Ranking All The Songs from The Footloose Soundtrack

The original “Footloose” is one of those movies that you almost can’t help but fall in love with. It was released in 1984 and has become something of a pop culture icon. It’s interesting to note that the soundtrack was just as instrumental as the film itself in creating something that fans can’t get enough of to this day. In a way, it only makes sense that a film about music, dancing and ultimately, freedom would have a soundtrack just as iconic as the film in which it’s featured. Below, you’ll find that soundtrack listed (from worst to best), along with YouTube links for each song. See where your favorite ended up on the list

9. Almost Paradise (Ann Wilson, Mike Reno)

 

At its core, this is a song about being in love. The lyrics talk about how when you’re in love, you feel about as close as you could ever feel to being in Heaven, at least while you’re here on Earth. Back in the 1980s, songs like this were referred to as power ballads. They’re slower than most songs, but the lyrics are strong and powerful, as if they were written to be more like traditional rock songs.

8. Somebody’s Eyes (Karla Bonoff)

 

The lyrics in this song talk about being watched by someone all the time. In the film, the main characters feel like they can’t express themselves in a way that allows them to be true to themselves because they’re constantly under the watchful eye of practically all of the older people in town who don’t approve of dancing, singing or many other things. It’s a song that anyone can relate to if they’ve ever found themselves in a position where they feel like they’re constantly being scrutinized for something where another person is just looking for a reason to be upset with them.

7. Dancing in the Sheets (Shalamar)

 

If you haven’t already figured it out by looking at the title of this song, it’s a very creative way of expressing the idea of two people having a very intimate, physical relationship with one another at the very height of that activity.

6. Never (Moving Pictures)

 

This is a song that is about refusing to allow someone else to take your power away from you. It doesn’t matter what context you perceive the song in or what those particular lyrics might mean for your situation, the overall message in the song is about refusing to yield to the pressure applied upon you by other people. Some people consider it a love song in a roundabout sort of way, especially if you look at it from the perspective of refusing to lose oneself while falling in love. Others look at it in a much more rebellious manner, where the person in the song is refusing to change their personality or their way of life in order to conform to what other people think they should become.

5. The Girl Gets Around (Sammy Hagar)

 

Not surprisingly, it’s fairly easy to see what this song is about from the title alone. It is indeed about a person who has a number of different love interests, not keeping any of them for any length of time whatsoever. It’s a socially acceptable way of talking about someone who isn’t very trustworthy when it comes to relationships of an intimate nature.

4. Let’s Hear It for the Boy (Deneice Williams)

 

In this song, the lyrics celebrate an individual who manages to fall in love and stand up for what he believes in, even while virtually everyone around him keeps telling him that he’s wrong. The song lines up very well with the story in the film and is one of the reasons why it remains so popular on this list.

3. Holding Out for a Hero (Bonnie Tyler)

 

It’s easy to understand how this song wound up in the top five. It’s one that’s incredibly fast paced and lively, yet it talks about that desire that most people have at some point or another in their lives where they practically fantasize about the idea of someone coming to sweep them off their feet and save them from everything that life is throwing at them. Even people who are fiercely independent and claim that they don’t want to be saved have probably had moments where they thought about something like this. The lyrics in the song also talk about the process of learning that a hero isn’t always the way that they’re traditionally defined. In the song, the lyrics talk about someone riding in on a white horse to save the day, but that’s only a metaphor. In reality, the song is quick to point out that heroes do actually exist, if only you are willing to take the time to look around and see them. They may not be a literal knight in shining armor riding on a white horse to come and rescue you from the tower of the castle, but they are out there. Who knows, you might even be inspired when you listen to the song and become a hero to someone else.

2. I’m Free (Kenny Loggins)

 

In a movie that is all about not only getting one’s freedom, but maintaining it, it only makes sense that a song like this would show up. The lyrics talk about being free to live life on your terms, not someone else’s. That’s what virtually every person wants. No one likes to feel like they’re being controlled to the point that they don’t have the ability to make their own choices. This is a song that celebrates standing up for yourself and taking that control back, even when it’s not easy to do so.

1. Footloose (Kenny Loggins)

 

At its core, this is a movie about dancing. The song itself has been mocked by some over the years because an argument can be made that the lyrics don’t make a great deal of sense. That said, it’s a great dance song and that’s what it’s used for in the film. There’s a reason that it’s still popular and is constantly being introduced to new generations. That’s also the reason why it landed in the number one slot here.