We may not be wearing perfect shoes
We may not know sophisticated moves
We may not begin from a graceful stance
But in the end we’re going to start to dance

We may be standing in a public place
Careful clothing, proper public faces
When the social situation says we can’t
Right about then, we’re going to start to dance

And the ghost of something gone
Is going to try our bodies on
And break a smile a mile wide
When we dance to save our lives
When we dance to save our lives

Every limb long atrophied away
Will be brought back from the dead that day
Every ego, cool and in control, will suddenly be
Doing the Tango, doing the Do-Si-Do

After every remedy of an intellectual sort
We will dance a desperate dance, a dance of last resort
And it won’t matter what kind of degrees we hold
We’ll be relying on what we do not know

And the ghost of something gone
Is going to try our bodies on
And holler “hey, it’s about time”
When we dance to save our lives

And the ghost of something gone
Is going to try our bodies on
Exclaiming “hallelujah child!”
When we dance to save our lives
When we dance to save our lives