The Scissor Sisters and I Don’t Feel Like Dancin

I’ve been so tired this week. Lots of stuff going on. Dad’s 91st birthday for one, visiting poets at the chapel, some of the busiest weeks at work . I wasn’t feeling well yesterday. All of that had me takingn a few days break from Jeff’s Song of the Day. Today’s song, one by a UK pop group called the Scissor Sister, kind of fits my mood but also makes me smile and gets my toes tapping. That’s the irony of “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin,” it’s such a killer dance number.

We didn’t have any bonus music last week, so let’s make this a two-for-Tuesday, because the second song just makes me think of my mom who passed away when I was 19. There’s so much that I think she and I could have talked about over the years since, and my brother Jeff had some encouragement for me a while back about what Mom might have to me. Plus, to be frank, mom liked a drink or two, so I can see her dancing around with me to “Take Your Mama.”

Quick translation note:

When I first heard “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin,” we were visiting friends in Northern Ireland. I was confused by the phrase “when the old Joanna plays.” Turns out it’s very common to call the piano, “Joanna, the Piano” (pronounced pianna). Maybe you knew that. It’s a Cockney rhyming slang thing if your interested in looking it up. And fun fact, Elton John played piano on this track when it was released on their Tah-Dah album in 2005.

Keeping to the dance theme, the second song mentions a club called “The New Orleans.” I’m not sure which club the song is referring to. There’s one in Warsaw and one in Glasgow, but I can’t find info about one in Ireland, where the Scissor Sisters got their start. I thought maybe it was in London, but it’s possible it was made up for the sake of the song. In any case, to keep the dance feel going, I’m including the live version from the Brit awards in 2005 for “Take Your Mama.”

They helped pep me up and improve my Tuesday mood. I hope they do the same for you. Here are the fabulous Scissor Sisters: