♫ I Hope You Dance ♫

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While I was in the shower this evening, a tune popped into my head and I found myself whistling (ever try whistling with water cascading down the front of your face?  I don’t advise it) it, for the lyrics weren’t coming to me, nor was the song title nor the artist.  But for some reason, a little guy with a big nose kept popping into my head.  I finished my shower, and came back downstairs (after drying off and getting dressed) to put on my thinking cap and try to figure out what song this was that had so invaded my … wait a minute … I think a few of the lyrics have come to mind … perhaps I can Google!  And this is what the song was …

Sigh.  Okay, that’s certainly not my usual fare, is it now?  Still, I hope you take a minute to watch it, for it is almost guaranteed to make you smile!  Okay … someone hand me the brain eraser, please, so that I can start over.  NO … I’m not hopping back into the shower in hopes of another such inspiration!  Hmmmm … my thinking machine seems to be in need of an oiling or something, so I am going to borrow a page out of our friend Clive’s book tonight.  This is one of two songs that Clive chose to honour his new granddaughter a few years ago, and I think it expresses something we would all like to say to our children and grandchildren.  So, this one is in honour of you and your granddaughter, Clive, and the one who is soon to arrive!

Written by Tia Sillers and Mark Sanders and released by Lee Ann Womack in 2000, this song went to #1 in Canada, #14 in the U.S. and #40 in the UK.

Tia Sillers, who was going through a painful divorce at the time, said of the song …

“For ‘I Hope You Dance,’ I had written the opening line, ‘I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. I had just broken up with someone, going through a brutal divorce. I needed to get away, so I went to a beach on the Florida Gulf Coast. Sitting on the beach and reflecting about the breakup, I felt so small and inconsequential. But out of this difficult time came the inspiration to write ‘I Hope You Dance.’ As I was leaving the beach, I remember thinking that things weren’t really so bad, that I would get through it. That’s when I came up with the line, ‘I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.'”

This won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and also the Country Music Award for Song Of The Year. It was a #1 Country hit and also #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts.  After this became a hit, Sillers and Sanders released a book called I Hope You Dance with writings based on the song.  I’m not typically a fan of country music, but somehow I didn’t realize until tonight that this was considered ‘country’, and no matter … I still like the song!

I Hope You Dance
Lee Ann Womack and Sons of the Desert

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance… I hope you dance…

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance,
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they’re worth takin’,
Lovin’ might be a mistake, but it’s worth makin’,
Don’t let some Hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance… I hope you dance.
I hope you dance… I hope you dance.
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
Tell me who wants to look back on their years
And wonder where those years have gone.)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

Dance… I hope you dance.
I hope you dance… I hope you dance.
I hope you dance… I hope you dance.
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
Tell me who wants to look back on their years
And wonder where those years have gone.)

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Sanders Mark Daniel / Sillers Tia Maria
I Hope You Dance lyrics © Sony/atv Melody, Choice Is Tragic Music, Soda Creek Songs, Mca Music Publishing, A.d.o. Universal S

33 thoughts on “♫ I Hope You Dance ♫”

  1. Jill, this is a beautiful song with a powerful metaphor for life, not just love or dancing. I love the video as well. This song has greater appeal beyond a country music audience. Keith

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  2. When one reaches a certain age the worry of becoming addlebrained looms ominously overhead. Undoubtedly, though unbeknownst to me until now, earlier this month that milestone had been reached! What other reason could lead me to think that this song and video has previously been played by you and expounded upon by me?! Be that as it may, this song is another one that is near & dear to my heart and therefore must be commented upon. If I have indulged my P for L at another place and time, feel free to either read it or skip it…whichever works for YOU! I fell in love with this song from the moment that I first heard it in and this official video made it even more loved. The video touched me deeply because I was introduced to ballet at a very young age for the purpose of strengthening my lower limbs. I fell in love with ballet and continued dancing long long after the need was met. My youngest daughter followed in my dance shoes until figure skating lured her away. The girls dancing in the video never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Did you know that the two children who enter the gate and Womack sings to are her own daughters? Aubrie Sellers is the elder one and is Womack’s daughter with Jason Sellers. Aubrie became a singer and has released two or more albums. The younger adorable tot, Anna Lise Lidell, is Womack’s daughter with Frank Lidell. Anna Lise is also in the music business. The Lee Ann Womack album “I Hope You Dance” was purchased and remains in my collection. Youngest daughter turned 21 in 2000 and as a gift I had found the “I Hope You Dance” small book by the songwriters with an introduction by Womack which also included a CD of the song mounted inside the back cover. If memory serves me correctly, it was in the mid 2010’s when I was gifted with a wonderful book by Judith Proffer : “I Hope You Dance : The Power and Spirit of Song” and also a DVD of it which featured Maya Angelou amongst others. The song was said by Angelou to be her favorite. Thank-you!

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    • Oh how I have missed your P for L!!!! That said, I shan’t call you addlebrained, but I double and triple checked, and I cannot find that I have played this one before! And … your commentary does not ring a bell as being something I had heard before. Now, you might have mentioned this song in an email or in a comment and I just never acted upon the suggestion, but nope, my friend, according to my archives (no, I haven’t forgotten your idea for my archives, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet) I haven’t played it before. Now that said, I’m really glad you enjoyed this one! And I’ve learned something new from you! I did know that those girls were Womack’s daughters … I think Clive mentioned it … but I didn’t know they had both gone into the field of music, nor that the elder of the two had produced albums! So, thank you for your fun and informative P for L!!!

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  3. Thanks for the shout out, Jill. I’ll admit to being surprised the other evening when you said you like this one, as I know country isn’t your thing. I think this shows that if music is good it doesn’t matter what compartment it gets filed away in. Lee Ann has that country ‘twang’ to her voice, but this is a beautiful song in anyone’s language. And her little girl melts my heart whenever I watch this video.

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