Michael Sembello Songs - Maniac Lyrics

Michael Sembello - Maniac

Michael Sembello - Maniac Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Flashdance Soundtrack
Released: 1983

Maniac Lyrics

Just a steel town girl on a Saturday night
Looking for the fight of her life
In the real time world no one sees her at all
They all say she's crazy

Locking rhythm to the beat of her heart
Changing movement into light
She had danced into the danger zone
When the dancer becomes the dance

It can cut you like a knife
If the gift becomes the fire
On the wire between will and what will be

She's a Maniac, maniac on the floor
And she's dancing like she's never danced before

She's a maniac, maniac on the floor
And she's dancing like she's never danced before

On the ice blue line of insanity
Is a place most never see
It's a hard won place of mystery
Touch it but can't hold it

You work all your life, for that moment in time
It could come or pass you by
It's a push shove world
But there's always a chance
If the hunger stays the night

There's a cold connective heat
Struggling stretching for the peak
Never stopping with her head against the wind

She's a maniac, maniac I sure know
And she's dancing like she's never danced before

She's a maniac, maniac I sure know
And she's dancing like she's never danced before

It can cut you like a knife
If the fight becomes the fire
On the wire between will and what will be

She's a maniac, maniac I sure know
And she's dancing like she's never danced before

She's a maniac, maniac I sure know
And she's dancing like she's never danced before

Maniac, maniac I sure know

Writer/s: MATKOSKY, DENNIS / SEMBELLO, MICHAEL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Maniac Song Chart

This was featured in the movie Flashdance, which starred Jennifer Beals as a welder by day, dancer by night. Phil Ramone, who was the music supervisor on the movie, produced the track. He also made another contribution to the movie: after seeing some kids breakdancing in New York City, he alerted the movie's producer, who shot footage of the dancers that was used in the film.

Sembello wrote this with his songwriting partner Dennis Matkosky, who got the idea when he saw the William Lustig movie Maniac, which is about a serial killer who stalks his victims in New York City. Sembello told us: "He came up with the original kernel of inspiration and to me with the basic idea and groove and I believe the temporary lyrics for the chorus he had were:
'He's a maniac, maniac that's for sure
He will kill your cat and nail him to the door'
That direction obviously wasn't going to work at which point the genius of Phil Ramone, producer of the soundtrack who had the vision to see the potential of the song, asked us to change it to the present concept of a girl possessed with the passion of a gift for dance. Without Phil it would not have happened."

Sembello added: "It was nominated for an academy award and was disqualified according to 'academy rules' because the song was changed from the original and was not originally written solely for the film, which pisses me off to this day." (Thanks for Michael Sembello for the info. To learn more, check out michaelsembello.com.)

This was accidentally included on a tape of Sembello's songs his wife sent to Paramount for consideration in Flashdance. The studio loved it and used it in the movie.

The dance scenes in the video (and the movie), were performed by body double Marine Jahan. It was a well-kept secret that Jennifer Beals did not dance in the movie.

The video was the first to use nothing but scenes from the movie. It started a movie/music cross-promotion trend (Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, etc.).

This was commonly used in aerobics classes, which was a big trend at the time.

In 2007, this was used in commercials for Kia cars, which show a Kia salesman doing a similar dance. The idea is that he's making great deals like a Maniac. (thanks, MusicianJohnPaul - Bay Area, CA)