And can you blame them?
The lyrics are bright and happy, promising a night where everyone is dancing in the moonlight.
A version remixing Dancing in the Moonlight and Pumped Up Kicks has even gotten tons of traction on TikTok.
Matt Moloney
Trigger warning: SA
It all started in 1969.
Songwriter Sherman Kelly was working in a nightclub on the island of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The boat ride over was choppy though and Kelly was plagued by some pretty severe seasickness.
Rather than take the yacht back to St. Thomas the same day, Kelly needed more time to recover.
In the end, they decided to sleep on the beach.
And thats all I remember very clearly, he toldThe Vinyl Dialogues.
What happened next would change his life forever.
His night had to be put together for him, as he only remembered bits and pieces.
Apparently the couple was discovered by local St. Croix gang, the Fountain Valley Gang.
The gang members attacked Kelly and his girlfriend on that moonlit beach.
The leader raped his girlfriend while the others beat Sherman Kelly.
Whats crazy is that Kelly and his girlfriends night could have been worse.
They called it the Fountain Valley Massacre and it would ruin tourism inSt.
Croix for many years to come.
That horrible night stuck with Sherman Kelly, of course.
The healing processboth physically and emotionallywas long and arduous, lasting years.
While he spent his time healing, he ended up penning the lyrics to Dancing in the Moonlight.
It was just me imagining a better world than the one I had just experienced in St. Croix.
He did just that in Dancing in the Moonlight.
It hit 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has remained a favorite ever since.
He rightfully kept her version of the story sparing, since ultimately those details are hers alone to share.
Heres hoping that she was able to find some peace as well.
