Chords for The True Meaning of The Safety Dance by Men Without Hats
Tempo:
103.15 bpm
Chords used:
Bb
C
Eb
F
G
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[D] [A] I [C] always thought men without hats was a punk band.
A punk band with a big hit.
Dance.
Safety.
Safety.
Once that song entered your brain,
it turned everybody on the planet into a glittering idiot.
Safety.
Dance.
It was a catchy dance anthem.
I caught on to it.
You know, [G] the safety dance.
[N] With a hook so big and goofy.
I'm not going to do it on camera.
That it caught the imagination of an entire generation.
We can [Bb] dance.
We can [Eb] dance.
So what's the [C] secret history behind this maypole mystery?
[B] [E] Myth number one.
[Gb] Rumor has it, safety [B] dance is about safe sex.
Safety dance.
[A] What could that possibly mean?
Well, [Gb] if you're having safe sex, you're dancing the sort of [E] symbolic of sex.
If you're safety dancing, [Gb] maybe you're having safe sex.
[B] In the 80s, [E] unprotected sex with strangers could be a deadly [Eb] dance.
Everybody take the time.
[C]
Safety dance came out around the same time as the beginning of the AIDS crisis
and people talking about having safe sex.
So some people read into it.
Is safety dance something about having sex with condoms?
The symptoms are [A] suspicious, but don't dial the doctor just yet.
[E] Myth number two.
Many people think this song is a mantra for [Am] moshing.
The myth about safety dance, these guys, the band, used [B] to dance around clubs
and get a little crazy and slam dance.
It wasn't really [E] dancing, it was moshing.
It was slam pits.
Not every club would let you do this because having patrons carried [Bb] out bloody.
Rumor has it [Bbm] Ivan's penchant for pogoing got the bouncers upset.
So Ivan wrote this intoxicating tune in [F] retaliation.
[Bb]
[C] [G] [Ab] It's safety dance.
I gotta tell you, it's [Eb] safe to dance.
[F] [N] So is the song about safe sex or an ode to slam dancing?
There's another explosive option.
[Ab] Myth number three.
Legend has it, [Eb] safety dance is an anti-nukes [Bb] anthem.
[Gb] [Ab]
[F] Ivan was very political and he [Gbm] may have been [Ab] very deliberate about the inclusion
[Eb] of those nuclear [C] images that you see at the end of the video.
Believers think the images reveal the safety dance's true message.
No nukes is good nukes.
It's just a few flashes of images of planes and that definitely lent credence
to the nuclear war theory of the safety dance.
Fans believe you can hear the band's fear of the escalating nuclear arms race in the lyrics.
[Eb] Everything's under control.
And in response to the [N] chaos, Men Without Hats encouraged a dance floor demonstration.
You're dancing to, you know, sort of combat the nuclear paranoia that was of the early [F] 80s.
Well, we're ready to find out.
Who's the little man behind the curtain?
[C] Is safety dance about safe [Bb] sex, a mantra for moshing, or is it an anthem [F] against nuclear weapons?
If you thought [Bb] safety dance was about safe [Eb] sex, you obviously didn't party in the [F] early 80s.
Well, that myth about [G] it being about safe [Bb] sex and condoms, that's people reading into it a bit too much.
And if you chose myth number three, you just bombed this test.
[C] We were pretty much anti-everything.
It wasn't a question of just being anti-nuclear, it was a question of being anti-establishment.
[C] With one choice left, here's the true [Gm] spin.
The birth of safety dance, it was the early 80s and [F] disco was dying.
[G] And so whenever those new wave songs would come on in the evening,
we'd get up and start [C] dancing, start pogoing.
And we usually get told by the bouncers to [G] calm down or split.
When bouncers tried to put an end [Eb] to Ivan's dancing, he fought for his freedom to freak with this [F] one hit wonder.
[C] Even in the video, as Ivan leads people to the main pole, that's what he's just saying.
Come on, Jimmy.
[F] We can [Bb] dance, we can [Ab] dance, do it all.
[Eb] If you didn't get the massive hints in the [C] video, the lyrics give you another chance.
We can dance if we want to, [Bb] we can leave your stains behind.
You can dance if you want to, you can dance to the music you want.
[Db] I was telling people it's okay, you can slam dance if you want to, you can pogo if you want to.
And that's the true spin on safety dance.
[G] You left a message there.
I wanted it to be clear.
It wasn't about that either, and it [Bb] wasn't an anti-racial [Bbm] subject.
[Bb] [A]
That [Bb] was [Eb] [Bb]
[Eb] what it was singing about.
That's really what that song was about.
[B]
A punk band with a big hit.
Dance.
Safety.
Safety.
Once that song entered your brain,
it turned everybody on the planet into a glittering idiot.
Safety.
Dance.
It was a catchy dance anthem.
I caught on to it.
You know, [G] the safety dance.
[N] With a hook so big and goofy.
I'm not going to do it on camera.
That it caught the imagination of an entire generation.
We can [Bb] dance.
We can [Eb] dance.
So what's the [C] secret history behind this maypole mystery?
[B] [E] Myth number one.
[Gb] Rumor has it, safety [B] dance is about safe sex.
Safety dance.
[A] What could that possibly mean?
Well, [Gb] if you're having safe sex, you're dancing the sort of [E] symbolic of sex.
If you're safety dancing, [Gb] maybe you're having safe sex.
[B] In the 80s, [E] unprotected sex with strangers could be a deadly [Eb] dance.
Everybody take the time.
[C]
Safety dance came out around the same time as the beginning of the AIDS crisis
and people talking about having safe sex.
So some people read into it.
Is safety dance something about having sex with condoms?
The symptoms are [A] suspicious, but don't dial the doctor just yet.
[E] Myth number two.
Many people think this song is a mantra for [Am] moshing.
The myth about safety dance, these guys, the band, used [B] to dance around clubs
and get a little crazy and slam dance.
It wasn't really [E] dancing, it was moshing.
It was slam pits.
Not every club would let you do this because having patrons carried [Bb] out bloody.
Rumor has it [Bbm] Ivan's penchant for pogoing got the bouncers upset.
So Ivan wrote this intoxicating tune in [F] retaliation.
[Bb]
[C] [G] [Ab] It's safety dance.
I gotta tell you, it's [Eb] safe to dance.
[F] [N] So is the song about safe sex or an ode to slam dancing?
There's another explosive option.
[Ab] Myth number three.
Legend has it, [Eb] safety dance is an anti-nukes [Bb] anthem.
[Gb] [Ab]
[F] Ivan was very political and he [Gbm] may have been [Ab] very deliberate about the inclusion
[Eb] of those nuclear [C] images that you see at the end of the video.
Believers think the images reveal the safety dance's true message.
No nukes is good nukes.
It's just a few flashes of images of planes and that definitely lent credence
to the nuclear war theory of the safety dance.
Fans believe you can hear the band's fear of the escalating nuclear arms race in the lyrics.
[Eb] Everything's under control.
And in response to the [N] chaos, Men Without Hats encouraged a dance floor demonstration.
You're dancing to, you know, sort of combat the nuclear paranoia that was of the early [F] 80s.
Well, we're ready to find out.
Who's the little man behind the curtain?
[C] Is safety dance about safe [Bb] sex, a mantra for moshing, or is it an anthem [F] against nuclear weapons?
If you thought [Bb] safety dance was about safe [Eb] sex, you obviously didn't party in the [F] early 80s.
Well, that myth about [G] it being about safe [Bb] sex and condoms, that's people reading into it a bit too much.
And if you chose myth number three, you just bombed this test.
[C] We were pretty much anti-everything.
It wasn't a question of just being anti-nuclear, it was a question of being anti-establishment.
[C] With one choice left, here's the true [Gm] spin.
The birth of safety dance, it was the early 80s and [F] disco was dying.
[G] And so whenever those new wave songs would come on in the evening,
we'd get up and start [C] dancing, start pogoing.
And we usually get told by the bouncers to [G] calm down or split.
When bouncers tried to put an end [Eb] to Ivan's dancing, he fought for his freedom to freak with this [F] one hit wonder.
[C] Even in the video, as Ivan leads people to the main pole, that's what he's just saying.
Come on, Jimmy.
[F] We can [Bb] dance, we can [Ab] dance, do it all.
[Eb] If you didn't get the massive hints in the [C] video, the lyrics give you another chance.
We can dance if we want to, [Bb] we can leave your stains behind.
You can dance if you want to, you can dance to the music you want.
[Db] I was telling people it's okay, you can slam dance if you want to, you can pogo if you want to.
And that's the true spin on safety dance.
[G] You left a message there.
I wanted it to be clear.
It wasn't about that either, and it [Bb] wasn't an anti-racial [Bbm] subject.
[Bb] [A]
That [Bb] was [Eb] [Bb]
[Eb] what it was singing about.
That's really what that song was about.
[B]
Key:
Bb
C
Eb
F
G
Bb
C
Eb
_ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _ I [C] always thought men without hats was a punk band.
A punk band with a big hit.
Dance.
Safety.
Safety.
Once that song entered your brain,
it turned everybody on the planet into a glittering idiot.
Safety.
Dance.
It was a catchy dance anthem.
I caught on to it.
You know, [G] the safety dance.
[N] With a hook so big and goofy.
I'm not going to do it on camera.
That it caught the imagination of an entire generation.
We can [Bb] dance.
We can [Eb] dance.
So what's the [C] secret history behind this maypole mystery?
[B] _ _ [E] Myth number one.
[Gb] Rumor has it, safety [B] dance is about safe sex.
Safety dance.
[A] What could that possibly mean?
Well, [Gb] if you're having safe sex, you're dancing the sort of [E] symbolic of sex.
If you're safety dancing, [Gb] maybe you're having safe sex.
[B] In the 80s, [E] unprotected sex with strangers could be a deadly [Eb] dance.
Everybody take the time.
_ [C] _
Safety dance came out around the same time as the beginning of the AIDS crisis
and people talking about having safe sex.
So some people read into it.
Is safety dance something about having sex with condoms?
The symptoms are [A] suspicious, but don't dial the doctor just yet.
_ [E] Myth number two.
Many people think this song is a mantra for [Am] moshing.
The myth about safety dance, these guys, the band, used [B] to dance around clubs
and get a little crazy and slam dance.
It wasn't really [E] dancing, it was moshing.
It was slam pits.
Not every club would let you do this because having patrons carried [Bb] out bloody.
Rumor has it [Bbm] Ivan's penchant for pogoing got the bouncers upset.
So Ivan wrote this intoxicating tune in [F] retaliation.
_ _ [Bb] _ _
[C] _ _ [G] _ [Ab] It's safety dance.
I gotta tell you, it's [Eb] safe to dance.
[F] _ _ [N] So is the song about safe sex or an ode to slam dancing?
There's another explosive option.
_ [Ab] Myth number three.
Legend has it, [Eb] safety dance is an anti-nukes [Bb] anthem.
_ [Gb] _ _ _ [Ab] _
_ [F] _ Ivan was very political and he [Gbm] may have been [Ab] very deliberate about the inclusion
[Eb] of those nuclear [C] images that you see at the end of the video.
Believers think the images reveal the safety dance's true message.
No nukes is good nukes.
It's just a few flashes of images of planes and that definitely lent credence
to the nuclear war theory of the safety dance.
Fans believe you can hear the band's fear of the escalating nuclear arms race in the lyrics.
[Eb] Everything's under control.
And in response to the [N] chaos, Men Without Hats encouraged a dance floor demonstration.
You're dancing to, you know, sort of combat the nuclear paranoia that was of the early [F] 80s.
Well, we're ready to find out.
Who's the little man behind the curtain?
[C] Is safety dance about safe [Bb] sex, a mantra for moshing, or is it an anthem [F] against nuclear weapons?
If you thought [Bb] safety dance was about safe [Eb] sex, you obviously didn't party in the [F] early 80s.
Well, that myth about [G] it being about safe [Bb] sex and condoms, that's people reading into it a bit too much.
And if you chose myth number three, you just bombed this test.
[C] We were pretty much anti-everything.
It wasn't a question of just being anti-nuclear, it was a question of being anti-establishment.
[C] With one choice left, here's the true [Gm] spin.
The birth of safety dance, it was the early 80s and [F] disco was dying.
[G] And so whenever those new wave songs would come on in the evening,
we'd get up and start [C] dancing, start pogoing.
And we usually get told by the bouncers to [G] calm down or split.
When bouncers tried to put an end [Eb] to Ivan's dancing, he fought for his freedom to freak with this [F] one hit wonder.
[C] Even in the video, as Ivan leads people to the main pole, that's what he's just saying.
Come on, Jimmy.
[F] We can [Bb] dance, we can [Ab] dance, do it all.
_ [Eb] If you didn't get the massive hints in the [C] video, the lyrics give you another chance.
We can dance if we want to, [Bb] we can leave your stains behind.
You can dance if you want to, you can dance to the music you want.
[Db] I was telling people it's okay, you can slam dance if you want to, you can pogo if you want to. _
_ And that's the true spin on safety dance. _
_ _ [G] You left a message there.
I wanted it to be clear.
_ _ _ It wasn't about that either, and it [Bb] wasn't an anti-racial [Bbm] subject. _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
That [Bb] was _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Eb] what it was singing about.
That's really what that song was about.
[B] _
A punk band with a big hit.
Dance.
Safety.
Safety.
Once that song entered your brain,
it turned everybody on the planet into a glittering idiot.
Safety.
Dance.
It was a catchy dance anthem.
I caught on to it.
You know, [G] the safety dance.
[N] With a hook so big and goofy.
I'm not going to do it on camera.
That it caught the imagination of an entire generation.
We can [Bb] dance.
We can [Eb] dance.
So what's the [C] secret history behind this maypole mystery?
[B] _ _ [E] Myth number one.
[Gb] Rumor has it, safety [B] dance is about safe sex.
Safety dance.
[A] What could that possibly mean?
Well, [Gb] if you're having safe sex, you're dancing the sort of [E] symbolic of sex.
If you're safety dancing, [Gb] maybe you're having safe sex.
[B] In the 80s, [E] unprotected sex with strangers could be a deadly [Eb] dance.
Everybody take the time.
_ [C] _
Safety dance came out around the same time as the beginning of the AIDS crisis
and people talking about having safe sex.
So some people read into it.
Is safety dance something about having sex with condoms?
The symptoms are [A] suspicious, but don't dial the doctor just yet.
_ [E] Myth number two.
Many people think this song is a mantra for [Am] moshing.
The myth about safety dance, these guys, the band, used [B] to dance around clubs
and get a little crazy and slam dance.
It wasn't really [E] dancing, it was moshing.
It was slam pits.
Not every club would let you do this because having patrons carried [Bb] out bloody.
Rumor has it [Bbm] Ivan's penchant for pogoing got the bouncers upset.
So Ivan wrote this intoxicating tune in [F] retaliation.
_ _ [Bb] _ _
[C] _ _ [G] _ [Ab] It's safety dance.
I gotta tell you, it's [Eb] safe to dance.
[F] _ _ [N] So is the song about safe sex or an ode to slam dancing?
There's another explosive option.
_ [Ab] Myth number three.
Legend has it, [Eb] safety dance is an anti-nukes [Bb] anthem.
_ [Gb] _ _ _ [Ab] _
_ [F] _ Ivan was very political and he [Gbm] may have been [Ab] very deliberate about the inclusion
[Eb] of those nuclear [C] images that you see at the end of the video.
Believers think the images reveal the safety dance's true message.
No nukes is good nukes.
It's just a few flashes of images of planes and that definitely lent credence
to the nuclear war theory of the safety dance.
Fans believe you can hear the band's fear of the escalating nuclear arms race in the lyrics.
[Eb] Everything's under control.
And in response to the [N] chaos, Men Without Hats encouraged a dance floor demonstration.
You're dancing to, you know, sort of combat the nuclear paranoia that was of the early [F] 80s.
Well, we're ready to find out.
Who's the little man behind the curtain?
[C] Is safety dance about safe [Bb] sex, a mantra for moshing, or is it an anthem [F] against nuclear weapons?
If you thought [Bb] safety dance was about safe [Eb] sex, you obviously didn't party in the [F] early 80s.
Well, that myth about [G] it being about safe [Bb] sex and condoms, that's people reading into it a bit too much.
And if you chose myth number three, you just bombed this test.
[C] We were pretty much anti-everything.
It wasn't a question of just being anti-nuclear, it was a question of being anti-establishment.
[C] With one choice left, here's the true [Gm] spin.
The birth of safety dance, it was the early 80s and [F] disco was dying.
[G] And so whenever those new wave songs would come on in the evening,
we'd get up and start [C] dancing, start pogoing.
And we usually get told by the bouncers to [G] calm down or split.
When bouncers tried to put an end [Eb] to Ivan's dancing, he fought for his freedom to freak with this [F] one hit wonder.
[C] Even in the video, as Ivan leads people to the main pole, that's what he's just saying.
Come on, Jimmy.
[F] We can [Bb] dance, we can [Ab] dance, do it all.
_ [Eb] If you didn't get the massive hints in the [C] video, the lyrics give you another chance.
We can dance if we want to, [Bb] we can leave your stains behind.
You can dance if you want to, you can dance to the music you want.
[Db] I was telling people it's okay, you can slam dance if you want to, you can pogo if you want to. _
_ And that's the true spin on safety dance. _
_ _ [G] You left a message there.
I wanted it to be clear.
_ _ _ It wasn't about that either, and it [Bb] wasn't an anti-racial [Bbm] subject. _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
That [Bb] was _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Bb] _ _
[Eb] what it was singing about.
That's really what that song was about.
[B] _