Come Dancing

Album: State of Confusion (1982)
Charted: 12 6
Play Video
  • They put a parking lot on a piece of land
    Where the supermarket used to stand
    Before that they put up a bowling alley
    On the site that used to be the local palais
    That's where the big bands used to come and play
    My sister went there on a Saturday

    Come dancing
    All her boyfriends used to come and call
    Why not come dancing?
    It's only natural

    Another Saturday, another date
    She would be ready but she's always make them wait
    In the hallway, in anticipation
    He didn't know the night would end up in frustration
    He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week
    All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek

    Come dancing
    That's how they did it when I was just a kid
    And when they said "come dancing"
    My sister always did

    My sister should have come in at midnight
    And my mum would always sit up and wait
    It always ended up in a big row
    When my sister used to get home late

    Out of my window, I could see them in the moonlight
    Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate

    The day they knocked down the palais
    My sister stood and cried
    The day they knocked down the palais
    Part of my childhood died, just died

    Now I'm grown up and playing in a band
    And there's a car park where the palais used to stand
    My sister's married and she lives on an estate
    Her daughters go out, now it's her turn to wait
    She knows they get away with things she never could
    But if I asked her, I wonder if she would

    Come dancing
    Come on, sister, have yourself a ball
    Don't be afraid to come dancing
    It's only natural

    Come dancing
    Just like the palais on a Saturday
    And all her friends would come dancing
    While the big bands used to play Writer/s: Ray Davies
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 20

  • Displaced Canadian from Dallas, TxThe palais in the video is the old Ilford Palais, 246 High Street, Ilford. It was demolished in 2007 and replaced by a generic apartment building. At 0:52 the building is at 90 High Street, London at the corner of Hillfield Avenue. The building is still there and recognizable, though it is now "Ellie's Hair Studio" not "Keevans". The house scenes in the video were done in a studio.
  • Penelope Ray from Minnesota UsaI just learned that my hometown’s 100 year old dancehall will be torn down soon so this song brings tears to my eyes.
  • Rob S from HampshireThese are supposed to be official lyrics but they are simply wrong if you examine the official sheet music and listen to the song.
    Its "where"the supermarket used to stand not "when" and the line about her daughters getting away with things she never could is not there and instead there is a line about people who know her now thinking she never could go dancing which leads to the next line where he wonders if in fact he asked her she actually would still go like she always used to. Her old self is still in there somewhere.
    I've seen this with some other classic songs and its irritating esp when the lyrics are so good like this song.
  • Frank D from UsaIt’s only natural
  • Stukka63 from St.augustine, Fla.The brass, now we’re a jammin.
  • Jess from Springfield IlReminds me of Social Distortion
  • Wes from Chula Vista, CaI am convinced this is Ray Davies' finest work...Evocative, poignant, and as Jerry in Brooklyn observed, lyrically sharp...I am happy to find that Ray was so proud of this song...This song is way way way underrated, and I truly feel it sneaks its way into the 80s top 10 list (best songs).
  • Gary from Leicester, United KingdomMarkShark - Pink Floyd had a telephone conversation on The Wall.
  • Jennifer Harris from Grand Blanc, MiI loved this song,it brings back memories of hearing it on the radio.
  • Spanky from Charleston, ScNot nearly as good but still a decent cover is a version by the punk band Good Riddance.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyI liked this song, but really like 'Don't Forget to Dance" just a little bit better....
  • Jerry from Brooklyn, NyThis is a beautiful evocation of childhood memories and lost innocence. It is sad and nostalgic as it recalls the changes at this one street corner in Davies' old neighborhood -- from dancehall (palais) to bowling alley to supermarket to parking lot (carpark). I remember a high school English teacher telling us that the power of poetry was to express a lot of ideas in a few words. The first verse of this song is a perfect demonstration of that idea. I just checked out the original video on youtube. If you've never seen it, go there now! A beautiful experience!
  • Markshark from Denver, CoThis song has what I believe is the first instance of a hit song containing a recording of an actual telephone conversation: there is a section where Ray's sister is being harangued by their mother for staying out late; this was recorded over a long-distance telephone call, as Ray intimated during an interview. An unrelated point: Ray - in his ever-eagerness to promote sexual ambiguity - chuckled about the line when he asks his sister whether she "came dancing", he enjoyed this line and called attention to it in live performances.
  • Michael from San Diego, CaBrilliant, nostalgic tune that take me back in time!
  • Don from B G, KyThis song makes me think of a mariachi band. I guess it must be the horns and guitar.
  • Jeremy from Scottsdale, AzNice, I always wondered what "palais" meant in the song. I thought it was "pally" too and just assumed it was some kind of slang. Great nostalgic song. I'm curious how one piece of land had so many uses. Either Davies is really old and has observed this location over many many years, or they build and tear down buildings faster in this song than they do in America. ; )
  • Ron from Tyler, TxI think the verse at the end where he talks about taking his sister dancing to remind her of the good times is so sweet and loving - just doing something to show someone you care. We all need to do more of that . . .
  • Greg from Alsip, IlA great early MtV Video!!
  • Darrell from EugenePalais? I thought that the dance hall was called the "Pally", as in a British-suonding term for something like a social club. By the way, where I live, lots of historical buildings (but no Victorians) are coming down. I thought that "millennium fever" died with Y2K.
  • Matt from Downers Grove, IlThis song comes up again in the album "Come Dancing With the Kinks."
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