1985 single by Don Henley
"All She Wants to Do Is Dance" is a song written by Danny Kortchmar and performed by Don Henley, co-lead vocalist and drummer for Eagles. It was released as the second single from Henley's second studio solo album, Building the Perfect Beast (1984), and was Henley's sixth solo single overall. It was one of Henley's most commercially successful singles, peaking at No. 9 on Billboard Hot 100 and also became his third song to top the Top Rock Tracks chart.[3]
History
The song critiques the US intervention in Central America, particularly in the then-ongoing Contra War, in which the Reagan administration funded the right-wing rebel group Contras to overthrow the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front government in Nicaragua.
Backing vocals for the song was provided by Patty Smyth of the band Scandal, and Martha Davis, lead singer of the Motels.[4]
When Kortchmar was asked about the song, he said, "I had the groove and the music going. That record was made back when the technology had just started to really take over in music. I had one of the first Yamaha DX7s, which was a keyboard that was used a ton in the '80s, but we ended up luckily getting one of the first ones in the United States. It's a synthesizer keyboard, and I used it to get that sound that you hear the record starting with."[5]
The commercial U.S. 7" vinyl version has a slightly different intro than the LP version from Building the Perfect Beast.
The "protest song" element
This was Henley's attempt at a protest song. When Kortchmar was writing the lyrics, he drew on two specific books for inspiration:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
- Kortchmar said: "You've got this really rich couple that's oblivious to what's going on around them."
The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer (1958)
- Kortchmar said: "A book about Americans coming into third-world countries, and acting like they own the place."
Some very introspective words stood in contrast to a deliciously danceable tune. It explores the idea of escapism and the desire for temporary pleasure and distraction, in the midst of chaos and social injustice around the world. The song addresses various themes including political corruption, rebellion, and the search for excitement and romance.
The song is a scathing takedown of American political apathy and governmental gun-running; it paints a picture of Americans focusing on their own selfish needs amid the Iran-Contra affair of the Reagan administration, and it features allusions to gun-running, and the corrupting influence of money and drugs. The lyrics are often interpreted as a critical observation of the rebel side of youth culture in America -- kids more interested in partying than in their professed aims to change the world. The mid-Reagan years were seen as a period where -- to twist an old metaphor -- Rome fiddled while Nero burned. Every (American) generation has had this said of their own protest movements, from the Yippies of the 1960s to 4chan's "Anonymous" in the early 2000s. Despite this backdrop, there is a woman who only seeks to dance and enjoy herself, emphasizing the desire for temporary relief and entertainment, amidst difficult circumstances.
World events at the time are referenced in the song's lyrics:
They’re pickin’ up the prisoners / and puttin ’em in a pen...
Molotov cocktail, the local drink / They mix ’em up right in the kitchen sink...
Crazy people walkin’ 'round with blood in their eyes...
Wild-eyed pistol wavers who ain’t afraid to die...
Well the government bugged the men’s room / in the local disco lounge
To keep the boys from sellin’ / all the weapons they could scrounge
...and we Americans still have the inclination to do NOTHING. We know there are problems out there -- shady dealings still take place, and Americans might even be in danger -- but too many of us say nothing and do nothing, so we can stay absorbed in our own little worlds, fat and happy, oblivious to crimes, danger, and/or human rights violations. Henley exudes a frustration that so many of us are willing to do nothing -- unless it affects us directly.
The final verse takes a more personal perspective, as the protagonist narrates their departure by flight. They barely make it to the airport, with the people shouting not to return. Despite the negative sentiment, the protagonist suggests that if they were to come back, they'd bring more money. This line could be interpreted as a commentary on the desire for materialistic indulgence and the pursuit of pleasure, overriding social and political consequences. The song ends with these lyrics:
Never mind the heat / comin’ off the street
She wants to party / she wants to get down
All she wants to do is dance / And make romance
All she wants to do is dance
Although it was a protest song, it was also ironically a huge dance hit... and very few Americans noticed the protest nature of the song in the first place.
Critical reception
John Leland from Spin magazine wrote "...this mother whomps from the git with punchy electronic drums and a mix that keeps one foot off the ground for a full seven-and-a-half minutes. Henley's post-hedonist vision of apocalypse is twisted."[6]
Other versions
The single "All She Wanna Do Is Dance" by David Guetta and Niles Mason uses samples of this song.
