From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Dance" is a 1990 song recorded by country singer Garth Brooks. The song, written by Brooks' friend, Tony Arata, was a key track on his self-titled debut album Garth Brooks and a #1 chart hit.

The song is written with a double meaning both as a love song about the end of a passionate relationship and the lyrics also work to tell the story of someone dying because of something they believe in, or a moment of glory. Brooks illustrated this in the music video for the song.

In 2006, the song was covered by Cypriot guys Charis and Panos and a music video was released just for TV promotion, but no single release. Also it was featured on the Irish band Westlife's UK no. 1 album The Love Album. Westlife also sang the song with Ronan Keating at The Meteor Awards in 2007. George Winston also did a solo piano rendition of this song on his 1999 album Plains.

• Key: G Major
• Length - 3:42

The song's video shows several American icons and examples of people who died for a dream they had. These include archive footage of the following:

• Lane Frost - World Champion Bull rider, who was killed by a bull after riding it for a full eight seconds in the arena.
• Keith Whitley - Country singer who died from alcohol poisoning.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. - Baptist minister who is best known for his involvement in the American civil rights movement and was assassinated in 1968.
• The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, shortly before it exploded after its launch in 1986.
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy - President of the United States who was assassinated in 1963.
• John Wayne - Film actor best known for his roles in Westerns.

Released near the beginning of his career "The Dance" was a big hit single around the world, including the United States, Europe, Ireland, etc. In 1990, it was titled both Song of the Year and Video of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. It was awarded the #14 position in the CMT 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music broadcast and also the #5 position on the network's The Greatest: 100 Greatest Music Videos special.

The song has since become an anthem. In 2001, after the death of Dale Earnhardt, Brooks was invited to an awards ceremony that was honouring him to play the song as a tribute. It is has also been played at funerals.

• "The Dance" Lyrics
• "The Dance" Music Video
• "The Dance" Sheet Music
• CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music
• CMT's The Greatest: 100 Greatest Music Videos