For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has asked us to find a song that reached number 2 on the charts, but never got to number 1. In case any of you are wondering about the title of this post, “close but no cigar” is an expression used to indicate that someone or something has fallen just short of a successful outcome, and in this case, that successful outcome is reaching number 1.

I was actually surprised to learn while doing my research for today’s prompt, that the extremely popular song from the Village People, “Y.M.C.A.,” stalled at number 2 in the U.S., where it spent three weeks, first behind “Le Freak” by Chic and then for two weeks behind another disco burner, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart. Yet, in most other countries, it went to number 1. It was especially popular in the UK, where it stayed at the top for three weeks, and in Australia, where it was number 1 for five. Australia became a stronghold for the group.

“Y.M.C.A.” was written by Jacques Morali (also the record’s producer) and singer Victor Willis. It was released in October 1978 by Casablanca Records as the only single from the Village People’s third studio album, Cruisin’.

In case you didn’t know this, Y.M.C.A. stands for “Young Men’s Christian Association,” commonly associated with the gyms that often provide temporary housing to men. The Village People’s song portrays the YMCA as a place where one can socialize with other people. However, it is implied that the YMCA is a safe haven for young gay men who are not comfortable coming out of the closet yet. Although the lyrics do not explicitly mention anything related to homosexuality, the song has become a gay anthem.

In 1977, producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo put together a group that aimed to appeal to gay audiences while satirizing the stereotypes associated with that same audience. Songwriters Phil Hurtt and Peter Whitehead were commissioned to create songs with gay themes. The roles and costumes for the group were chosen carefully, including a cowboy, a biker, a soldier, a policeman, and a construction worker with a hard hat.

The song’s co-writer, Victor Willis, insists this is not a “gay song,” with the line “you can hang out with all the boys” inspired by his youth, when he would play basketball with his friends at the YMCA. “I wanted to write a song that could fit anyone’s lifestyle, and I’m happy the gay community adopted it as their anthem, I have no qualms with that.”

The YMCA that inspired the song was the McBurney YMCA on West 23rd Street in New York City between 7th and 8th avenues (in 2002, it moved to 14th Street). That was the YMCA Jacques Morali saw, which gave him the idea. In the video, the group performs with the building as a backdrop.

Interesting factoid: The dance, where people spell out YMCA with their hands, originated during the group’s performance of the song on the January 6, 1979 episode of American Bandstand. Host Dick Clark then said to Willis that he would like to show him something, playing the song again with the audience doing YMCA hand gestures. Willis immediately picked up on the dance and mimicked the hand movements back at the audience as other Village People members stared at him with puzzled looks. Clark then turned to Willis and said, “Victor, think you can work this dance into your routine?” Willis responded, “I think we’re gonna have to.”

In March 2020, the U.S. Library of Congress added the song “YMCA” to its National Recording Registry, which preserves for posterity audio that is “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” When it was entered, Victor Willis explained how he came up with the lyric. The first verse (“Young man, there’s no need to feel down…”) begins a story about a guy who’s down on his luck and looking for a place to stay. The narrator is trying to cheer this guy up, telling him, “I was once in your shoes,” and letting him know it’s fun to stay at the YMCA.

Here are the lyrics to “Y.M.C.A.”

Young man, there's no need to feel down
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy

Young man, there's a place you can go
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time

It's fun to stay at the YMCA
It's fun to stay at the YMCA

They have everything for you men to enjoy
You can hang out with all the boys

It's fun to stay at the YMCA
It's fun to stay at the YMCA

You can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal
You can do what about you feel

Young man, are you listening to me?
I said, young man, what do you want to be?
I said, young man, you can make real your dreams
But you got to know this one thing

No man does it all by himself
I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf
And just go there, to the YMCA
I'm sure they can help you today

It's fun to stay at the YMCA
It's fun to stay at the YMCA

They have everything for you men to enjoy
You can hang out with all the boys

It's fun to stay at the YMCA
It's fun to stay at the YMCA

You can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal
You can do what about you feel

Young man, I was once in your shoes
I said, I was down and out with the blues
I felt no man cared if I were alive
I felt the whole world was so tight

That's when someone came up to me
And said, young man, take a walk up the street
There's a place there called the YMCA
They can start you back on your way

It's fun to stay at the YMCA
It's fun to stay at the YMCA

They have everything for you men to enjoy
You can hang out with all the boys

YMCA you'll find it at the YMCA

Young man, young man, there's no need to feel down
Young man, young man, get yourself off the ground

YMCA, just to the the YMCA

Young man, young man, are you distant to me
Young man, young man, what did you wanna be

YMCA, just go to the YMCA

No man, young man

And in case you want to impress your friends by knowing how to do the YMCA dance, this is for you.