‘Time After Time’ is a 1983 song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, co-written with Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals. It was the second single, released in March 1984, from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). The song became Lauper's first number 1 hit in the U.S. The song was written in the album's final stages, after ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, ‘She Bop’ and ‘All Through the Night’ had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide magazine, referring to the science fiction film Time After Time (1979).
Music critics gave the song positive reviews, with many commending the song for being a solid and memorable love song. The song has been selected as one of the Best Love Songs of All Time by many media outlets, including Rolling Stone, Nerve, MTV and many others. ‘Time After Time’ was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 1985 edition. The song was a success on the charts, becoming her first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remaining there for two weeks. The song reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Although ‘Time After Time’ would eventually become one of Lauper's signature songs, it was one of the last songs on her debut album to be recorded. While Lauper was still writing material for She's So Unusual in the spring of 1983, her producer, Rick Chertoff introduced her to American musician Rob Hyman, a founding member of the Hooters. Lauper had by then already recorded the majority of the album, but Chertoff insisted that she and Hyman needed to record just "one more song". Therefore, she and Hyman sat at a piano and started working on ‘Time After Time’.
The inspiration for the song came from the fact that both songwriters were going through similar challenges in their respective romantic relationships; Hyman was coming out of a relationship, and Lauper was having difficulties with her boyfriend/manager, David Wolff. One of the early lines Rob wrote was "suitcase of memories," which according to Lauper, "struck her," claiming it was a "wonderful line," and other lines came from Lauper's life experiences. The song's title was borrowed from a TV Guide listing for the 1979 movie Time After Time, which Lauper had intended to use only as a temporary placeholder during the writing process. Although she later tried to change the song's name, she said that she felt at some point that ‘Time After Time’ had become so fundamental to the song that it would fall apart with a different title.
Label – Epic
Songwriters – Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman
Producer – Rick Chertoff
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Lyin' in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you
Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new
Flashback, warm nights almost left behind
Suitcase of memories
Time after
[Verse 2]
Sometimes you picture me, I'm walkin' too far ahead
You're callin' to me, I can't hear what you've said
Then you say, "Go slow", I fall behind
The second hand unwinds
[Chorus]
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, (I'll be waiting) I will be waiting
Time after time
[Verse 3]
After my picture fades and darkness has turned to gray
Watchin' through windows, you're wondering if I'm okay
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time
[Chorus]
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time
[Instrumental Break]
[Bridge]
You say, "Go slow," I fall behind
The second hand unwinds
[Chorus]
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, (I'll be waiting) I will be waiting
Time after time
[Outro]
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after time
Time after
Time