Peak
1
Weeks
20
Score
4,084
Chart Year
1984
The video for "Time After Time" was directed by Edd Griles, and its storyline is about a young woman leaving her lover behind. Lauper's mother, brother, and then-boyfriend, David Wolff, appear in the video, and Lou Albano, who played her father in the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video, can be seen as a cook. Portions of the video were filmed at the now-demolished Tom's Diner[34] in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, the intersection of Route 46 and Route 10 and at the Morristown train station. Portions of the video were also shot in front of Betty's Department Store in Wharton, New Jersey, which was a staple of the community in the 1970s. According to Lauper, "It was important to me that we were natural and human in the video. I wanted to convey somebody who walked her own path and did not always get along with everyone and did not always marry the guy." The video opens with Lauper watching the 1936 film The Garden of Allah and the final scene, where she gets on the train and waves goodbye to David, has Lauper crying for real
Cyndi Lauper wrote this highly emotional song with Rob Hyman of The Hooters, who also sang backup on the track. She came up with the title when she saw it in the magazine TV Guide. Time After Time is the name of a 1979 science fiction movie starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells, whose time machine is stolen by Jack The Ripper, who uses it to travel from 1893 to 1979. Wells follows him into the future and goes on a quest to stop him from killing. Rob Hyman told Songfacts: "When she saw Time After Time, something clicked. She said, 'I think I have a title.'" Once the title was in place, they set about writing the song. Hyman explained: "I was sitting at the piano and just started banging out what would eventually be the chorus, hook, and the way we sing it. It almost had like a reggae feel, it was a little bouncier and a little more upbeat. We started getting off on that chorus, then the verse melodies started to appear. It's a deceptively simple song. The verses are just a little repeating three-note motif - almost like a nursery rhyme, a very simple song. Then we started to realize we were on to something. The mood of the lyrics came from both of us. I think Cyndi came in and really started the lyric flow, then all of the sudden we realized it wasn't such a bouncy song, but it was a little more bittersweet and a little deeper in its feeling and a little more poignant, so the music started to change. We wrote a little bridge section and I think the last thing we really wrote was the chorus. We had 'Time After Time,' we just had to get the words that would surround it." Lauper and her co-writer Rob Hyman both drew on their own intimate relationships to write the lyric. It was the first song they wrote together. They didn't know each other very well, which may have helped them open up to each other. "At this point, we were both going through some personal relationships and some personal things that were both meaningful and deep for us, and somehow the lyrics just started to come out," Hyman told Songfacts. "It's almost one of those things where you can open up to a stranger or a more casual acquaintance than a deep friend or family member. Sometimes you meet someone at a party and you start saying things about yourself that you might not say to your closest friend. I think with the things we were both going through - for me it was a relationship that was just breaking up and for Cyndi with her manager, which was also a personal relationship - I think the song reflected that mood." Cyndi Lauper's sassy first single was "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," released in September 1983. Thanks to a colorful video that ran constantly on MTV, it was a sensation, going to #2 in the US in March 1984 (behind "Jump" by Van Halen). "Time After Time" was the follow-up single. It went to #1 in June and established Lauper as a supremely versatile singer who could also write her own songs ("Girls Just Want To Have Fun" was written and originally recorded by Robert Hazard). She had another US #1 hit in 1986 with "True Colors." Lauper had a band called Blue Angel that broke up in the early '80s after releasing one album. She landed a deal with Portrait Records as a solo act and was teamed with staff producer Rick Chertoff, who helped her find musicians to work on her debut album, She's So Unusual. Chertoff had been in a Philadelphia band with Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman, who had since formed The Hooters, so he brought Lauper to a Hooters show at the Greenwich Village nightclub The Bottom Line so she could check them out. Hyman told Songfacts about their first meeting: "We talked and right from the jump she was so unusual. She was definitely different and striking and creative. One thing led to another - she saw our band, we got a chance to hear one of her demos. She came down to Philadelphia and was staying with a friend. She worked with us in our rehearsal studio and did a bunch of demos, so it was really a tryout period - we also tried out some drummers and bass players, but it ended up being Eric and myself doing most of the guitars and keyboards, and Rick producing. We became her band for that album." "With 'Time After Time,' we wrote that very quickly," he added. "We had all the songs chosen, and quite simply the producer, Rick Chertoff, suggested to all of us that the album could use 'One more song.' We had 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun,' we had 'She Bop,' we had 'All Through The Night,' we had what would end up being really strong songs. It felt good to us, but for Rick, he's been known to say that on every album - you could always have 'One more song,' but in this case, he absolutely was right and in this case we delivered. We had most of the album recorded and we were close to mixing the record when he suggested this fateful 'one more song.' Cyndi and I sat at the piano one night and after the sessions we would just stay in the studio. It was over several days. We would start after the session, we would just stay. This was at the Record Plant studios in New York, and we would just sit at the piano and throw these ideas around into a cassette machine." Wrestler Captain Lou Albano, who appeared in the "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" video, plays a cook at a diner in the video for "Time After Time." Lauper's mom and boyfriend are also in the video, portraying her mom and boyfriend. The video was directed by Edd Griles, who had worked with Lauper since her days in the band Blue Angel. He also did her videos for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "She Bop." Explaining how they brought the song to the finish line, Rob Hyman said: "We never did a demo of the song. We just kind of bashed it out on the piano over a couple of days, maybe a week or two period. It really did happen pretty quickly, and we needed to because the album was being finished. I'd say in two or three sessions the song was pretty much done. Didn't do a demo, we went right to the 24-track machine. The demo was what you hear. That was literally the first real recording besides some little cassette ideas. We were in the studio, we figured, 'All right, we have no time to waste, let's just put it down.' The process with all the other songs was, we spent months and months in our rehearsal studio doing various arrangements and demos before we went in the studio. In this case, there was no pre-production. We went right to the tape, and what you hear is our first take on it, which I think added so much to the overall feel of that song, not just the impact as a composition, but the idea that we were capturing that spontaneous feel. That's always a great thing to do. In the studio you're always chasing that magic that you caught on your first demo. Her vocal was incredible. I think she was singing it and we were playing it for the first time. That's such a rare thing to happen, and I know that communicates to people." After working on the She's So Unusual album, The Hooters got a deal with Columbia Records (the parent company of Lauper's label, Portrait) and landed several hits of their own including "And We Danced" and "Day By Day." They went on to write and produce for many artists, including Joan Osborne, Amanda Marshall, Ricky Martin and Jon Bon Jovi. At the time, they did not have a record deal. Rob explained how it came together: "We had an independent label that would put out 45s. When we finished Cyndi, and I think prior to when the album was released or around the same time, we put out an independent album called Amore. We were playing a lot in the Philly area, we were selling our records ourselves at shows. We got a local distributor eventually, but it was really a homemade project. It was a combination of constant playing in the Northeast area and also getting some airplay on radio stations that were bold enough to play us in those days. It's a lot harder now for local bands to get that, but we actually had some great radio support even from the bigger commercial stations, as well as college stations. We were creating a buzz, and by the time Cyndi hit, that independent buzz got big enough and it got to Columbia Records. The band was really ready to pop, and I think Cyndi was what really put it over the top." At the beginning of the video, Lauper is watching a movie, but it's not Time After Time: it's the 1936 film Garden of Allah. >> According to Lauper, the tear she sheds at the end of the video is authentic. She rejected the director's suggestion to manually induce a tear because she was confident in her ability to cry when she wanted to. >> Jazz great Miles Davis recorded an instrumental cover of this song in 1985. George Cole, author of The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991, explains: "Miles had always played popular tunes - in the past, tunes such as 'My Funny Valentine' and 'If I Were A Bell' were part of his repertoire - and when Miles heard the Cyndi Lauper track, he just fell in love with the melody. In fact, Miles played this tune in almost all of his concerts from 1984 until just before his death in 1991. If you get a chance, try and hear a live version of it, which is superior to the album version." Lauper told The Sun July 25, 2008 that this is her favorite of all the many cover versions of this track. She added: "I mean it's Miles. Wow. Mindblowing!" "Time After Time" has been used in a number of movies, most famously the 1997 film Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, where it plays in two scenes, the first when Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino's characters are at their prom and dance to it, the second toward the end when Kudrow and Sorvino are doing some odd dance with Scottish actor Alan Cumming. Other films to use it include: The Adam Project (2022) Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas (2021) Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2019) Mirage (2018) This Is Where I Leave You (2014) Nebraska (2013) Good Deeds (2012) Up In The Air (2009) John Tucker Must Die (2006) Irresistible (2006) Napoleon Dynamite (2004) Clockstoppers (2002) Strictly Ballroom (1992) Chrissy Metz sings this at a nursing home in a moving scene during a 2016 episode of the TV series This Is Us. The song was prominently featured on the Stranger Things episode "The Gate" (2017) when Dustin can't find anyone to dance with and Nancy steps in to help. Other TV shows to use the song include: Charmed ("Spectral Healing" - 2021) The Goldbergs ("A Night to Remember" - 2017) Supergirl ("How Does She Do It?" - 2015) Glee ("Transitioning" - 2015) Grey's Anatomy ("Throwing It All Away" - 2014) The Carrie Diaries ("This Is the Time" - 2014) Psych ("Office Space" - 2013) Parks and Recreation ("Bailout" - 2013) Shameless ("Parenthood" - 2012) House ("Known Unknowns" - 2009) Ugly Betty ("The Fall Issue" - 2009) The Simpsons ("Homer's Paternity Coot" - 2006) Veronica Mars ("Ruskie Business" - 2005) Party of Five ("Hold On Tight" - 1996) Lauper crossed paths with the storied Yale University a cappella group The Whiffenpoofs when she was in New Haven to perform at Toad's Place in 1989. She had a meal at a restaurant called Mory's, where the Poofs were performing. In their repertoire was "Time After Time," and when they sang it, Lauper was so impressed she had them join her on stage to perform it the following night. (from the book The Legendary Toad's Place) Three very different covers of "Time After Time" have charted in America: The R&B singer INOJ put the song to a synthesized beat in 1998 and went to #6. The male rock band Quietdrive included it on their 2007 album When All That's Left Is You, taking it to #102. The Voice contestant Javier Colon's R&B-tinged take reached #65 in 2011. "Time After Time" was used in a 2016 commercial for McDonald's titled "A Better McNugget." In the spot, the screen is split with a boy from a generation earlier on the left passing items to a girl in modern times on the right. In the end, we learn that he is her father, and that McDonald's is no longer using artificial preservatives in their McNuggets. An acoustic cover version by a male singer was used, likely by Sam Beam, who records as Iron & Wine. The English singer-songwriter Mabel released a cover on November 12, 2021, recorded for McDonald's Christmas ad campaign. Her rendition peaked at #71 in the UK.
Lying 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 Suitcases of memories Time after Sometimes you picture me I'm walking too far ahead You're calling to me, I can't hear What you've said Then you say, go slow I fall behind The second hand unwinds 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 will be waiting Time after time After my picture fades and darkness has Turned to gray Watching through windows You're wondering if I'm okay Secrets stolen from deep inside The drum beats out of 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 Time after time You said go slow I fall behind The second hand unwinds 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 will be waiting Time after time Time after time Time after time Time after time Time after time Time after time Time after time Time after Time
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 14, 1984 | 53 | 73 |
| 2 | Apr 21, 1984 | 36 | 90 |
| 3 | Apr 28, 1984 | 27 | 99 |
| 4 | May 5, 1984 | 14 | 112 |
| 5 | May 12, 1984 | 10 | 116 |
| 6 | May 19, 1984 | 6 | 120 |
| 7 | May 26, 1984 | 3 | 123 |
| 8 | Jun 2, 1984 | 2 | 124 |
| 9 | Jun 9, 1984 | 1 | 125 |
| 10 | Jun 16, 1984 | 1 | 125 |
| 11 | Jun 23, 1984 | 2 | 124 |
| 12 | Jun 30, 1984 | 7 | 119 |
| 13 | Jul 7, 1984 | 7 | 119 |
| 14 | Jul 14, 1984 | 14 | 112 |
| 15 | Jul 21, 1984 | 27 | 99 |
| 16 | Jul 28, 1984 | 53 | 73 |
| 17 | Aug 4, 1984 | 63 | 63 |
| 18 | Aug 11, 1984 | 69 | 57 |
| 19 | Aug 18, 1984 | 91 | 35 |
| 20 | Aug 25, 1984 | 98 | 28 |