MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
Hypnotic tango (My mine)
click image to open video page
3:44
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/music/hypnotic-tango-my-mine-2480
Description

One of the best disco songs from the 80's, so good it is still danced in many discos (the last version was released in 2008 by VinylShakerz), and the living proof that Italian music is always at its best, no matter if we sing in Italian or in Spanish or in English, he he. Well, I don't sing (except in the shower), but I'm Italian, so "we sing" is good enough here.

I tried to upload the original video but... oops, I forgot videos were still a rarity in the 80's, so I couldn't find any, and the TV shots I found were so pathetic that today you wonder if you're watching a TV performance or a transvestite show in some dirty dive. So I'll spare you the embarrassment and show you this pre-fab video instead. Anyway, this video looks kind of hypnotic, doesn't it? so it fits well with the song.

Yea, I know you'd love to see the other video instead (now that I mentioned the transvestite show, you dirty), but believe me, the video would kill the music, and the music is so good (if you like retro disco, that is). Enjoy it.

Transcript

Hypnotic tango, tango, tango!

Stuck in my seat, can't move, no way
The other guys know the game to play
I'm watchin' her, I'm watchin' me, I'm gettin' brave
Oh, take him apart. Say, listen to me

Look on the floor and all is spinning round
Someone told me this was just a dance
And take a chance I ain't met before
Do you think I really have a chance?

Hypnotic tango, tango, tango!

Rough Diamond. He smiles. She looks at him
Ain't gonna be no story in love
Take me to the dance floor by the hand
Give me this night in a foreign land

Look on the floor and all is spinning round
Someone told me this was just a dance
And take a chance I ain't met before
Do you think I really have a chance?

Look on the floor and all is spinning round
Someone told me this was just a dance
And take a chance I ain't met before
Do you think I really have a chance?

Hypnotic, hypnotic
Hypnotic, hypnotic

I’m staring and dreaming
Hypnotic tango for you and me
I’m staring and dreaming
Hypnotic tango for you and me, yeah

Look on the floor and all is spinning round
Someone told me this was just a dance
And take a chance I ain't met before
Do you think I really have a chance?

Look on the floor and all is spinning round
Someone told me this was just a dance
And take a chance I ain't met before
Do you think I really have a chance?

Explanations

STUCK IN MY SEAT= If you are stuck you can't move because you are trapped in something, in this case, a seat. Yes, a seat. You have never been stuck in a seat before? Well you should try, even if just for a change. Ok, ok, now serious, if you're stuck in your seat you can't move, you can't get up and go anywhere because you are paralyzed by fear or shock or something. This guy wants to get up and ask her to dance with him, but he can't, he's too shy and feels paralyzed, so he's stuck in his seat.

NO WAY= An emphatic form to say "No", or "of course not".

GUYS= (colloquial American English) boys, men.

KNOW THE GAME TO PLAY= If you know the game to play, you know what to do in this situation to get what you want. In this context, the game is picking up girls, flirting. So the song says that "everybody knows how to flirt with a girl (but me!)".


SAY= We use this word in a colloquial way simply to call people's attention to what we're going to say next, so in fact, it means the same as "listen".

LOOK ON THE FLOOR= I look down or I look at the dance floor.

IS SPINNING ROUND= If something is spinning round is turning round, so if I look on the floor and everything is spinning round, it means either that I am in a merry-go-round or that I feel dizzy. What do you think fits here?

CHANCE= Opportunity.

I AIN'T MET BEFORE= (colloquial) I haven't met before. If you haven't met this chance before, it means that you never had this chance before. But he is not too sure he has the chance now, because he next says "do you think I really have a chance?". Yes, as I said in the Song Meaning section, he's shy and not very self-confident.

ROUGH DIAMOND= A diamond just as it is dug out of the ground, a stone, before it is cut and shaped into a jewel. We say that somebody is a rough diamond when we think they are impressive, incredible and very valuable. Here, he refers to the girl he's watching and he wants to flirt with, but feels too shy to make a move.

AIN'T GONNA BE NO STORY IN LOVE= (colloquial) There isn't going to be a story in love. A story in love? What the hell is that exactly? Well, anyway, it's clear that he means "this is not going to work, she's not going to be mine". Well, little shy boy, let me tell you this: if you keep thinking like that I think you're going to be damn right about it. Stop whining about it and do something, for God's sake!
What? That wasn't very politically correct? Uhm, yea, maybe you're right. Let's put it this way then:
Come on handsome, you're good and valuable, you shouldn't undervalue your worth. You're precious, the universe loves you, we love you, I love you... (well, maybe I went too far here). Take a deep breath and stand up, you can do it. Go on you brute, drive her crazy with your irresistible sex appeal.
That better?

STARING= Looking directly and fixedly

Meaning

Well, erm... the meaning of this song is.... a guy who wants to flirt with a girl who is dancing... but he is too shy and not very self-confident... and he thinks all the other guys are better than him, so he hasn't got a chance, but he dreams about winning her. Well, I think. Are they all dancing tango?