Dancin' Thru The City (Demo)

from Catalogue by Johnny Darlin

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about

One of those instances where a demo is actually way better than the final product. There's a fully produced version of "Dancin'" you can get from the Hump Daze EP, but as the years have gone by, the distance between my intentions with this song and that version of it has grown. I've only ever performed it live as a piano number, as that is how it feels the most natural - me and that baby grand at the Bowery Poetry Club, to be specific! And so, for this reissue, I went looking for the demo that started it all - and I found it! So here is the demo of Dancin' Thru The City - an it-gets-better anthem I hope has moved at least one person not to give up.

lyrics

Your stepmom drives you to school, but you’ve got nothing to talk about,
So you hop on the bus, now you’ve got something to complain about.
They call you a faggot every day, a word you can’t defend,
You’d try to tell them it’s not your way, but your voice just does you in.

Give it some time, boy, you will see,
This is not the end.
Give it a year, or maybe five,
It won’t be more than ten.

Til you’re dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker,
Just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker.
Your granny, she may not approve,
It don’t mean you don’t love her,
You’re just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker.

Little girl, would you prefer a different pronoun?
Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother now.
The restroom mirror in your church,
Shows the monster your preacher’s been preachin’ bout,
But look even harder and you will find,
Such a Noble man tryna come out.

Just give it some time boy, you will see,
This is not the end.
You’ll get a new birthday you’ll share with me,
You’ll start over again.

Dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker,
You’re just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker.
Your auntie, she may scoff at you,
But you just see her in the summer,
Cause you’re dancing through the city like a

Breakdown

And when all this time alone feels like a waste,
You may be free, but your bed has one big empty space,
I hear that’s when you know,
That you’ve gotten to know yourself.
You’ll put yourself out there,
You’ll put yourself out there,
(It’ll be scary but) you’ll put yourself out there,
(It’ll be hard but) you can put yourself out there,
You’ll put yourself out there -

You’ll be dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’ll be dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’ll look in their eyes and you will find it was worth the while,
Cause you're dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’re dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’re dancing through the city with a -
And you dance, and you dance, and you dance...

credits

from Catalogue, released January 13, 2019
"Dancin' Thru the City" by Johnny Darlin

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about

Johnny Darlin Brooklyn, New York

Johnny Darlin is a pop musician living and performing in Brooklyn, New York. He has released four EPs - "Mr. Monogamy," "Hump Daze," the Britney Spears Concept EP "Push," and "Way With Words." The best of all of these are compiled into the LP "Catalogue." Johnny has performed sold-out residencies as part of The New York and Prague Fringe Festivals.

contact & booking: johnnydarlin549@gmail.com
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