Tag Archives: Do I Have To Dance All Night

Huzzahs & Hallelujahs

Sometime yesterday, the 50,000th viewing of the Heck Of A Guy video of the 1976 iteration of “Do I Have To Dance All Night” by Leonard Cohen took place.

To properly celebration this event, I recommend – yep, another viewing of both versions of this wonderful song.

Leonard Cohen’s 1976 “Do I Have To Dance All Night” with Laura Branigan

Leonard Cohen’s 1980 “Do I Have To Dance All Night” (Amsterdam Concert

The “Do I Have To Dance All Night” Saga

For more information about the song itself, see “Do I Have To Dance All Night” – The Best Leonard Cohen Song You’ve (Probably) Never Heard. The stories behind the videos can be found at Do I Have To Dance All Night – The Leonard Cohen Video You’ve Never Seen (the 1976 version with Laura Branigan) and Leonard Cohen’s Other “Do I Have To Dance All Night” (1980 Version) Gets Its Own Video (the 1980 version).

The Tell Me, Bird Of Paradise Campaign

On July 6th, 2006, I posted “Do I Have To Dance All Night” – The Best Leonard Cohen Song You’ve (Probably) Never Heard. At the time, that title was accurate. Only those who had been Cohen fans before 1980 – and not all of  them – had heard this wonderful song.

Although Leonard Cohen performed “Do I Have To Dance All Night” many times in concerts during the 1976 and 1980 tours, it was only released as a 45 rpm single in Europe in 1976 and was never released in the US.

The 2006 post was the first salvo in my ongoing battle to re-introduce “Do I Have To Dance All Night” to at least the community of Leonard Cohen’s admirers.

I also cobbled together a pastiche of Cohen-associated photos and clips into a couple of videos that kinda sorta fit the music of “Do I Have To Dance All Night.”  On April 28th, 2009, I posted Do I Have To Dance All Night – The Leonard Cohen Video You’ve Never Seen, which featured the 1976 version with Laura Branigan, and on May 27th, 2009, I posted Leonard Cohen’s Other “Do I Have To Dance All Night” (1980 Version) Gets Its Own Video, which spotlighted the 1980 iteration of the song.

As a result, thousands of fans who were unaware of this song’s existence have had the opportunity to hear it and watch the accompanying video.

The YouTube stats now show that the video of  the 1976 version is approaching 50,000 viewings.(The 1980 version, considered by many to be the superior rendition, has been viewed 11,386 times.)

click on graph to enlarge

Help push “Do I Have To Dance All Night”
video over 50,000 viewings

Leonard Cohen’s 1976 “Do I Have To Dance All Night” with Laura Branigan

Leonard Cohen’s 1980 “Do I Have To Dance All Night” (Amsterdam Concert

Leonard Cohen - still dancing all night (Coachella 2009)

Video Of  1980 Version Of “Do I Have To Dance All Night” By Leonard Cohen Tops 10,000 Views

“Do I Have To Dance All Night,” a wonderful song and a personal favorite of mine,¹ was performed by Leonard Cohen many times in concerts during the 1976 and 1980 tours but was never released in the US. Consequently, contemporary audiences, even listeners who are fans of Leonard Cohen’s music, have too often been unaware of the existence of this music.

As part of my crusade to correct this tragedy and restore the cosmos to its equilibrium, I cobbled together two videos – one for the semi-funky 1976 version with Laura Branigan and one for the 1980 more gypsy, less disco version – that kinda sorta fit the music.

Today, I joyfully announce that, as of Dec 22, 2011

The video of the 1976
version of Do I Have To Dance All Night
has been viewed 39,907 times.

 and

The video of the 1980 version
of Do I Have To Dance All Night
has been viewed 10,631 times.

These videos and the story behind them, including links to keys to the sources of the clips and the identities of the backup singers and others who are featured, are featured at

• 1976 Do I Have To Dance All Night Video
• 1980 Do I Have To Dance All Night Video

Cover of Do I Have To Dance All Night (45 rpm single)

The complete story of “Do I Have To Dance All Night” is available at The Best Leonard Cohen Song You’ve Never Heard (Probably)

Portuguese Pressing

Credit Due Department: Cover art of Do I Have To Dance All Night singles contributed by Dominique BOILE. Image atop this post is a screenshot of Leonard Cohen performing at Coachella (2009) that is also included in the video of the 1976 version of Do I Have To Dance All Night.

1. My perspective on the qualities of this song can be discerned from this description excerpted from The Best Leonard Cohen Song You’ve Never Heard (Probably):

   Do I Have To Dance All Night is a great song because it is quintessential Cohen: it’s evocative, it’s plaintive, it’s self-effacing, it’s sly, sexy, salacious, and seductive, … it is way cool.

   Of course, that’s just one guy’s opinion. Check out the lyrics and listen to the song yourself at the end of this post.

   Be aware, however, that if you happen to be as infatuated with Do I Have To Dance All Night as I am, you may find yourself spontaneously singing, at the most unexpected times, the refrain of

   Ooh tell me, Bird of Paradise,
   do I have to dance all night?

   This can be a wonderful thing if it happens, for example, while one is dancing and the words are sung just barely above a whisper through lips that are almost touching a sweetheart’s ear. If it takes place in the middle of ones presentation on shower curtain sales trends in the Midwest, not so much. [↩]