# Popular songs that are waltzes

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 25, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449 "2007-09-25T17:47:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/1 "2007-09-25T17:47:53Z")

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So in the semi-weekly dance group that I attend, we often wind up wanting to waltz for the last few songs. Now, we’ve discovered a few popular (I use the term loosely) songs that fit the criteria, like “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World and “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal, but it would be nice to have more variety than that. Can anyone think of any other songs that might fit the bill?

(I know this is a strange question, but I can’t think of any place I’m more likely to get an answer than here.)

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### Author: ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/2 "2007-09-25T18:27:04Z")

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Elliott Smith has Waltz #1 and Waltz #2 off of his XO album. The latter is one of my favourite songs.

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### Author: ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/3 "2007-09-25T18:28:20Z")

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I think your could waltz to “Open Arms” by Journey.

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### Author: ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/4 "2007-09-25T18:30:26Z")

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“Take It to the Limit” by the Eagles.

Actually, if you want to freak people out, Tom Jones’ “What’s New Pussycat” also has a waltz rhythm (But I dare anyone to try and waltz to it).

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### Author: ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/5 "2007-09-25T18:35:40Z")

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“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…”

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### Author: ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/6 "2007-09-25T18:36:44Z")

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“Manic Depression” by Jimi Hendrix.

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### Author: ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/7 "2007-09-25T18:43:03Z")

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Malcolm McLaren’s album _Waltz Darling_ (1989) opens with a House Waltz treatment of _House of the Blue Danube_.

It’s an instrumental preceded by what I can only describe as the sound of a woman having a particularly satisfactory orgasm. I can’t find an audio clip that will do it justice. Unfortunately the [title track](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N6oTVgW2sN4) (4 mins 30 secs) isn’t a waltz (it’s more funk) but people do waltz badly to it in the video.

If they can do it, you can.

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### Author: ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/8 "2007-09-25T18:48:52Z")

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I don’t know why, but this was the first thing that came to my mind:

That [Chocolate Moose](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAsYwW7pt7o) song.  
LilShieste

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### Author: ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/9 "2007-09-25T19:00:17Z")

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[Tom Waits’ _Waltzing Mathilda_?](http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/tom_waits/tom_trauberts_blues.html)

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### Author: ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/10 "2007-09-25T19:06:24Z")

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Well, if you’re thinking that anything in 3/4 time is basically waltzable, try “Asleep” by The Smiths.

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### Author: ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/11 "2007-09-25T19:08:57Z")

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Pretty much everything from “A Little Night Music” by Stephen Sondheim, including “Send in the Clowns”.

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### Author: ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/12 "2007-09-25T19:22:07Z")

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[QUOTE=Marley23]  
“Manic Depression” by Jimi Hendrix.  
[/QUOTE]

Excellent call!!

How about “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” by the Beatles?

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### Author: ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/13 "2007-09-25T19:29:07Z")

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The Doors [“Wintertime Love.”](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Wintertime-Love-lyrics-The-Doors/736AA96CDF69B104482568970034F732)

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### Author: ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/14 "2007-09-25T19:36:16Z")

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From recent “Dancing with the Stars” seasons:

I Have Nothing  
Three Times a Lady  
Come Away With Me  
I Got You Babe  
Natural Woman  
I Never Loved a Man  
What The World Needs Now  
You Light Up My Life  
Take It To The Limit

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### Author: ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/15 "2007-09-25T19:42:51Z")

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I love this place. Where else could I get twenty-odd answers to that question in under two hours?

“Manic Depression” seems suspect. I mean, it’s the right time, but that’s a fast waltz.

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### Author: ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/16 "2007-09-25T19:45:08Z")

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[QUOTE=appleciders]  
So in the semi-weekly dance group that I attend, we often wind up wanting to waltz for the last few songs. Now, we’ve discovered a few popular (I use the term loosely) songs that fit the criteria, like “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World and “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal, but it would be nice to have more variety than that. Can anyone think of any other songs that might fit the bill?

(I know this is a strange question, but I can’t think of any place I’m more likely to get an answer than here.)  
[/QUOTE]  
There’s always the wonderful “Army Dreamers” by Kate “no relation” Bush. It’s kinda political, but most people won’t be able to understand the lyrics anyway. It’s on her album Never For Ever.

Here’s four from (very) early Happy Rhodes, written and recorded when she was very young (these are authorized to be downloadable mp3s):

[Come Here](http://www.wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodesII01_ComeHere.mp3) (from Rhodes II, 1986)  
[If Love Is A Game, I Win](http://www.wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Ecto02_IfLoveIsAGameIWin.mp3) (from Ecto, 1987)

These are slow waltzes:

[Rhodes Waltz](http://www.wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_Rearmament13_RhodesWaltz.mp3) (from Rearmament, 1986)  
[Not For Me](http://www.wretchawry.com/happy/samples/HappyRhodes_RhodesII07_NotForMe.mp3) (from Rhodes II, 1986)

(you kinda have to give her a break on her lyrics at this point in her recording career. She wrote them somewhere between 14-17, but they’re still pretty good, IMverybiasedO)

These are all, um, popular, depending on who you talk to (ask some Kate and Happy fans).

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### Author: ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/17 "2007-09-25T19:47:51Z")

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Golden Brown, by the Stranglers (used is Snatch’d when Brad Pitt knocks out the guy when boxing I think).

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### Author: ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/18 "2007-09-25T19:54:17Z")

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“Dreams” by the **Allman Brothers Band**

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### Author: ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/19 "2007-09-25T20:08:20Z")

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I guess more 6/8 stuff like Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” wouldn’t count, huh?

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### Author: ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/20 "2007-09-25T20:21:19Z")

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_Take Me Out to the Ball Game_ is a waltz, according to the sheet music for the song that can be seen in _A Night at the Opera_.

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