"The Dance" is a song written by

Tony Arata Anthony Michael Arata (born October 10, 1957) is an American singer-songwriter. His best known song is " The Dance", a number-one U.S. country hit for Garth Brooks in 1990 which was nominated at the 33rd Grammy Awards for Best Country Song. He al ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

as the tenth and final track from his self-titled debut album, from which it was also released as the album's fourth and final single in April 1990. It is considered by many to be Brooks'

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. In a 2015 interview with

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a Northern Irish comedian and television personality. Background Kielty was born in County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the village of Dundrum. He is one of three sons born to the businessm ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, Brooks credits the back to back success of both "The Dance" and its follow up " Friends in Low Places" for his phenomenal success.

Background

At the opening of the music video, Brooks explains that the song is written with a

double meaning A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

- both as a love song about the end of a passionate relationship, and a story of someone dying because of something he believes in, after a moment of glory. * Key: G Major * Length - 3:42

Music video

The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by

John Lloyd Miller John Lloyd Miller is an American filmmaker who has directed, produced and/or written music videos, short films, features, documentaries, commercials and television programming. Career Miller has worked in virtually every aspect of the film an ...

, features an introduction by Brooks himself explaining the alternative meaning of the song. The video shows several American icons and examples of people who died for a dream. These include archive footage of the following: *

Lane Frost Lane Clyde Frost (October 12, 1963 – July 30, 1989) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull ride ...

- World Champion Bull rider, who was killed in 1989 by the bull he rode for a full eight seconds during a rodeo. *

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death. ...

- Country singer who died in 1989 from

alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

. The Whitley scenes featured his then-wife Lorrie Morgan. * Martin Luther King Jr. -

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

who is best known for his involvement in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

and was

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in 1968. * The crew of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', shortly before it disintegrated after its launch in 1986. *

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

who was

in 1963. *

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

- Film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

best known for his roles in Westerns. It was awarded Video of the Year at the 1990 ACM Music Awards.

Chart performance

On the

Billboard Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart, The Dance reached number one and remained there for three consecutive weeks until it was knocked off by "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

" by Dan Seals

Release and reception

Released near the beginning of his career, "The Dance" was a hit single around the world, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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, and

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, charting inside the British pop

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

. In 1990, it was named both Song of the Year and Video of the Year by the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

. It was awarded the number 14 position in the CMT ''100 Greatest Songs of Country Music'' broadcast in 2003 and also the number 5 position on the network's ''The Greatest: 100 Greatest Music Videos'' special in 2004. In a 1994 ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' interview, Brooks said, "unless I am totally surprised, The Dance will be the greatest success as a song we will ever do. I'll go to my grave with The Dance. It'll probably always be my favorite song." In 2001, after the death of Dale Earnhardt, Brooks was invited to the NASCAR awards ceremony that was honoring Earnhardt to play the song as a tribute. The song has been used as several country stations' last song before changing formats. It was also the second song to be played on UK station

Country 1035 Country 1035 was a country music based Independent Local Radio station based in London, England. History After airing test transmissions the first voice officially heard on air was the station's chairman John Wellington. In his opening words ...

, the first being another Brooks number. On February 6, 2014, "The Dance" was performed by Brooks on the final episode of ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on NBC.

Track listing

U.S. 7-inch promotional single Capitol Nashville NR-44629, 1990 # "The Dance" - 3:37 # "The Dance" U.S. 7" jukebox single Liberty S7-17441-A, 1990 # "The Dance" - 3:41 # "If Tomorrow Never Comes" U.K. CD single Capitol CDCLS-735, 1993
Disc 1 # "The Dance" # " Friends in Low Places" # "Victim of the Game" # "Kickin' & Screamin' Disc 2 # "The Dance" # "Friends in Low Places" # "The River" (live acoustic version)

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Rockell version

"The Dance" is the fifth single in the overall discography of American

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recording artist Rockell. It is the first single she released from her second album, '' Instant Pleasure''. There was no video made for this single.

Track listing

US CD single

Chart positions

References

External links

"The Dance" lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dance, The 1990 singles 2000 singles Country ballads 1990s ballads Garth Brooks songs Rockell songs Songs written by Tony Arata Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds Capitol Records Nashville singles Music videos directed by John Lloyd Miller 1989 songs