The Way We Dance (in Harlem)

"The Way We Dance (in Harlem)" is the ninth song from the cycle Tropics After Dark by composer Margaret Bonds with text by Langston Hughes.

Date: 1940Composer: Margaret BondsText: Langston HughesSong Collection: Tropics After Dark

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Text

Ain’t you heard about that music Chicago style.
The kind of music that drives you wild
Ain’t you heard about the way we dance it out
Then lemme tell you what it’s all about

First you grab you gal like a cat, Jack
And jitterbug her lightly then you throw her back
Let her hips swing loos when your moving
Swing most any way long’s you groovin’
You take it slow while get’s way down
You’re feelin’ acrobatic then you throw her ’round
Then you separate and take a solo
That’s the way we dance in Chicago
Jump back and boogie
Aw boogie woogie
Pack a little
Truck a little
Now if any one here is still in doubt,
As to what this jitterbuggin’s all about
I’ll expostulate all that I know
‘Bout the way we dance in Chicago.

Related Information

Sheet Music

Rediscovering Margaret Bonds: Art Songs, Spirituals, Musical Theater and Popular Songs

Composer(s): Margaret Bonds

Buy via Classical Vocal Reprints

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