David Bowie – John I ’ m only dancing ( 1972 )
This non-album Single from the Great White Duke came out back in his Ziggy Stardust period and is a smart take on a bisexual relationship . The story is very straightforward , talking about a man at a party who dances with a woman he doesn ’ t know . The male dancer has a problem though : his man John is worried about the fact that his lover could end up leaving him with the woman . The dancer makes him know about the fact that he is turned on by her but still , he ’ s only dancing . The key element in this song is how it can always be interpreted as a bi-centered song , whether the narrator is a man or a woman . If a woman sang it , she would still be turned on by a woman while being in a straight relationship , and the fact that David came out as a bisexual during the same year the single was released emphasizes this . Despite the context of the song , the single was another hit from Bowie and wasn ’ t censored ( except for the music video which was considered too risqué due t o t h e a n d r o g y n o u s d a n c e r s
appearing in it ), At the very end of the 70s , Bowie released a reworked version plainly called John I ’ m only dancing ( Again ). Instead of the glam rock-ish sound of the original version , it features funk-disco oriented instrumentals as well as rewritten verses . However , the chorus remains the same , which means you can now tease your lover in a groovy way
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