BATTLE OF THE BANDS: I Hope You Dance

I had drafted this for my 2014 end of year post, but of course I took a two month long holiday at that time. The sentiment of I HOPE YOU DANCE works as well for Mothers Day, however. This is one of my many favorite songs about relationships; a reflection, sort of, on who you were, and who you are now, and all the hopes for the future.

In an interview with Songwriter Universe magazine, one of the song writers (Tia Sillers and Mark Sanders) says:

she was going through a painful divorce when she wrote this song. Said Sillers: "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.'"

I have been married and divorced three times in my life. I've had countless jobs and life experiences; successes and defeats. Through it all, I've survived to be the person I am today, at this moment in my life. Sometimes I wish I had a time machine to go back and change some decisions at critical moments in my life; but then I wonder what I would have missed without this specific journey. I'm not sure I want to know. Fate is a fickle thing, and I take my blessings in my life where I can.

Below is my two Battle of the Bands video's. I've tried to make all things equal in this battle; the lyrics, the orchestra, the video content.Open your eyes (and your heart) as you watch the videos this time; I don't feel either video will sway your vote. The content is the same. The only difference I present is: male or female vocals. As authors, and human beings, I think the message - love, beauty, hope - bears repeating, and I could use some of this sentiment in my life right now.

I HOPE YOU DANCE is considered Lee Ann Womack's signature song, originally recorded in 2000 on an album title the same, and it reached number 14 on Bill Boards top 100. It won CMA and BMI awards for best song of the year in 2001. Wommack told The Today Show: "You can't hear those lyrics and not think about children and—and—and hope for the future and things you want for them. And those are the things I want for them in life." In another interview with Bill Board she states: "Certainly, it can represent everything a parent hopes for their child, but it can also be for a relationship that's ending as a fond wish for the other person's happiness or for someone graduating, having a baby, or embarking on a new path. It fits almost every circumstance I can think of." (Wiki source)




Irish singer/songwriter, former Boyzone lead singer Ronan Keating covered this song as a non-album charity single. I was unable to locate a link to the charity, or the release year, but the video below is dated 2004. Keating is well known for his charity work, mainly in the UK for the Marie Keating cancer foundation. And yes, I do believe Dad's can be as lovingly sentimental with their children and grandchildren as Mother's. I am sure Keating was thinking of his own mother's dreams for his future after her death from breast cancer.




 I hope you enjoyed the sentiment of this song, even if you don't enjoy the music genre. This time of year makes me sentimental; makes me wish everyone feels they have lived a full and happy life. Leave your vote in the comments. And if you can't decide; at least leave a comment that shows you understand the song, and perhaps how it has touched your own life.

And do visit the list at Stephen McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog or Far Away Series for other BotB posts. Dance, and Live your life my friends, whatever that means to you.

Thanks for visiting today.