Dancin' In The Streets

Lyrics: Marvin Gaye, William Stevenson
Music: Marvin Gaye, William Stevenson

Dancing, dancing, dancing in the streets
Dancing, dancing, dancing in the streets

Come alive around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
For dancing in the street
They're dancing in Chicago
Dancing in the street
Down in New Orleans now
Dancing in the street
In New York City
Dancing in the street

Chorus
All we need is music, sweet music
Sweet, sweet music
And there'll be music everywhere
Everywhere
There'll be laughing, singing and music swinging
And dancing in the street
It doesn't matter what you wear
Just as long as you are there
C'mon every guy, grab a girl
Everywhere around the world
And there'll be dancing
Dancing in the street

This is an invitation across the nation
A chance for folks to meet
There'll be swinging, swaying and music playing
And dancing in the street
Philadelphia PA
Dancing in the streets
Baltimore and DC now
Dancing in the streets
Can't forget the Motor City
Dancing in the streets

[chorus]

1. The opening "Dancing, Dancing" lines are only present in performances from 1976 onwards.

2. The band often sang "Coming out" or "Calling out" instead of "Come alive."

3. On at least one occasion, the band sang "spring is here" instead of "summer's here."

4. On at least one occasion, the band sang "It's the winter of the year but the time's still here" instead of "'Cause summer's here and the time is right."

5. Performances from 1977 lack the "Dancing in the streets" refrains that are sang in between verse lines.

6. In performances from 1976 onwards, the chorus is sometimes sang with the "Dancing in the streets" refrain repeated numerous times.

7. In early performances, the band sometimes sang "records playing" instead of "music playing."

8. Early performances concluded with a verse not heard in later performances:

Down in LA every day
Dancing in the street
Big long line, get in time
Dancing in the street
Across the ocean blue, New York too
Dancing in the street
Yeah all round the world, boys and girls
Dancing in the street