Disco Dancer

Song Name: Disco Dancer

Artist: DEVO

Appears On:

• Total DEVO, Pioneers Who Got Scapled: The Anthology  (album version)

• Disco Dancer (single) (album/remix versions)
• Recombo DNA (medley, demo)
• Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace (medley, live)

Run Time: 4:14

Year Released: 1988 (album version)

Years Performed: (medley*) 1988-1990, 1991 (March 23 only)

Writing Credits: Mark Mothersbaugh/Gerald V. Casale

Sung By: Mark Mothersbaugh (lead), The Femmes Devo ("ja" chorus, uncredited)

Trivia / Info:

• Bass sample by Steve Lindsey
• This is the only song from Total DEVO to receive a music video. Sadly, Enigma failed to effectively promote it, appearing only once on MTV (on a "good or bad" call-in voting show, no less, which doomed the video instantly).

Onstage Behavior:

*This was not played live as a standalone song, it was included in the Somewhere With DEVO suite. Here, it usually began with the normal drum-machine intro and a shout by Mark of "The Femmes Devo!" (Likely a reference to the "Ja" interlude, which in the video was sung by the female and male onstage dancers.)

• Before the concert, the "Disco Dancer" video would be shown.

Lyrics:

I'm a disco dancer

But I've got no place to go

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

Oh no

I'm a disco dancer, baby

And my feet won't touch the floor

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

Woah, no

I been sleeping twenty years or more

I remember long time ago

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

Ja

Ja

Ja

Ja

I been looking for a dance to do

I been looking for some answers too

Now I'm back to change your minds

Now I'm moving right in time

In a world that's turned unkind

I see what's going on behind my back

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

I'm a disco dancer

And I keep dancing on and on

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

Oh no

I'm a disco dancer, baby

But I think that something's wrong

(I'm a disco boy)

(I'm a disco boy)

Oh no

I been sleeping twenty years and more

I remember long time ago

Now I'm back to change your mind

Now I'm moving right in time

In a world that's turned unkind

I see what's going on behind my back

Video:

Two videos were made for the song, one using the 7" Mix, and an extended video using the 12" Mix. Both videos use the same premise and most of the same footage, that of DEVO walking across the country with a disco ball from New York to LA, performing the song in two different venues for cheering crowds. The 12" Mix video includes additional scenes of DEVO walking through Manhattan and downtown Los Angeles. A topless woman can be seen near the end of the 12" Mix video, and so was not aired on TV, instead provided on a promo video cassette sent to nightclubs and other venues.

The 7" Mix video appears on The Complete Truth About De-Evolution

The 12" Mix video has not been released on any home format, but can be found online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa0DB7-jhzI.

Live Video:

References:

External Links: