Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper

Hello everybody! I hope everyone is doing well. I am looking forward to this blog post because as you can see by the title, I am discussing Cyndi Lauper! Cyndi is definitely a Lydia’s Girls original; she was initially featured on the first album with Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and the second album with Time After Time. Those songs have also been featured on Lydia’s Girls: Greatest Hits and Lydia’s Girls: 80s Girls. I have been a fan of Cyndi’s since I was six years old. I remember a time in second grade where the “popular” girl in my class wore a shirt that said “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. I told her I loved that song, and she looked at me like I was a freak and said with disgusted tone: “What song?” Luckily my second grade teacher backed me up and told her that it was a song before it became a shirt. Shout out to Mrs. Grant for that!

Besides that girl in my class, everyone and their mother has heard of Cyndi Lauper or at the very least her music. Cyndi grew up in Queens, New York and at seventeen she left her home and took on odd jobs like: Racetrack Hot Walker and waitressing. She was also part of cover bands but later realized she wanted to perform her own songs. If you are interested in more of her background she has a book called: Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir. In 1983 Cyndi broke out in the world of music with her album, She’s So Unusual, which received a Grammy award for Best New Album. Her other discography includes: True Colors (1986), A Night to Remember (1989), Hat Full of Stars (1993), Sisters of Avalon (1996), Merry Christmas… Have a Nice Life (1998), At Last (2003), Shine (2004), Bring Ya to the Brink (2008), Memphis Blues (2010), and Detour (2016). As you can see Cyndi is very dedicated to her music, but she is also dedicated to causes she believes in such as: women’s rights, gay rights, and fighting against HIV/AIDS.

If for some reason you have not heard of Cyndi Lauper, don’t worry. I won’t call you out like that girl in second grade; this is why I have this blog. Her song Time After Time is an amazing song that anyone can love and appreciate. Cyndi wrote this song with Rob Hyman, a founding member of The Hooters; they were both dealing with issues in their separate relationships. To me, the song is about how sometimes in a relationship the timing just isn’t right. It’s no one’s fault, but no matter how hard you try and make things work time after time, it’s just not meant to be. The title of the song was created from Cyndi looking at a TV guide magazine when she saw a Sci-fi show called Time After Time. This song screams 80s! Just in the beginning you can hear that iconic synthesizer along with the clock ticking percussion which goes perfectly with the theme of the song. Cyndi’s voice was made for this song and you can tell that she is singing with so much emotion. Rob wrote one of the first lyrics, “Suitcase Full of Memories”, which is just such an amazing line. He also came up with the line “The second hand unwinds”. This is because his watch got demagnetized and the second hand was going backwards when he was playing guitar. As this happened he said: “Look, look, my second hand is unwinding!” It is so cool when lyrics come like that; it is like they were destined to be in the song. In the chorus Rob comes in with backup vocals, which is a cool concept because the song could be coming from anyone’s point of view. Maybe Cyndi is the one who is moving too fast or she is the one who is trying to think practically in the relationship. However, it could also be from Rob’s point of view. I love this song because it comes from two people who really mean what they are saying. Sometimes in songwriting the songs can come across too commercially in the sense that it doesn’t stem from real emotion. Cyndi is not afraid to show her emotions which makes this such an amazing song.

Author: Lydia MacDavid

Chief Editor: Jacob Tomeny