The song Semisonic – Closing Time has recently begun to attract the attention of lovers of musical compositions. Increasingly, those people who were originally only connoisseurs of sound, did not really delve into what kind of meaning the author of the track could put into it. Interestingly, many musical compositions that were released several years ago are now gaining popularity again, not only among nostalgic contemporaries of the times when the track was released, but also among the younger generation. This gives the music, especially if the composition is remade in a new way, not to die and even give a second life.
Let’s figure out how the song Closing Time was written and what meaning he put into it, as well as the truth about what the author of the song actually dedicated his composition to.
History of Closing Time — Semisonic
Closing Time was released on March 10, 1998. Moreover, the track became the lead single from the Feeling Srangely Fine album. However, already on the radio, listeners could enjoy the musical composition only after a month and a half – on April 27, 1998. The song was written by Dan Wilson and produced by Nick Lonay.
Incredible popularity and the top (immediately first place) on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In addition, the musical composition Closing Time hit the top 50 in countries such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In the UK, the song was nominated for the world-famous Grammy Award, and the creator of the track was also awarded a special Golden Certificate for the best rock song in 1999.
The song received a new round of popularity after the movie “Friends with Benefits” was released (or in other words it is also called “Friendship Sex”, and this was also facilitated by the sound in one of the episodes of the series “The Office”. It is these cinematic pictures and were able to give a newly growing popularity in countries such as Ireland and Australia.
In fact, Dan Wilson originally stated that at the end of each concert for several years, the musical group played the same piece, which was called If I Run. The team got tired of ending their performances with the same song, after which Closing Time was written.
The Meaning of “Closing Time” – Semisonic
At first glance, Dan Wilson’s piece of music Closing Time may seem like the most ordinary or even banal song about how after a long and fun party in a bar. The establishment closes its doors to visitors. However, the true meaning of the musical composition was discovered by Dan Wilson ten years after the release of the track, that is, in 2008. In fact, for the most part, the song was devoted to the fatherhood of the author of the track and his attitude to such an unexpected circumstance, when he found out about the pregnancy of his chosen one.
Let’s analyze the text a little more, where you can see a lot of metaphors for the upcoming fatherhood. Although initially it seems that we are talking about a bar that is about to close and you need to have time to have plenty of fun before it closes. The song clearly shows two parts of the work, which follow one from the other.
In the story that the lyrical hero narrates in the musical work Closing Time, there is clearly a certain sadness or even a slight melancholy. Often, during a party, the realization comes that you will not return to this place again and perhaps you will never even see these people with whom you are now laughing, having fun and dancing. The lyrical hero offers to get drunk for the last time. And it seems that everything is fun so far, you can flirt with everyone, choose the one with whom you will spend the night, but the understanding that this is the end always remains in your head. And this even slightly enhances the desire to have fun in the contrast of emotions.
Transition to a new stage. The song is about things that will be thrown out the door. “You will definitely find new friends for yourself” and at this moment the listener is trying to understand whether this appeal goes directly or to the lyrical hero. At some point, it seems that the character of the song is kicked out of the house, but this is a metaphor for the transition to a new stage of life. It is also about responsibility for actions and words.
At the end of the composition, a very deep statement of the ancient Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger sounds: “Every new beginning begins from the end of some other beginning.” Behind the end of one life stage is the beginning of the next, and this is partly what Dan Wilson sings in his musical composition. The idle life also ends and the responsible period of fatherhood begins in the life of the author of the song Closing Time. This does not mean at all that he is upset, but this song is about a slight sadness, a new stage in life, and one might even say a kind of rebirth.
