First of all, let's be clear about one thing: I'm talking here about the long version of the song. (On the cd I got it from, it's called the "Original Aussie version.") Why does it have to be the long version? Because only the long version features the spelling out of the word S-A-F-E-T-Y. Also, only the long version features the nice little repetitive synthesizer riff. It's gotta be the long version.
Men Without Hats are a Canadian group featuring three brothers, Ivan, Stefan and Colin Dodoschuk. Yes, that's right, I said Dodoschuk! For a time there was some confusion between Men At Work and Men Without Hats. Maybe they should have just called themselves Dodoschuk or The Dodoschuk Brothers.
This is most definitely a "wheelhouse" song. The summer of 1983? That's right in my wheelhouse.
If I were ever in charge of the music at a major NFL stadium (it could happen), I'd be sure to play "Safety Dance" every time the home team scored a safety. I'd also instruct the cheerleaders to try to lead the crowd into doing a dance featuring the NFL signal for a safety. (The fact that not every NFL stadium music coordinator does this is a sad statement on the state of our American culture.)
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| You can dance if you want to. (And feel free to smile, too.) |
And now, because nobody asked for it, my Top 8 songs that spell out words:
8. "Method of Modern Love" by Hall and Oates. (It gets demerits for not spelling out the word "Modern.")
7. "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole.
6. "ROCK In the USA" by John Cougar Mellencamp.
5. "Lola" by The Kinks.
4. "RESPECT" by Aretha Franklin. (Sock it to me, sock it to me.)
3. "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers.
2. "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats.
1. "Pocatello" by the Parrish Sisters. (It's an obscure song known probably only by the Parrish Sisters, their immediate families, and me. The lyrics go, "P-O-C-A-T-E-L-L-O in I-D-A-H-O, Pocatello is the place for you and me…Every heart returns to Pocatello.")
COMING UP NEXT: Love: What's wrong with that?
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