The Eagles

"I Love to Watch a Woman Dance"

The Eagles

"I Love to Watch a Woman Dance"

I love to watch a woman dance

She bows her head and lifts her hands

Her hips begin to circle slowly

Her eyes half closed her face is holy

She holds the whole room in a trance

I love to watch a woman dance

Yeah, I love to watch a woman dance

She likes the slow songs of love lost

They take her a million miles away

'Cause to dream, sometimes is the only way

To go places you can't get to any other way

Our eyes connect, she takes my hand

I love to watch a woman dance

Yeah, I love to watch a woman dance

I feel my heart beating and I wonder

Will it ever satisfy my longing?

I wanna hold on to you as long as I can

For who knows, this dance may be our only dance

So we dance together close and slow

So slow we're almost standing still

Her warm breath against my neck

Slowly breaking down my will

The room spins so I can barely stand

The song ends and she lets go of my hand

There's so much I don't understand

I love to watch a woman dance

Yeah, I love to watch a woman dance

I was on tour in Holland, my first European tour. How magical it was. I am in Europe all the time now, and it still is magical, but those first trips were of a time and place that I had dreamed of, cobblestone streets, old buildings, really old buildings, history still alive, walking cities.

I had just done a live radio show in Hilversum, Holland the radio and TV center for The Netherlands. I took a train back to Amsterdam and looked forward to listening to my interview on the radio in my hotel room. Afterward, I walked across the street to the music venue Paradiso. Later on, I would perform there, once as the opening act for Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. He liked what he heard in my soundcheck and came into my dressing room to chat about music that we loved. Georgie Fame was in his band and other Brit heavyweights. My promoter brought along her girlfriends and that attracted Bill's entire band into my backstage room.

Paradiso is a former church, now desecrated by rock 'n' roll! On my first visit there, there was a gypsy band playing, a swirling snake of dancers, girls from all over Europe. From the bar, I took it all in. There was a group of girls holding hands and dancing in a circle. Outside the circle was a guy dying to be invited into the inner circle. That wasn't going to happen. Finally, they allowed him to stand in the center as they danced around him. That was as in as he would get that night.

Another girl nearby was dancing alone, her eyes closed, her head thrown back as if in a trance. I went back to my hotel room and wrote the beginnings of this song.

The next day I visited the Anne Frank house. The lines "I feel my heart beating and I wonder, can it ever satisfy my longing" were inspired by that visit. It was heartbreaking and life-affirming at the same time. We all want to love and be loved, and live this precious life we've been given.

My version of the song is on my album "Dandelion Soul". It was recorded in the Bronx, New York neighborhood of Woodlawn. If you've just come from Ireland, the church there would help you find work and a place to live. My bass player Lincoln Schleifer produced my album in his basement apartment there. The drummer was my Irish brother Denny McDermott. We had toured together in Europe and played the live scene in New York clubs like Sin-é, Tramps, and the 55 Bar. John Leventhal, the great NYC guitarist and producer, played on the album, also The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Warren Haynes, the Allman Brothers' guitarist.

My song "For My Wedding" is also on that album. Don Henley had recorded it and one day I got a call from him and Glenn Frey from The Eagles. They were getting together to make a new album and wanted to record "I Love to Watch a Woman Dance", Glenn singing this time. Seven years later the album was released, the final album that Glenn Frey was alive for, "Long Road Out of Eden."

Many times songs are chosen to be recorded, but never end up getting released. Once, Bette Midler chose five songs of mine to record but none were. Bonnie Raitt recorded a song of mine called "Independent" that was never released and had planned on recording my song "Love & Other Games of Chance" on her album "Luck of the Draw", but did not.

One evening in Malibu with a group of friends, I ran into Timothy Schmidt, bass player for the Eagles. I wanted to ask him if and when they would be releasing my song, but I didn't want to jinx it. A few more years went by and I came home one night to see a social media post mentioning Glenn Frey singing my song in a live solo show of his, and him mentioning that it would be on the forthcoming Eagles album. That was how I found out it was finally being released.