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


Lyrics submitted by Cookie175

Time After Time Lyrics as written by Cyndi Lauper Robert Hyman

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Time After Time song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

111 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +13
    General Comment

    I think too often we think of love as a continued state of good times. I think this song is about the reality of loving someone unconditionally, even when out of time with one another. It's about the challenge that love presents over the course of time- for better or worse, people changing together and apart but choosing each other over and over. It doesn't have to apply to romantic love alone, but any love between two people that lasts a life time.

    LothLorien27on February 12, 2014   Link
  • +12
    General Comment

    this song is about someone who is slowly letting go of another person due to the confusion between them.they arent breaking away from them completely because the feeling is still there. she wants the person to remember that if they are ever in trouble she'll be there for them. no matter what.

    Konfusion28on December 26, 2007   Link
  • +9
    General Comment

    This song to me is about reflecting on her mother. She ran away to live her way wanting to just have fun. She is seen watching a movie that reminds her of how her parents were and seeing it through the eyes of an adult, rather than a child. Love gives you hope. She contemplates where she is now being the adult, yet still being too young to be set in stone. So she shaves off half her hair and goes to meet her boyfriend who ridicules her like a child and she runs away. As she stands there she is reminded of her mother figure who accepts her no matter what. She returns to her home away from home shared with her older boyfriend and realizes she really just wants to go back home and start again with her parents. Rather than trying to grow up so fast, she finds the value in her situation to go home and end her confusion of choices. while she still has time. She leaves and her boyfriend catches that she is going. He helps her pack in a more suitable case and takes her to the statrion to see her off. She tells him that no matter what she will always love him and be there if he needs her as he has been for her. she leaves her case which is in a way assurance that in time she will be back. But her priority is on revering something she cares deeply for. I believe that is her relationship with her mom. We see her mom in several of Cyndi's videos. She is the woman sweeping. She still has time to correct the ways of her youth. A mothers love is eternal. She wants to explore that before time has gone too far. ;)

    sum1zmomon March 29, 2014   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    This is the ultimate song of heartache. It shows how life isn't black and white, but with plenty of gray.

    Caught up in circles Confusion is nothing new

    Bonzaion May 29, 2002   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    This is definitely a love song, though I don't think it necessarily has to be about a romantic kind of love. This song really reminds me a lot of my best friend who I've knows since I was 11. A LOT has changed with us...we ourselves have changed as people, we've both said and done some really bad things to each other, and now we rarely even talk anymore and I haven't seen her in nearly 2 years. However, despite all that, she is still my best friend. She will ALWAYS be my best friend. I can accept that things between us have changed and that we will probably never be as close as what we were before, but I will NEVER forget her and everything we've been through together. One of the very few people in my life that I love unconditionally.

    Shakouon March 24, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    I see this song as a goodbye to someone - doesn't matter the kind of relationship - because life is drifting them away, one stays behind, the other one is going forward but the memory of their love stays forever and each one is ready to come and rescue the other. True love never dies. Any kind of love.<p><b><i>Edited by delial on December 15 2007, at 05:26PM</i></b></p>

    oliveraon May 30, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    this song is purly about, love ending but not forgeting about the memories u shared with one another. i guess u can u can say, they been togeather for awhile. and one has to go away or they break up. no matter what happens one or the other person will remember what they shared togeather, or what they lost as a whole. "Lying in my bed, I hear The clock tick and think of you Caught up in circles Confusion is nothing new" it talks about after the person left. she just thinks about him none stop, thinking of what to do, to move on or just try a nd get him back, as she gets confused. she says in her song no matter what happens she will be t here for the one she loves. and she will stay waiting untill he returns one day.

    drummer4514on March 07, 2003   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    To me it's about a solid friendship. Having each other's back no matter what. The chorus, in particular, appeals to me.

    True. Very beautiful song.

    caramiacintaon June 25, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I love the movie scene she's watching in the video, when a man says "once you said to me that peace and happiness may be found, you gave me hope but now.. now i have to say goodbye" Anyway this is just a beautiful simple song, probably about the end of a relationship, when even habitual things become so stressful and you know that love is gone but just can't leave that person

    vivienleion February 01, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is great! it could be used for a relationship or just friends. whenever i hear this song i always think of my friends, and how many good times we've shared. there is always those people in your life who you've been friends with since you were young, and they always come to my mind when i hear this. most of those people who i've known my whole life are still here and i value them very much, and this song sums up everything we've been through

    AmyBth2005on March 31, 2003   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.