I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man

Written for: The Belle Of New York (1952)
Performer: Fred Astaire
Lyric: Johnny Mercer
Music: Harry Warren
Year: 1951, 1952
Original publisher: Harry Warren Music, Inc., rights controlled by Leo Feist, Inc.

Chorus 1:

I wanna be a dancin' man while I can,
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time,
If I never leave a dime.
Never be a millionaire, I don't care,
I'll be rich as old King Midas might have been,
Least until the tide comes in.
Let other men build mighty nations,
And buildings to the sky;
I'll leave a few creations
To show that I was dancin' by.
I wanna be free as any bird can be, yes sir-ee!
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time,
If I never leave a dime.

Chorus 2:

I wanna be a dancin' man while I can,
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time,
If I never leave a dime.
Never be a millionaire, I don't care,
I'll be rich as old King Midas might have been,
Least until the tide comes in.
Let other men build mighty nations,
And buildings to the sky;
I'll leave a few creations
To show that I was dancin' by.
I wanna be free as any bird can be, yes sir-ee!
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time,
If I never leave a dime.
A dancin' man with footsteps on
The sands of rhythm and rhyme.