# Famous songs that can be waltzed to?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 16, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457 "2008-12-16T21:32:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/1 "2008-12-16T21:32:04Z")
One of my friends wants me to play waltzing music at a party tomorrow night. Any suggestions for famous/popular songs that can be easily waltzed to?
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/2 "2008-12-16T21:38:08Z")
[Pick a decade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_(music)).
Also search here – there was a thread about it maybe a year, year and a half ago.
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### Author:  [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/3 "2008-12-16T21:40:11Z")
[Ashokan Farewell](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx6dxrhqPZY) is more beautiful than famous.
Annie’s Song by John Denver is more famous than beautiful.
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### Author:  [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/4 "2008-12-16T22:16:05Z")
James Taylor “Sweet Baby James”
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### Author:  [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/5 "2008-12-16T22:33:35Z")
“She’s Leaving Home” by the Beatles is in waltz time.
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### Author:  [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/6 "2008-12-16T22:36:05Z")
For that matter, so is “Norwegian Wood.”
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/7 "2008-12-16T22:42:51Z")
The Doors’ “Wintertime Love” on their Waiting for the Sun CD. Particularly appropriate for this time of year.
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### Author:  [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/8 "2008-12-16T22:57:06Z")
“Hide Your Love Away” is a good one as well.
Q
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### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/9 "2008-12-17T00:13:56Z")
“Sad Songs & Waltzes” by Cake
Actually, now that I think of it, it wasn’t very famous OR popular. But it was on the album “Fashion Nugget” which was famous AND popular. 😃
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/10 "2008-12-17T06:21:32Z")
A whole lot of Johann Strauss, Jr.'s music.
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### Author:  [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/11 "2008-12-17T06:31:51Z")
> [@Labdad](#):
>
> For that matter, so is “Norwegian Wood.”
No, it’s in 6/8, which is like playing in 2, but with a triplet feel.
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### Author:  [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/12 "2008-12-17T06:41:53Z")
Missed the edit window:
Even though Norwegian Wood isn’t in 3/4, I guess you could still waltz to it. I played a gig where a couple waltzed to Coltrane’s “Afro Blue” (he didn’t write it, but played one of the definitive versions). That was pretty cool, especially since it was a corporate dinner event.
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/13 "2008-12-17T08:59:37Z")
Oh, my.
[The old thread referenced](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=437853&pp=50) was one of mine and a good place to start. You can waltz to basically anything in 3/4 time and many in 6/8, though 6/8 is just too fast sometimes (Try waltzing to **Billy Joel** ’s “Piano Man” or **Rufus Wainwright** ’s “Hallelujah” for instance!). Here are a few of my current favorites that haven’t been mentioned yet:
For learning, with clear, easy beats and slow, easy tempos:
“Come Away With Me” by **Norah Jones** (very, very slow. Not even fun once you know what you’re doing, but OK for beginners)
“Pretty Maids All In A Row” or “Take It To The Limit” by **The Eagles** (Both easy, though “Pretty Maids” is a better song)
“Waltz #2 (Xo)” by **Elliott Smith** (better than "Waltz #1 on the same CD, though both work)
“The Rainbow Connection” by **Kermit the Frog** (kitschy, I know)
Quicker, more fun, and slightly more advanced. Mainstays of our waltz nights:
“Waltz Into Me” by **Hootie and the Blowfish**
“Blue Eyes” by **Cary Brothers** (can be found on the Garden State soundtrack)
“Sweet Baby James” by **James Taylor**
“Kiss From A Rose” by **Seal**
“It’ll All Work Out” by **Tom Petty**
“Go Places” by **The New Pornographers**
“Hear You Me” by **Jimmy Eat World** (or, ideally, the cover by **On The Rocks** , an University of Oregon’s a cappella group)
“Bank Job” by **The Barenaked Ladies** (a weird topic for a romantic dance, but hey, whatever)
“Goodnight, Irene” by **The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band** (but it’s an old bluegrass tune, this is just my preferred version)
“Scarborough Fair” by **Simon and Garfunkel**
“Mr. Bojangles” by **The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band**
“Someday You Will Be Loved” by **Death Cab for Cutie**
“The Last Waltz Theme” by **The Band**
“Where Would I Be” by **Cake**
“Open Arms” by **Journey** (for that high school prom aesthetic)
“I’ll Be” by **Edwin McCain**
“Turn Me On” by **Norah Jones**
Pretty, pretty songs and beautiful waltzes, but hard to hear the beat- tricky, but fun. These are some of my favorites, but you do need to work to stay on beat:
“The Over Grown Waltz” by **Bela Fleck**
“Satellite” by **Dave Matthews Band**
“The Night I Painted The Sky” by **Jimmy Buffet**
“Dreaming My Dreams” by **The Cranberries**
Quick waltzes: more suited to Viennese waltz, which I don’t know and therefore rarely dance to these songs. They are waltzes, though, and I’ve danced to them all:
“Hold On” by **Kansas**
“Try Not To Breathe” by **R.E.M.**
“Love Will Come Through” by **Travis**
“Norwegian Wood”, “Hide Your Love Away”, and “She’s Leaving Home” by **The Beatles**
“Mexico” by **Cake**
Lots of christmas music is in 3/4 time and easy to waltz to. That’s a big help around this time of year, and we often have a Christmas waltz night in the snowy city park in the gazebo. This list is by no means exhaustive:
“Carol of the Bells” by everyone in the world. I like the **Trans-Siberian Orchestra** version.
“Silent Night” by even more people than “Carol of the Bells”
“The Peace Carol” and “Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913” from that old John Denver and the Muppets TV special.
“O Holy Night”, another traditional carol
“Greensleeves”, another
“Away In A Manger”, another
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### Author:  [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/14 "2008-12-17T15:34:30Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> “Sad Songs & Waltzes” by Cake
>
> Actually, now that I think of it, it wasn’t very famous OR popular. But it was on the album “Fashion Nugget” which was famous AND popular. 😃
I think this is actually a Willie Nelson cover. The Cake version is awesome, though.
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### Author:  [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/15 "2008-12-17T15:44:20Z")
Mull of Kyntire by Wings.
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### Author:  [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/16 "2008-12-17T15:53:32Z")
From the world of musical theater:
“Hello, Young Lovers” from The King and I
“Out of My Dreams” from Oklahoma
“Wunderbar” from Kiss Me, Kate
“Carousel Waltz” from Carousel
“Paris Waltz” from Candide
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### Author:  [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/17 "2008-12-17T16:09:09Z")
_The Waltzing Fool_ and _Walk Through the Bottomland_ – Lyle Lovett
_When I Need Love_ – Leo Sayer
_What a Wonderful World_ – Louis Armstrong
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### Author:  [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/18 "2008-12-17T17:10:35Z")
Don’t know if it’s exactly famous, but you can waltz to _Waltz #2_, by Elliott Smith.
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-songs-that-can-be-waltzed-to/477457/19 "2008-12-17T22:23:12Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#):
>
> From the world of musical theater:
>
> “Hello, Young Lovers” from The King and I
> “Out of My Dreams” from Oklahoma
> “Wunderbar” from Kiss Me, Kate
> “Carousel Waltz” from Carousel
> “Paris Waltz” from Candide
Oh, right- I forgot show tunes.
“Sunrise, Sunset” and “Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof
“Oh, What A Beautiful Morning” from Oklahoma.