The song highlighted the concept of having a good time in whatever city the listener lived. The idea for dancing came to Stevenson from watching people on the streets of Detroit cool off in the summer in water from opened fire hydrants. Stevenson thought that they appeared to be dancing in the water as they splashed around playfully.
The song, however, was to take on a different meaning after several inner-city riots in America led to many young black demonstrators citing the song as a ‘civil rights anthem’ advocating social change. This led to some radio stations taking the song off its playlist after a number of black activists such as H. Rap Brown began playing the song while organising demonstrations.
’Dancing in the Street’ came to have two meanings; one representing a call to civil riots and mass demonstrations, and the other of simply being a party song.
‘Motown Records’ had a distinct role to play in the city's black community; particularly within bodies of suppressed minorities. and that community (as diverse as it was), articulated and promoted its own social, cultural, and political agendas. These local agendas invariably reflected the unique concerns of African Americans living in the urban north and the discriminations they faced daily from some of whiter America. The movement lent the song its secondary meaning that often is reported to have fanned the flames of unrest. This song (and others like it), and its associated political meanings did not exist in a vacuum. It was partnered with its social environment and they both played upon each other, creating meaning that would probably not have been brought on by one or the other alone.
The song will for me, however, always reflect a party song that was played constantly when I was first married; a time when partying every weekend at friend’s houses was a common occurrence. Nor have I ever been to a street party where it wasn’t played in association with its literal meaning, 'having fun and a good time'.
Love and peace. Bill