From the film “Second Fiddle”, 1939
Words and music by Irving Berlin
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
There’s nothing new beneath the sun
Except the new dance I’ve invented
And it’s really lots of fun
Come on now, take your place
And soon you’ll get the knack
You don’t stand face to face
You do it back to back
Chorus
Dancing back to back
Takes you off the beaten track
You don’t look at your partner at all
When you dance back to back
That’s that new attack
That the other dances lack
You can see what goes on in the hall
When you dance back to back
Your partner won’t see you
Make eyes at who’s dancing by
Your partner won’t mind it
She’s doing the same, that’s why
You must dance back to back
Let me place you in the pack
Cut the cards and I’ll deal you
A queen and a jack back to back
Sung here by Laurence Rubenstein: