Sting wrote “They Dance Alone” when he was in Chile while he was with The Police and saw that the wives and mothers of those who had disappeared put pictures of their loved ones on clothes and danced with them. Unfortunately, the song was banned in Chile. Sting said this about the song:
This was so...
[Verse 1]
Why are there women here dancing on their own?
Why is there this sadness in their eyes?
Why are the soldiers here, their faces fixed like stone?
I can't see what it is that they despise
[Chorus]
They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone... they dance alone
[Verse 2]
It's the only form of protest they're allowed
I've seen their silent faces scream so loud
If they were to speak these words, they'd go missing too
Another woman on a torture table... what else can they do?
[Chorus]
They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone... they dance alone
[Post-Chorus]
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance
[Spoken: Rubén Blades]
Ellas danzan con los desaparecidos
Danzan con los muertos
Danzan con amores invisibles
Con silenciosa angustia, danzan con sus padres
Con sus hijos, danzan con sus esposos
Ellas danzan solas, danzan solas
[Verse 3]
Hey Mr. Pinochet
You've sown a bitter crop
It's foreign money that supports you
One day the money's going to stop
No wages for your torturers
No budget for your guns
Can you think of your own mother
Dancing with her invisible son
[Chorus]
They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid
They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone... they dance alone
[Post-Chorus]
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
And we'll dance
One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy
[Outro]
And we'll dance...
And we'll dance...
And we'll dance...
They Dance Alone was written by Sting.
They Dance Alone was produced by Neil Dorfsman & Sting.
Sting released They Dance Alone on Tue Oct 13 1987.