I Just Want to Dance with You

"I Just Want To Dance With You"
Single by George Strait
from the album One Step at a Time
B-side	"Neon Row"
Released	March 30, 1998
Genre	Country
Length	3:27 (album version) 3:18 (single edit)
Label	MCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Roger Cook, John Prine
Producer(s)	Tony Brown, George Strait
George Strait singles chronology
"Round About Way" (1998) "I Just Want To Dance With You" (1998) "True" (1998)

"I Just Want to Dance with You" is a song written by John Prine and Roger Cook, and recorded by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in March 1998 as the first single to his album One Step at a Time . The song is his 34th Number One single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and his 42nd Number One single when all major trade charts are counted. Prine recorded it 12 years earlier, for his 1986 album German Afternoons .

Content

The song is about a man who feels like he doesn't have any time to hesitate, be shy, or wait around because he just wants to dance with this woman he likes. The protagonist says it doesn't matter what other lovers do; he just wants to dance with her. He thinks that a woman with her kind of heart would let her feelings show, so he asks her to dance. He hopes that when they dance, she'll let him know that she likes him. He knows she has some feelings for him because they are in a love story. The two of them look back and forth at each other, and no one is even slightly embarrassed. The boys and girls can be heard playing softly, so as his and so as hers. If there's a movie on, they'll be right on cue. The chorus mentions him wanting to dance with the woman, saying that he just wants to dance with her, and the protagonist takes her around the dance floor and hold her.

It had already been a hit for Daniel O'Donnell in 1992, reaching the top 20 in the UK charts, and this allowed the popular Irish singer to achieve one his "career dreams" when he performed the song live on BBC Television's chart show Top of the Pops.

Critical reception

Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "tropical flavored li'l ditty, awash in delicate guitar work that is as tantalizing and refreshing as a summer breeze," and although the lyric was rather preschoolish, Strait's crisp co-production with Tony Brown and his appealing vocal performance should help overcome that obstacle. ^[1]

Chart positions

"I Just Want to Dance with You" debuted at number 38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of April 18, 1998.

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [2]	1
US Billboard Hot 100 [3]	61
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [4]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)	Position
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [5]	7
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [6]	7

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [7]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Billboard , April 18, 1998
2. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3587." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. June 15, 1998. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
3. "George Strait Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
4. "George Strait Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
5. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1998". RPM . December 14, 1998. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
6. "Best of 1998: Country Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. 1998. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
7. "American single certifications – George Strait – I Just Want to Dance with You". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved October 25, 2021.