14. Closing Time, By Semisonic
The official anthem of closing out the club, Closing Time is not quite what it seems. In spite of references to drinking and the club, according to the lyricist, the song has very little to do with the bar scene. The lead singer, whose wife was pregnant at the time the song was written, has since admitted that the song is really about childbirth. This wasn’t the writer, Dan Wilson’s, original intention: it was only while writing the song that he became aware that it was being born, rather than the closing of a bar. In an interview withAmerican songwriter, Wilson said, “Part way into the writing of the song, I realized it was also about being born.” This revelation makes us feel ever so icky about belting this after some whiskey tonics and heading home with a Tinder date. There is some truly horrific irony if an accidental pregnancy comes out of that experience.
Discussion about this post