The Viral Hit Song "Dance Monkey" Was Written in Only 30 Minutes

From Oprah Magazine

• Australian singer Tones and I's song "Dance Monkey" has become a global sensation after it was released in May 2019, breaking records and topping music charts worldwide.

• The 26-year-old singer behind Tones and I—Toni Watson—first gained fans as a busker in Byron Bay, Australia, while she was living out of her van.

• The lyrics in "Dance Monkey" are about Watson's experience busking and the things people would say to her. Here, we explain the story (and meaning) of the tune.

What's the story behind "Dance Monkey"—the record-breaking, chart-topping viral hit that's playing just about everywhere? First released on May 20, 2019 as the second single off of Tones and I's debut EP The Kids Are Coming, the song has since dominated airwaves and by November 2019 it broke Australia's chart record for most weeks at number one, becoming the only Australian single to hold that distinction.

The song also reached #1 in over 20 countries, topped the UK singles chart, and reached #5 in the United States—not to mention the single has over 1.1 billion streams on Spotify.

Toni Watson, the singer behind "Dance Monkey" may be well on her way to becoming a household name in the United States as the viral hit has vaulted the Australian busker, who once lived out of her van, to the global stage.

The lyrics to the indie-pop song draw directly from the 26-year-old singer's experience as a busker in Byron Bay, Australia.

According to an interview with The New York Times, Tones and I wrote "Dance Monkey" in less than 30 minutes. "I love busking...but there was one night that was very frustrating and I wrote a song about that."

"People grabbed my hand and be like 'you know you stopped me dead in my tracks when I was walking by'" Tones and I explained in the interview. "Just sing one more song, one more song."

During one particular night busking, Tones and I recalled a girl who knocked over her keyboard and a guy that tried to steal her money. Those encounters helped shape "Dance Monkey." "I'm literally just repeating what people tell me. That's why if you replace dance with the word sing, it's just about me busking."

Indeed, in "Dance Monkey" the lyrics track pretty close to what Tones and I described. She sings, "You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by / And now I beg to see you dance just one more time."

If "Dance Monkey" was about her experience singing on the street, why did Tones and I choose to use the word "dance" in her lyrics? "A lot of my music is not actually about me, so I ended up writing it about 'dance' instead of 'sing' so it wasn't so personal," she explained in an interview with DIFFUS Magazine.

Despite leaving the word "sing" out of the song, for Tones and I "busking was—and I always say this—the best thing I've ever done and it was the happiest time of my life," she told DIFFUS. "I was living off my music. I was living for myself. I was living out of my van and I just did what I wanted to do. If I needed some money, I would just go busk and buy food or whatever. I felt really free."

In light of the incredible success of "Dance Monkey," Tones and I doesn't want to be seen as an overnight sensation. Rather, it's years of busking, building her social media following, and creating music that has led her to this point. "In the winter when no when else would busk, in the rain when no one else would be busking, I would be busking." Tones and I told the Times, "It wasn't about the money, it was about—no matter what—being able to get more fans."

It's those very fans that gained her a global audience. After smashing music charts in Australia and beyond, Tones and I made her American TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in November 2019, with a performance of "Dance Monkey" that has garnered over 59 million views on Youtube.

The singer is now embarking on a world tour which began on February 1 in Australia, and makes stops in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy, Belgium, Norway, Finland and more.

Below are the full lyrics to "Dance Monkey," courtesy of Genius.com, if you care to sing along.

[Verse 1]
They say, "Oh my God, I see the way you shine
Take your hands, my dear, and place them both in mine"
You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by
And now I beg to see you dance just one more time

[Pre-Chorus]
Ooh, I see you, see you, see you every time
And oh my, I, I like your style
You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry
And now I beg to see you dance just one more time

[Chorus]
So they say
Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh
I've never seen anybody do the things you do before
They say
Move for me, move for me, move for me, ayy-ayy-ayy
And when you’re done, I'll make you do it all again

[Verse 2]
I said, "Oh my God, I see you walking by
Take my hands, my dear, and look me in my eyes"
Just like a monkey, I've been dancin’ my whole life
But you just beg to see me dance just one more time

[Pre-Chorus]
Ooh, I see you, see you, see you every time
And oh my, I, I like your style
You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry
And now I beg to see you dance just one more time

[Chorus]
So they say
Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh
I've never seen anybody do the things you do before
They say
Move for me, move for me, move for me, ayy-ayy-ayy
And when you're done, I'll make you do it all again
They say
Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
I've never seen anybody do the things you do before
They say
Move for me, move for me, move for me, ayy-ayy-ayy
And when you're done, I'll make you do it all again

[Bridge]
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh, ah-ah, ah-ah

[Chorus]
They say
Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh
I've never seen anybody do the things you do before
They say
Move for me, move for me, move for me, ayy-ayy-ayy
And when you’re done, I’ll make you do it all again
They say
Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
I've never seen anybody do the things you do before
They say
Move for me, move for me, move for me, ayy-ayy-ayy
And when you’re done, I'll make you do it all again
All again

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