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“Closing Time” is a song by Semisonic from their album Feeling Strangely Fine. The band’s most popular song, it was written by Dan Wilson and produced by Nick Launay. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1999. It peaked at #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks.
The place that closes seems to be a pickup bar, noted by the lines:
One last call for alcohol
So finish your whiskey or beer
…
You don’t have to go home
But you can’t stay here
…
So gather up your jackets
Move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
However, the book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star (ISBN 0-7679-1470-8) by Semisonic’s drummer Jacob Slichter indicates that it is, instead, about being born: the place that is closing is the womb, and the mention of alcohol is a reference to pregnant women not drinking. This can be seen in the lines:
Time for you to go out
to the places you will be from
…
This room won’t be open
‘til your brothers or your sisters come
This interpretation has additional support. In a show in which he opened up for Sondre Lerche, Dan Wilson noted that the song was NOT written for the birth of his child; in an attempt not to be one of those annoying songs that an artist wrote for the birth of a “jr,” he made sure the meaning was abstracted.
The place that closes seems to be a pickup bar, noted by the lines:
One last call for alcohol
So finish your whiskey or beer
…
You don’t have to go home
But you can’t stay here
…
So gather up your jackets
Move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
However, the book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star (ISBN 0-7679-1470-8) by Semisonic’s drummer Jacob Slichter indicates that it is, instead, about being born: the place that is closing is the womb, and the mention of alcohol is a reference to pregnant women not drinking. This can be seen in the lines:
Time for you to go out
to the places you will be from
…
This room won’t be open
‘til your brothers or your sisters come
This interpretation has additional support. In a show in which he opened up for Sondre Lerche, Dan Wilson noted that the song was NOT written for the birth of his child; in an attempt not to be one of those annoying songs that an artist wrote for the birth of a “jr,” he made sure the meaning was abstracted.
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Semisonic - Closing Time
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Albums featuring this track
-
Feeling Strangely Fine
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The Album, Volume 1 (disc 1)
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Friends Ultimate Soundtrack (disc 1)
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A Wicked Good Sampler, Volume 2
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Shouts
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puddindeth wrote:
Great song from a great era of music (the 90s)...
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mistermister200 wrote:
The Replacements' 'Here comes a regular'
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PCF-B4print wrote:
You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here! Great tune.
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hecmannn wrote:
banba you look like jennifer love hewitt, wow you are hot
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tDDog wrote:
This was the only song I could bring myself to designate as "my favorite song" for years.
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Banba777 wrote:
love it :)) genial
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DaddyTired wrote:
Used to play this one at the end of the night, when I used to run a local night club. Great one to play to let everyone know to leave!
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gradysghost wrote:
Holy crap! I haven't heard this song in forever!
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clokc wrote:
good pub song !
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Ferdokki wrote:
Great classic song. The video was pretty cool too. =)
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farfromhere wrote:
<3
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DrBlur wrote:
Reminds me of finishing up college, when this came out...
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thirdeyeblinder wrote:
classic song...gotta love it.
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tattoojoe wrote:
So many memories REminds me of tending bar in dallas in the mid-nineties!!!!!
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jbean80 wrote:
"every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end....." I love that line
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Calcbox wrote:
:)
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monstrrr wrote:
<3
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CTORR0314 wrote:
aww i remember this one well...reminds me of high school, but not in a really great way...
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Sclone wrote:
The song is about his new born baby...
-
KaylaSoul wrote:
aww the drinking years of being Trashed at the Bar and convincing the "Hot One" that it will be that good...
Semisonic
Closing Time
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