So, I kinda caught it the other day, that in "All The Critics Love U In New York," Prince says the line,

Look out all U hippies, U ain't as sharp as me
It ain't about the trippin', but the sexuality
Turn it up!
U can dance if U want 2

It was obviously recorded a couple of years, at least, before Madonna's "Into The Groove," where she starts the song with the invitation, "and you can dance."

Knowing M fashioned a lot of her earlier career after Prince (self-admittedly so), I've sorta wondered if the phrase was a total coincidence, or if she (and co-writer Stephen Bray) lifted that just out of whatever to use for "Into The Groove."

Feels more like a coincidence since Prince's song wasn't a single or played on radio enough for anyone to really notice or pick up on that phrase.

Thoughts?

ATCLYINY was the B-side to some issues of Little Red Corvette at the time. So it's not like it ws *that* under the radar.
It's really not an uncommon phrase. It's in songs by The Drifters, Men Witout Hats and others.

Don't get me started on "Safety Dance." I still fucking love that song.

ABBA was signing "you can dance, you can jive..." on Dancing Queen way before Prince so I think it is just a coincidence.

I was recently listening to more recent Prince song where he uses the line: "You can dance if you want 2". I knew it was a rehash from a classic song, and it was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't place it... So you just solved the mystery for me, reminding me that it was All the Critics.

... but now I'm drawing a blank on which modern song uses that lyric. It might be Days of Wild Concert Mix (which I recently discoverd and had on repeat... in fact, I'd started another thread about that song).

TrivialPursuit said:

Don't get me started on "Safety Dance." I still fucking love that song.

"Yooo cahn dahnce if yooo wahnnooo..."

nayroo2002 said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Don't get me started on "Safety Dance." I still fucking love that song.

"Yooo cahn dahnce if yooo wahnnooo..."

S S s s A A a a F F f f E E e e Tee ee eee Dance-dance-dance.

The lyric is so funny.

You can dance if you want to

You can leave your friends behind

Your friends don't dance

and if they don't dance

then they're no friends of mine