A New Wave hit from 1982. The music video for the song is notable for its medieval imagery, although some of the clothing is anachronistic. It was filmed in the village of West Kington, near Bath, in south-west England. Ivan Doroschuk is the only member of the band to actually perform in the video. The Morris Dance side performing in the video was Chippenham Town Morris from Wiltshire.

We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine

Say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind

And we can dance, "dansez"

We can go when we want to
Night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise them with a victory cry

Say, we can act if we want to
If we don't nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile

And say

We can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole

We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance

it's a Safety dance
Oh well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance

We can dance if we want to
We've got all your life and mine
As long as we abuse it, never going to lose it
Everything will work out right

I say, We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine

I say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from pole to pole

We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance

Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Yes it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance
Well it's safe to dance

It's a Safety Dance
Well it's a Safety Dance
Oh it's a Safety Dance
Oh it's a Safety Dance
Well it's a Safety Dance

WANT TO= The normal pronunciation in BrE would be /wɒnt tu:/ or, more exactly /wɒntu:/ because the final T and the initial T merge together. But the T may disappear after an N (it happens in AmE often, and it may also happen in BrE in certain occasions) so in this song he pronounces it /wɒnu:/. Nevertheless, this pronunciation is not habitual, because when we merge both words together in this context (with a proverb TO at the end of the sentence) the usual simplification would be /wɒnə/ (often spelled WANNA in informal writing).

DANSEZ= (French) imperative for the second person plural: you guys, dance!

Though music fans have often interpreted the song as a metaphor for nuclear war, a call for safe sex, and even a protest against club slam dancing bans, group member Stefan Doroschuk said in an online interview that "The Safety Dance" is about non-conformism and everyone's ability to leave their friends behind and strike out on their own. (thanks, James - Lexington, KY)