Song Lyric of the Day (Janis Ian, in an Antic Mood)

“Look at me, I would like to dance

But I haven’t the clothes for romance.”—Janis Ian, “I Would Like to Dance,” from her Aftertones LP (1976)

Here we honor Janis Ian, not merely an unusually talented singer-songwriter but, in her way, something more unusual—a success in her teens who has managed to survive to today, her 60th birthday.

How much Ian has become the queen of the misfits can be seen in the film Mean Girls, where a character is named for her. In creating the role, screenwriter-star Tina Fey kept thinking of her as “the Janis Ian type,” until, in an inspired pop-culture reference, she simply stuck the name on her.

If the history surrounding her songs is any indication, Ian has had precious little reason to smile over the years. “Society’s Child,” the 1966 tune about a taboo interracial romance, was championed by Leonard Bernstein and brought huge radio play—and also huge controversy and death threats. In the next several decades, she also dealt with her mother’s multiple sclerosis, an abusive husband, divorce, IRS problems and a music industry long anxious about revelations of her lesbianism.

In a prior post I discussed what might be Ian’s biggest hit—and what is certainly her anthem for the marginalized and misfits--“At Seventeen.” Casting about today for other lyrics throughout her sizable songbook, I thought of “I Would Like to Dance.” It’s not only one of my favorite songs of hers, but also one that catches her in something that, given the often depressing events of her life, she deserves—several minutes of sheer inspired giddiness.

I enjoy the piano-dominated version from her live release, from her Bottom Line/Encore Collection. But as good as that is, I think I still prefer the studio version. Maybe it’s because of the last minute or so when the music really takes flight, even breaking into a few chords of the theme for “I Dream of Jeannie.”