Category : Articles

Sub Category : Miscellaneous

Today's song of the day is The Dance by Garth Brooks. Written by Tony Arata and released in 1989, it was the first and biggest hit of Garth Brooks career and propelled him to super stardom. The songs lyrics describe how every moment in life is important and that if we could erase the bad parts then the good parts would also be erased. It is a popular song at weddings as a first dance. Let me know what you think.

The Dance

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

This song was inspired by a scene from the film "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1986). Tony Arata said, "Kathleen Turner discovers she can't alter one aspect of her past without affecting the rest."

Tony Arata recalled on his website the times when he and Garth Brooks were still little-know songwriters, "We were both doing whatever we could to stay in Nashville, trying to get our songs heard by anybody." When Brooks heard "The Dance", he told Arata that he would record it if he'd ever get a record deal.

The music video for this song shows several American prominent figures, including Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, John Wayne.

This song won "Song of the Year" and "Video of the Year" awards by the Academy of Country Music 1990.