having trouble telling
how i feel
but i can dance, dance, dance
couldn't possibly tell you
how i mean
but i can dance, dance, dance

so when i trip on my feet
look at the beat
it was all
written in the sand
when i'm shaking my hips
look for the swing
it was all
written in the air

oh dance
i was a dancer all along
dance, dance, dance
words can never make up for what you do

easy conversations,
there's no such thing
oh, i'm shy, shy, shy
my hips they lie
'cause in reality, aye
i'm shy shy shy

when i trip on my feet
look at the ground
the words are
written in the dust
well i'm shaking my hips
look for the swing
the words are
written in the air

oh dance
i was a dancer all along
dance, dance, dance
now words can never make up for what you do

oh dance
i was a dancer all along
dance, dance, dance
now words can never make up for what you do



Lyrics submitted by solvent_d

Track duration: 03:41


Dance, Dance, Dance song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • +1
    My Interpretation:Geez had to create an account because I was astounded by the lack of different comments on here. Maybe I am wrong, maybe you guys are right and Lykke li's songs are all about sex and metaphors, every single one of them but I would imagine not.


    Lykke has mentioned several times in interviews that she is a dancer, that she likes to dance this is confirmed by those who have seen her live, or to just look at her videos.
    Dancing is a form of expression,creation and an art just like music, acting, painting etc. What I personally believe she is describing is that alot of creative people find it much easier to express themselves through their art, sometimes the artists creative side is far more expressive and confident than they are in relationships and 'real life' situations.
    Dancing can tell you alot about a person, like a persons drawing style or music. This is how souls speak their deepest primal urges and desires merging with physical form.

    So from that, I think she is finding it difficult to tell somebody how she feels about them, not a straightforward situation, maybe the person is in a relationship with somebody else or has been a friend for years so she is finding it hard to tell them, or maybe she just finds telling anybody that she likes them romantically difficult. So she is describing each movement of the dance is dediated to that special person, her emotions are raging throughout the dance directed at that particular person. Think of animal mating dances or territorial.

    'the words are in the air' 'words can never make up for what you do' She is saying that the human language will never be enough in expressing how she feels about this person and she can only express thoses feelings through dance. It is the fustration of knowing how badly you feel for someone and not being able to tell them so putting everything into creative works and hoping they figure it all out through the riddles.


    I love this song, something about all of lykkes songs are new and modern but at the same time have deep primative spiritual type feel to them and yet the melodies are usually so simple and to those who care not to look any deeper can easily be seen as another puppy eyed lolli-pop star. Clever girl.

    Just my interpertation from a fellow artist
    Flag Littlestarshapedpooon December 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i believe this song can be about love and intimacy. for me though it describes who i am in every way. i have bad social anxiety. i find it very difficult to express myself in words. but ive been dancing for 16 years and when im on that stage im fearless. it's the only way i know to express myself.
    Flag alanakatelynon November 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is about oral sex. "Dance" is a metaphor for fellatio in sweden. Initially she says: "i'm shy, shy, shy" but by the end "now words can never make up for what you do" which means it cannot be put in to words how good her performance was

    Flagged russycarpson August 17, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:For me, this is definitely just about the feeling dancing gives you. I guess I think lots of people feel kind of free and can express themselves so easily in dance rather than in words. It can be therapeutic when you're upset as fuck to dance. Also absolutely understand how you can be shy and yet dancing has the illusion that you are confident. Who you are when you dance, might not be the same person.
    Flag Sarenaon September 03, 2010   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation:I believe the meaning is much more simple...
    Dancing is like a metaphor... or maybe for the singer it's literally dancing, but 'dancing', I believe, is what makes us free, confortable, is what makes us who we are.
    She's shy and has troubles getting the message across so she does what she does best, she dances, hoping that he will understand the message. She's telling him to look for the message, "it's written in the dust/air/sand."
    Saying she was a dancer "all along", probably means she had tried various other methods to express until she finally found dancing.
    In "Words can never make up for what you do", she's alluding once again to her lack of expressivenes (if that's even a word). She feels so strongly, words cannot say what she feels, so she dances, and hopes to convey that beautiful message; cause really, once you find what your 'dancing' is, everything seems so much easier.
    Flag SeventhMoonchildon May 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:the wave reference is perfect; the consistent strum from the snare in the background is perfect rhythm, like waves crashing. towards the end of the video, the chalk-written words "dance dance dance" even look like waves

    alright,

    so i think the conversation (from my perspective) is about being Lost, MotionLess in your own mind. suddenly you notice how lost/numb you are: "having trouble telling..how i feel" & "couldn't possibly tell you..how i mean." after physically Tripping on your own feet, "the words are..written in the sand." & when Swinging back & forth on a swing, "the words are..written in the air." there's almost a nostalgic, child-like quality to everything presented here, like being numb from parental divorce or rape or something equally tragic when young.

    the clear remedy? DANCE. dancing is something that is purely natural, like crashing waves or the numerous references to sand, air, dust, sky, etc. Dance is the physical embodiment of letting all of the eternal over-thinking GO & letting true feeling into your consciousness through the vessel of the body.

    also, in reference: "easy conversations, there's no such thing..oh, i'm shy, shy, shy..my hips they lie..'cause in reality, aye..i'm shy shy shy." talking is worse than thinking, because it requires gathering all of the overcrowded thoughts in the brain out & makes clear concise thoughts difficult..leading to shyness. to compensate, the physical movement comes into play..

    --
    oppositely, it may be the LACK of thoughts that instigates dance. surely, like most songs, a number of interpretations can arise because people have an intricate way of twisting language into their own meaning...which can be either beautiful or tragic or meaningless or effective.

    ..and i'd have to say this song has stimulated my mind by imaging & dreaming of this peaceful (peace through slight repetition) world. :-)

    "dance dance dance"
    Flag citythinkeron April 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this is great!
    Flag sux4uuon April 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh... what a lovely song. So innocent. So sweet.
    Flag sugarhiccupson January 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh yeah... this verse;

    easy conversations,
    there's no such thing
    oh, i'm shy, shy, shy
    my hips they lie
    'cause in reality, aye
    i'm shy shy shy

    I think it's a comment on how people assume enthusiastic dancers are extroverts, while she is actually shy.
    Flag sibilationon January 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It's a kinda funny song, saying that she can best describe how she feels by dancing, because she's shy... but a song is obviously made up of words.
    Flag sibilationon January 14, 2010   Link

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