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Gagapedia

"I Won't Dance" is a jazz standard song with music by Jerome Kern, that has had two different sets of lyrics, the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, the second written by Dorothy Fields (though Jimmy McHugh was also credited) in 1935. The two sets of lyrics share little but the common refrain of "I won't dance". The second set of lyrics is the much better known one, and the song in this form has been covered by many artists. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett covered the song for their jazz collaborative album, Cheek to Cheek.

Kern, Hammerstein and Harbach originally wrote "I Won't Dance" for the 1934 London musical Three Sisters. The next year, Fields was hired to help with the music for a film version of the 1933 Kern-Harbach musical Roberta. The writing team decided to make use of "I Won't Dance" for the film. However, Fields rewrote nearly all of the lyrics, making the song more playful and suggestive by having the narrator refuse to dance because "I know that music leads the way to romance".

Performances

Dates Show Channel Globe-green

Lyrics

[Tony Bennett]
I won't dance, don't ask me
I won't dance, don't ask me
I won't dance, Madame with you

My heart won't let my feet do things that they should do
You know what? You're lovely

[Lady Gaga]
And so what? I'm lovely

But oh, what you're doing to me?
I'm like an ocean wave that's bumped on the shore
I feel so absolutely stumped on the floor

[Tony Bennett]
When you dance, you're charming and you're gentle

[Lady Gaga]
Especially when we do the Continental

[Tony Bennett]
But this feeling isn't purely mental

[Both]
For Heaven rest us, we are not asbestos

[Tony Bennett]
And that's why I won't dance, why should I?

[Lady Gaga]
I won't dance, how could I?

[Both]
I won't dance, merci beaucoup
We know that music leads the way to romance

So if I hold you in my arms
I won't dance

[Lady Gaga]
When you dance, you're charming and you're gentle
Especially when we do the Continental

[Tony Bennett]
But this feeling isn't purely mental

[Lady Gaga]
Oh really

[Tony Bennett]
Oh Heaven rest us, I'm not asbestos

[Lady Gaga]
And that's why I won't dance, why should I?

[Tony Bennett]
I won't dance, how could I?

[Both]
I won't dance, merci beaucoup
We know that music leads the way to romance

So if I hold you in my arms

[Tony Bennett]
I won't dance

[Lady Gaga]
I won't dance

[Tony Bennett]
I won't dance

[Lady Gaga]
I won't dance

[Tony Bennett]
I won't

[Both]
Dance, dance, dance

[Lady Gaga]
I won't dance

[Tony Bennett]
Dance

Credits

Writer and composer Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II
Piano Tom Ranier
Tenor sax solo Joe Lovano
Brass
Brass arranged and conducted Marion Evans
Alto Sax Lawrence Feldman and Lou Marini
Tenor Sax Dave Mann & Andy Snitzer
Baritone Sax Ronald Janelli
Trumpets Tony Kadleck, Bob Millikan, John Owens and Budd Burridge
Tenor Trombone Mike Davis, Larry Farrell and Keith O'Quinn
Bass Trombone George Flynn
Publishing Aldi Music Co,pany (ASCAP), c/o Shapiro Bernstein & Co., Inc (ASCAP) Cotton Club Publishing (ASCAP) and Universal Polygram International Publishing inc. (ASCAP)
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