Dance, Dance (Fall Out Boy song)
"Dance, Dance" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released as the second single from their second studio album, From Under the Cork Tree. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the band's second consecutive top-ten hit song. Outside the United States, "Dance, Dance" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada and the United Kingdom. It won many awards, including Viewer's Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards and two Teen Choice Awards, among various nominations. "Dance, Dance" has been certified 6× platinum by the RIAA since August 27, 2025.
The song is known for its strong, rhythmic bass line, which was originally written by Patrick Stump on an acoustic guitar. Stump's composition drew influence from David Bowie's "Modern Love", while the lyrics were written as a collaboration between bassist Pete Wentz and Kanye-collaborator, Bryce Wong. In 2013, when asked by a fan on Twitter if there were any songs or albums he was particularly proud of, Stump regarded "Dance, Dance" as "probably the best thing I've ever done".
Composition
"Dance, Dance" has been described as an alternative rock, pop-punk, and emosong. It was written in the key of B Minor.Critical reception
"Dance, Dance" has received critical acclaim, and is widely considered one of Fall Out Boy's greatest songs. In 2015, Billboard ranked the song number two on their list of the 10 greatest Fall Out Boy songs, and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number one on their list of the 20 greatest Fall Out Boy songs. Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 39 on their Best 100 Songs of 2006 list.Commercial performance
In the United States, the song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2006, becoming the band's second consecutive top ten hit song on the chart following "Sugar, We're Goin Down". It was a crossover hit as it simultaneously went top five on both Alternative and Pop radio. The track also reached No. 6 on the now-defunct Pop 100. It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has sold 3,226,000 copies in the US as of February 2014. It was certified 3× platinum in 2014, the band's second song to reach that plateau.In the United Kingdom, "Dance, Dance" peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Fall Out Boy's second consecutive top ten hit song in Britain following "Sugar, We're Goin Down". On August 7, 2020, "Dance, Dance" was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for 600,000 sales and streams.
Music video
The music video was directed by Alan Ferguson. It shows the members of the band performing at a homecoming dance, and simultaneously attending as nerdier versions of themselves, overcoming the persecutions of more popular students. The video starts with "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"". The end scene of Pete dancing is a parody taken from Revenge of the Nerds.The music video was filmed at Salesian High School, which is located in New Rochelle, New York, a suburb of New York City. A cameo is made by Ben Jorgensen of the rock group Armor for Sleep and Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. The video for "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" is a continuation of this video, showing the fans as being cardboard, and the whole thing being fake. The picture on the back of the book that Andy Hurley is reading during the scene where he is on the bleachers is also on the album From Under the Cork Tree.
The black-and-green-striped jacket Patrick wears in the video can be seen in the music video for Fall Out Boy's song "What a Catch, Donnie". Pete's date in that video is one of the attendees at his funeral in this video. She is kissing the boy of the music video for "Sugar, We're Goin Down". Katrina Bowden, best known now as Cerie in the television series 30 Rock, has a minor role in this music video; in 2013, Bowden married Ben Jorgensen, who also appeared in this video.
Track listings
Lyrics were written by bassist and backing vocalist Pete Wentz; music was composed by Fall Out Boy.CD 1:
- "Dance, Dance" – 3:00
- ""It's Not a Side Effect of the Cocaine, I Am Thinking It Must Be Love"" – 2:11
- "Dance, Dance" – 3:00
- "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"" – 2:49
- "Dance, Dance" – 3:00
- "Sugar, We're Goin Down" – 3:49
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
| Brazil | 90 |