Artists
Musicians featured in this piece are:
David Bowie – lead vocals, horn arrangements
Nile Rodgers – rhythm guitar, horn arrangements
Stevie Ray Vaughan – lead guitar
Carmine Rojas – bass guitar
Erdal Kızılçay – keyboard bass
Rob Sabino – keyboards, piano
Omar Hakim – drums
Sammy Figueroa – percussion
Mac Gollehon – trumpet
Robert Aaron, Stan Harrison, Steve Elson – saxophone
Written by David Bowie. Produced by David Bowie & Nile Rodgers, engineered/mixed by Bob Clearmountain, recorded December 1982–9 January 1983 at The Power Station, New York City.
“Let’s Dance” was written at Bowie’s home in Lausanne, Switzerland, originally conceived as a sparse folk-rock piece he played for Nile Rodgers on a 12-string guitar strung with only six strings. Rodgers, initially skeptical it could work as dance music, reworked the arrangement into a funkier, more commercial direction — shifting the key, inverting the chords, and adding upstrokes with help from engineer Bob Clearmountain. The track introduced then largely unknown Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan to a mainstream audience; the two reportedly had a falling-out shortly after recording, centered on a personal dispute, and Vaughan went uncredited in the original liner notes despite his guitar work being central to the song.
David Bowie – Let’s Dance Lyrics
Ah, ah, ah, ah
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance) put on your red shoes and dance the blues
(Let’s dance) to the song they’re playing on the radio
(Let’s sway) while colour lights up your face
(Let’s sway) sway through the crowd to an empty space
If you say run, I’ll run with you
And if you say hide, we’ll hide
Because my love for you would break my heart in two
If you should fall, into my arms and tremble like a flower
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance) for fear your grace should fall
(Let’s dance) for fear tonight is all
(Let’s sway) you could look into my eyes
(Let’s sway) under the moonlight, this serious moonlight
And if you say run, I’ll run with you
And if you say hide, we’ll hide
Because my love for you would break my heart in two
If you should fall, into my arms and tremble like a flower
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance) put on your red shoes and dance the blues
(Let’s dance) to the song we’re playing
(Let’s sway)
(Let’s sway) under the moonlight, this serious moonlight
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s)
(Let’s)
(Let’s)
(Let’s sway)
(Let’s)
Let’s dance, let’s dance, let’s dance, let’s dance, let’s dance
(Let’s dance)
Let’s sway
Let’s sway
Let’s dance, let’s dance, let’s dance, let’s dance, let’s dance
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance)
(Let’s dance)
To listen to other songs from the Teleskop 18 program and the full program, click here.