Two to tango

It takes two to tango is a metaphor that is widely used in business, political and social contexts to mean that two parties have to co-operate and sometimes compromise in order to succeed. The expression dates from late 1940s and was probably in use before it was popularised in the 1952 American popular song 'It Takes Two to Tango' written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning. The apposite lyrics are, “There are lots of things you can do alone, but it takes two to tango.” Two versions of the song were released in 1952, one by Pearl Bailey, the other by Louis Armstrong. Pearl Bailey’s version reached number 7 on the Billboard charts; Armstrong’s version did less well only reaching number 28.