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B-side: "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"
Released: 14 March 1983
Recorded: December 1982
Studio: Power Station (New York City)
Genre: Funk; New wave; Dance-rock; Post-disco; Dance-pop; Funk rock

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A song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally included as the title track of his 1983 album of the same name. Co-produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic, it was recorded in late 1982 at the Power Station in New York City. With the assistance of engineer Bob Clearmountain, Rodgers transformed the song from its folk origins to a dance number through studio effects and new musicians Bowie had yet to work with. Bowie hired then-unknown Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who added a blues-edge.

Embracing rock, funk, dance, new wave and post-disco, the full-length seven-minute track features numerous solos, including trumpet, saxophone, guitar and percussion. Several music elements, from the bassline and the breakdown, were based on Rodgers' work with Chic, while the rising vocal intros were taken from the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout". The lyrics describe a couple dancing under the moonlight and possess a sense of peril and ominousness.

Released as the album's lead single in full-length and edited formats, "Let's Dance" became the biggest selling single of Bowie's career, topping the charts in numerous countries, including the UK and the US. The song's music video, filmed in Australia, provided commentary on the treatment of Aboriginal Australians, using the red shoes from a line to symbolise their abuse. Bowie performed the song throughout the 1980s and early 2000s during his concert tours.

Viewed as one of Bowie's most popular songs, the song has received praise for its catchiness, accessibility, commerciality and production, and has appeared on lists of his best songs. "Let's Dance" has been covered, sampled, remixed and performed by other artists, and has made appearances in films, video games and television commercials.

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Lyrics

Ah, ah, ah, ah

(Let's dance)
(Let's dance)

(Let's dance) put on your red shoes and dance the blues
(Let's dance) to the song they're playing on the radio
(Let's sway) while colour lights up your face
(Let's sway) sway through the crowd to an empty space

If you say run, I'll run with you
And if you say hide, we'll hide
Because my love for you would break my heart in two
If you should fall, into my arms and tremble like a flower

(Let's dance)
(Let's dance)

(Let's dance) for fear your grace should fall
(Let's dance) for fear tonight is all
(Let's sway) you could look into my eyes
(Let's sway) under the moonlight, this serious moonlight

And if you say run, I'll run with you
And if you say hide, we'll hide
Because my love for you would break my heart in two
If you should fall, into my arms and tremble like a flower

(Let's dance)
(Let's dance)

(Let's dance) put on your red shoes and dance the blues
(Let's dance) to the song we're playing
(Let's sway)
(Let's sway) under the moonlight, this serious moonlight

(Let's dance)
(Let's)
(Let's)
(Let's)
(Let's sway)
(Let's)
Let's dance, let's dance, let's dance, let's dance, let's dance
(Let's dance)
Let's sway
Let's sway
Let's dance, let's dance, let's dance, let's dance, let's dance
(Let's dance)
(Let's dance)
(Let's dance)
(Let's dance)
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