Track 9 of Dan Bern's second full-length album, fifty eggs. A live version is featured on the benefit album Last Dance, proceeds of which went to support the now-defunct Iguanaland Cafe, which was a beloved venue of Dan Bern/Bernstein and other independent artists.
Lyrics:
Because I love you
I get tongue tied around you
I never say smart stuff around you
I never say anything around you
That would make you want to be with me
So, because I love you
I will never be with you
There's plenty other people
Who I always find the words for
That I have the sweet gift of gab for
That I'm magical and good for
Who because I do not love them
Always want to be with me
Everything I say is true
So there's nothing we can do
Then what the hell I'll say to you
Let me have one dance with you
I recognize the look
In my eyes when I see you
It's the look of one who loves you
Who wants nothing except to be with you
It is not the look that often
Gets returned in kind
Same old tales ain't nothing new
What the hell's a soul to do
But maybe you can help me through
Giving me one dance with you
One dance with you
Why do all the rules I make
About how to act around other people
Like don't write them private notes
Trying to explain your foolish actions
Like not hanging around
For hours after it's obvious
That your presence ain't desired
Like names are not important
So if someone forgets your name
They're forgetting something intangible
That has nothing to do with you
So it's stupid to feel bad
If someone forgets your name
Why do all the rules I make
About how to act around other people
Always fall by the wayside
When I get around you
There ain't no more carrot stew
That old sky ain't never blue
That's a lie but this is true
All I want's one dance with you
My bed's unmade
My stuff's askew
I ain't heard the dumbest clue
I just want to squeeze on through
By getting one more dance with you
Stick it while there's still some glue
Move that stuff while there's a crew
Before I stumble someplace new
Let me have one dance with you
Spoken:
Woody Guthrie carves a sign into his guitar that says "This machine kills fascists;"
Ani DiFranco says "every tool is a weapon if you hold it right;"
I say, "Here's a monkey wrench; if you bop me on the head long enough maybe I'll wake up for a second."
Sung:
One dance with you, one dance with you...
—copyright Dan Bern
These lyrics are freely available at Dan's official website, http://www.danbern.com and are reproduced here by permission of his webmistress.