Johnny Mercer
I Wanna Be a Dancin’ Man (1980 TV Version)
Announcer, David Carradine, and Charles Rocket

(Ladies and gentlemen, David Carradine!)
[applause]

(Okay, hi!
[applause]
Well okay. Wow. Well, I'm pretty excited about tonight too, because I'm gonna have the opportunity to live up a particular fantasy of mine, I'm supposed to say it really fast. When I was young I wanted to do this one thing very badly, of course my father didn't want me to do it. I remember him telling me, "No son of mine is going to make a living of his feet." Well… [kicks] anyway… that didn't work. So…
[laughter]
Well, you know, I got to use my feet a lot in Kung Fu but my urge still was not satisfied…
[applause]
I'm just reading thе cards, that's all what I'm doin'! Now listen, my dad is up there watching this
[applause]
This is for you, Dad!)

I wanna bе a dancin' man
While I can
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time
If I never leave a dime

Let other men build mighty nations
And buildings to the sky
I'll leave a few creations
To show that I was dancin' by

I wanna be free as any bird can be
Yessiree
Gonna leave my footsteps on the sands of time
If I never leave a dime
A dancin' man with footsteps on the sands
Of rhythm
And rhyme
[dance break]

(Hey, wait a minute! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! Wait, wow, wow, David! David! What is this? The Ed Sullivan show over here for cryin' out loud? This is a comedy show, Saturday Night Live! What are you doing dancing like this? This isn't funny.)
(Hey, you were supposed to be my friend.)
(I am your friend, David, but really, I just gonna say what's at stake, I want - I'm a friend, and I have to tell - [gets kicked] - Ow!)
[laughter, applause]

(Okay! One, two, three!)

A dancin' man with footsteps
On the sands
Of rhythm!
And!

(We'll be back in a minute!)
[applause]