  I want to dance when I want to and have people asking why I'm dancing.  You see, if I can get someone to ask me why I am so joyful, I get the opportunity to answer.  

In the King James Version of the Bible, "dance" or one of its derivatives is mentioned 19 times.  Each time, this word is mentioned in a positive manner.  But like so many of the wonderful things God created, man has perverted this expression of praise into something that is not praiseworthy.  Dancing, while not the true point of our blog today, can be utilized in the language of our worship lives to express what God has done for us.  This statement of praise should be bold enough to attract the attention of others.  It serves as an act demonstrating the celebration of our restoration to God through Jesus.  As we articulate our joy, an excitement about being one with the Father abounds.  Our focus shifts from our outward actions to our inward change.   Jesus becomes more and we become less.  


Matthew records Jesus putting it this way in his Gospel account: 

Matthew 5:16

^14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.  - The Message (MSG)


The people we intersect with every day have an opportunity to see our "light", or see us dance if we want to.  They watch how we react to frustrations and disappointments.  We reflect the "Lord of the Dance" as we live in our daily circumstances.  Does your "little light" shine through those days?  Will the people around you today "see your good works and give glory to our Father in heaven"?  Or do you dance a "safety dance" instead of pogoing..."we can dance, we can dance, everything out of control...."


What might that kind of life look like?  It might look something like this:



"To Thee Be The Glory" - lyrics by Tommy Walker with an assist by lifewayworship



'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy