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And There Was Dancing

from iTom 3​.​0: True Love Waits by Tom Smith

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about

I wanted to have this one done for a friend's wedding several years ago. She's a sweet lady, prone to mood swings, and there was one convention we were both at where she was really down. I did my best to cheer her up, but I was still kinda worried about her until later in the weekend when I was having a conversation in the hall, and she suddenly skipped through, half-singing, "... and there was dancing... and there was dancing...." It was adorable, and I knew that someday it would become a song. This is not the song I envisioned, but it started with that -- so, Becky, this is for you.

lyrics

The band was tuning,
The crowd was waiting,
To take advantage of the moment or to
Quickly step aside.

It's always like this,
Some hesitating,
Some all too eager to display themselves,
Some trying just to hide.

I felt unguarded,
A bit unsteady.
There are two kinds of people in the world and
I'm the other kind.

The music started,
And some were ready,
The only way to miss the tension was to
Be both deaf and blind.

And there was dancing,
And there was singing,
And there was magic in the air between two
People who'd just met

And there was laughter,
And gentle clinging,
And there was everything I wanted but could
Never hope to get

And there was style,
And there was fashion,
And there were all too many years of practice
Moving to that beat

And there was romance,
And there was passion,
And there was me along the sidelines with my
Shabby self-esteem and two left feet.


She was amazing,
Such graceful motion.
I wondered what would her reaction be if
He should miss a step..

He was fantastic.
I had the notion
That he would not take it so kindly if
She wasn't so adept.

And all around them
Were other dancers,
Some concentrating on their own moves and
Some trying to cut in

And on the sidelines
We stood and watched them,
Wishing we could go and join them, with no
Clue how to begin.

And then it ended,
All too abruptly,
The dancers all looked disappointed but at
Last they left the floor

The music started,
This time more slowly,
And with a little hesitation first one
Couple then some more

All started dancing,
It wasn't graceful,
Maybe not poetry in motion but at
Least a trembling verse.

It wasn't stylish,
It wasn't tasteful,
But it had all of the emotion that gets
Lost when you rehearse.

Then I felt someone
Tap on my shoulder,
And I turned to see her smiling,
Shyly holding out her hand.

This was my moment
For being bolder,
So I said, "I am only watching and I
Hope you understand

We're not all dancing,
We're not all singing,
But there are times we move our feet a bit
And maybe hum the tune.

Some are performing,
Some are bench-warming,
Some people must be social butterflies, some
Stay in their cocoon

And, while I thank you,
I am not dancing,
Maybe some other time we'll have a turn but
I'll sit this one out."

But she kept smiling,
And sat beside me,
She said, "Sometimes you take a break to keep it
Special, that's what dancing's all about --"

credits

from iTom 3​.​0: True Love Waits, released May 11, 2007

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Weird Al with more books, JoCo with more jokes, Carlin with more Cthulhu. Since 1985, Tom Smith has been breaking hearts, minds, and laws of propriety and physics with his insane blend of sf/fantasy, Life With Computers, pop culture, politics, and puns. More than twenty albums later, he maintains the best is yet to come. ... more

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