Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
"No Kinda Dancer"


The first of the month brings back the notion
Of a big, round, white dancehall and a cool summer night.
Red cherub faces set black shoes in motion
To the um-pa-pa rhythm of a German delight.

And I tried hard to tell you I was no kinda dancer
Take my hand to prove I was wrong.
You guided me gently, though I thought I could never -
We were dancing together
By the end of the song.

A taut little bald man like a German war hero
With buxom old matrons do a quick John Paul Jones.
Drapes of crepe paper, a ball made of mirror
Cast shiny reflections on a brass slide trombone

I tried hard to tell you I was no kinda dancer
Take my hand to prove I was wrong.
You guided me gently, though I thought I could never -
We were dancing together
By the end of the song.

A man was still dancing with his phantom partner
Though the band had quit playing at the evening's end.
It made me feel lucky that I had a partner
To teach me the dance steps and come back again.

And I tried hard to tell you I was no kinda dancer
Take my hand to prove I was wrong.
You guided me gently, though I thought I could never -
We were dancing together
By the end of the song.

I tried hard to tell you...
Take my hand to prove I was wrong.
You guided me gently, though I thought I could never -
We were dancing together
By the end of the song.