Shadow Dancing
(Gibb, Andy/Gibb, Barry /Gibb, Maurice /Gibb, Robin)
Performed by Andy Gibb
You got me looking at that heaven in your eyes
I was chasing your direction
I was telling you no lies
And I was loving you
When the words are said, baby, I lose my head
And in a world of people, there's only you and I
There ain't nothing come between us in the end
How can I hold you when you ain't even mine
Only you can see me through
I leave it up to you
Do it light, taking me through the night
Shadow dancing, baby you do it right
Give me more, drag me across the floor
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more
All that I need is just one moment in your arms
I was chasing your affection
I was doing you no harm
And I was loving you
Make it shine, make it rain, baby I know my way
I need that sweet sensation of living in your love
I can't breath when you're away, it pulls me down
You are the question and the answer am I
Only you can see me through
I leave it up to you
Do it light, taking me through the night
Shadow dancing, baby you do it right
Give me more, drag me across the floor
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more
And in this world of people there's only you and I
There ain't nothing come between us in the end
Ah, can I hold you when you ain't even mine
Only you can see me through
I leave it up to you
Do it light, taking me through the night
Shadow dancing, baby you do it right
Give me more, drag me across the floor
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more
Do it light, taking me through the night
Shadow dancing, baby you do it right
Give me more, drag me across the floor
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more
Do it light, taking me through the night
Shadow dancing, baby you do it right
Give me more, drag me across the floor
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more
Shadow Dancing was the first album that I ever bought, and that was because I loved Andy Gibb, like only a twelve-year-old could. I would put the record on the crappy cabinet stereo and just stare at the album cover while listening to Andy serenade me. I wouldn't even sing along; this was simply a passive surrender to my first celebrity crush. And why was this so thrilling to a young girl? To trace my eyes over those horsey teeth, that hint of pelt beneath unbuttoned shirt, that Breck Girl hair -- every part of Andy's squeaky-clean image (even if it was just a lie I told myself) was just almost dangerous; almost sexy. This was an era of curious heart throbs on the cover of my Tiger Beat, pretenders like Shaun Cassidy or Leif Garrett or Scott Baio:
How could they compare with my Andy?
That's comparing boys to men right there. Did you see the chest pelt? Thanks to tips on winning his heart like these and Andy's actual address listed in the end pages of Tiger Beat, the only fan letter I ever wrote was to Andy Gibb (and I actually dotted the "i" in his last name with a balloon heart). I remember trembling as I put that letter in the mailbox -- should I or shouldn't I confess my undying love? -- and I floated all the way home; the heavy weight of secret love had been untethered. Sadly, neither Andy or his publicity department ever acknowledged my letter.
It was around this same time that my family finally got a puppy like I had always wanted, and when I was asked if I wanted to name him, I never hesitated, saying "Andy." And Andy he was. My brothers tried to tease me for the rest of that dog's happy life -- you named him after Andy Gibb -- and all I could do was shrug. Yep, I did. (And as my parents named later dogs Sammy, Arnie, Maggie -- as well as the more unfortunately named Simba and Timbre -- I don't think they minded the human-name-as-dog-name precedent.)
Of course, as we all do, I moved on: musically and romantically. I was twenty-years-old when Andy Gibb died (either of a drug overdose or of a heart condition brought on by years of drug abuse, doesn't really matter which in the end), and gleefully, my father returned home from work that day and couldn't wait to say to me, "So what do you think of your hero Andy Gibb now? What a loser. That's where drugs will get you." Thanks Dad. I had not even a trace of longing for Andy Gibb in my heart by that time, but I was shocked by his passing, hoped that he had finally found peace, that, somewhere, he continued to dance in the shadows.
From the Nuts Don't Fall Far from the Tree files:
It was maybe 2009 (making Mallory 11) when she came to me, sobbing and hiccuping, her face a red and bloated mess. "Oh my God, what's wrong, honey?" I asked.
When she could finally catch her breath, Mal was able to stammer out, "I just found out that Nick Jonas has juvenile diabetes."
It took a lot of self-control not to laugh -- with both relief that there wasn't anything wrong with my little girl and just at the adorableness of her caring that much about her own first celebrity crush -- but I did remember how serious a crush can be, and the urge to laugh was easy to suppress. We talked about how Nick Jonas had the money and the access to first class health care that would, no doubt, keep him healthy for the rest of his very long life. She left feeling better and I felt good that I had been able to help her.
Later that same year, I took Mal to a Jonas Brothers concert. When a white piano rose in the middle of the revolving part of the stage, and Nick started talking about and then singing the song he wrote about his battle with juvenile diabetes, I caught Kennedy's rolling eyes and it was very hard not to burst out laughing right there.
Got the news today doctor said I had to stay
A little bit longer and I'll be fine
When I thought it'd all been done
When I thought it'd all been said
A little bit longer and I'll be fine
Nick Jonas is not exactly one of Jerry's Kids -- am I right? -- but there was a reverential hush in the crowd as thousands upon thousands of teenaged girls admired Nick's bravery, and as someone who once wanted to believe in a Tiger Beat fantasy, I could totally understand.
