The Safety Dance
(Doroschuk, I/ Doroschuk, S) Performed by Men Without Hats
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
Say, we can go where we want to
A place that they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
And leave the real one far behind
And we can dance, dansez
We can go when we want to
The night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise them with a victory cry
Say, we can act if we want to
If we don't nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile
And say
We can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance
It's a safety dance
Oh well it's safe to dance
Yes it safe to dance
We can dance if we want to
We've got all your life and mine
As long as we abuse it, never going to lose it
Everything will work out right
I say, we can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
Because your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
I say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's a safety dance
Oh it's a safety dance
Oh it's a safety dance
Well it's a safety dance
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
Say, we can go where we want to
A place that they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
And leave the real one far behind
And we can dance, dansez
We can go when we want to
The night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise them with a victory cry
Say, we can act if we want to
If we don't nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile
And say
We can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance
It's a safety dance
Oh well it's safe to dance
Yes it safe to dance
We can dance if we want to
We've got all your life and mine
As long as we abuse it, never going to lose it
Everything will work out right
I say, we can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
Because your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
I say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's a safety dance
Oh it's a safety dance
Oh it's a safety dance
Well it's a safety dance
I'm straying from the timeline of my life this week to go back to 1982 -- the year The Safety Dance was released -- and moreso to go back to last weekend, which the family and I spent in Montreal. This week's song choice is based solely on the fact that Men Without Hats are from Montreal and this is a tune the girls have grown up with.
I originally proposed this weekend to Mallory as something special for just me and her: I had taken Kennedy to Montreal with me last summer, and I also took her with me to Edmonton in April (Mal was invited on this trip but demurred), so I thought it would only be fair to take Mal somewhere, too. Since she had her last exam on the Thursday before, and since the drinking age in Quebec is 18, I thought that Montreal would be a cool trip for just the two of us. Turns out, she thought it would be more fun if the whole family went. And so we all did.
The main point was to buy Mallory her first legal drink, and so after we checked into the hotel and parked the car, we started off on foot and ended up at the 3 Brasseurs; a brewery/pub where the waiter made a big fuss over bringing Mal some beer samples so she could figure out what she likes. Turns out, she didn't much like any of it.
We walked around (a lot) and ended up in the "gay village":
We stopped at a really nice cafe for dinner -- I think it was primarily a wine bar from the menu, but the patio on St Catherine Street was the main draw for us -- and Mallory and I had the duck (perhaps the best duck confit I have ever had, and I order that everywhere) and we all shared a delicious bottle of champagne (I think she liked it?)
After walking around forever more, we stopped at a pub on Crescent Street -- sitting on another patio, now in the dark -- and tried once again to find a drink that Mallory would like. Dave talked her into a Long Island Ice Tea, but she found it "gritty"; like undissolved powdered ice tea mix. (This pic of me and Kennedy needed the black and white filter because otherwise the street lights behind us totally wash us out):
That was pretty much it for the first day. The next morning, we drove around the city -- going up to Mont Royal Park; Dave was fascinated with the old cemetery up there and we kept driving around and around it -- and as St Joseph's Oratory looked impressive from the bus tour Kennedy and I took last summer, we headed there and got out to walk around. Glad we did because it is impressive (being the largest church in Canada) and I was surprised how traditional it looks from the outside, and how modern it is on the interior.
Then we started driving around again, this time heading for Old Montreal and the Port, where we parked and walked around for some more hours. We had lunch at a different location of 3 Brasseurs (because we hadn't noticed until we went to leave the night before that they served duck poutine for me and a grilled macaroni and cheese sandwich for Kennedy; irresistible on both counts), and although I enjoyed this meal very much, I thought it was too bad that Mallory opposed going on a two hour boat cruise/buffet on the Saint Laurence. We found an ice cream shop and Dave got a Red Bull slushie (blew his mind) and we walked the cobblestone streets:
And after driving through the modern business district to get to a comics/toy store, it was time to head back home. Montreal is definitely close enough to go to for a weekend, but with a six hour drive each way, you need to have good travellers like we do in order to make it a good time: we won't be going down to Nova Scotia this year, but in comparison, this drive felt like nothing. I hope it seemed like a special reward for Mal: two days after we got back, this is where we were:
Yeah, that's Mal getting a special scholarship for being a student who "pursues her goals with passion" (weird that it's presented by the man who was her first family doctor; a cat so strange we ended up going to a different practise). We are just so proud of this kid and I sincerely hope that in the end she felt like the Montreal weekend was all about her (even if she was never crazy about the food or drinks she ordered; even though she sulked when I insisted that I wasn't dressed properly to rent bikes to tool around on). If I had some advice for Mallory as she embarks on the next stage of her life, it would be:
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
