You can hear Cyndi Lauper sing her song, "Time After Time," by consulting the video at the bottom of this blog post. Having just written, yesterday, about "Time" as a topic, Lauper's song came, unbidden, into my mind.
I have always loved Lauper's song, which presents itself as a story of human and romantic love. The video I have included at the bottom of this blog post stresses the lyrics, and lets you see the words, as the music spins its magic.
The video you will see if you click this link, with the same music, illustrates a specific story, conveying a lesson about how the romantic connection that is the intended subject of the song will always be stronger than the forces that seek to divide the human lovers.
Whatever happens, Lauper says, she'll be back. "Time after time!"
I don't really think of Lauper's song as a song about faithful romantic love. Rather, I have always considered "Time After Time" to be a song about life itself. That is largely because I have mainly focused on the refrain, the words of which are emphasized, to my ear, by the music. Romantic connections are an example, of course, of what is important in our lives, but the affirmation that has always moved me, in this music, is the pledge that life itself is love, and that life loves us; that life itself will come for us - and will come for us always; that life will support us, and that life is "for" us, no matter what events may ensue, and no matter how much those events may seem to suggest otherwise.
This is, to be sure, what might properly be called a religious understanding of the song, and since I am publishing this blog posting on a Sunday, forgive me for that! The music and the the words of Lauper's song capture for me something about life that I
have found to be profoundly true. If I were preaching a sermon, I would point us to Job. After he has experienced all the hardships that God has imposed upon him, and imposed upon him so unfairly, he still believes in life. Somehow, no matter how horrible our experiences are, life will still support us, "Time After Time."
I invite you to try thinking of "Time After Time" as though its claims go beyond an assertion (which is certainly not always true) that romantic connections will not fail us.
Try thinking of the events of your
own life in light of the lyrics. Listen to the music and see if the words of the refrain don't resonate within you, and strike a chord of gratitude. Thought about this way, the refrain might even make you cry. Those
who are getting to the end of their lives, like me, can probably identify with how often these words have proven true, during all the time we have been so
blessed to have been alive. Again, the words are best with the music:
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
(1) - https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/09/19/a-new-refutation-of-time-borges/
(2) - https://youtu.be/qM4ivs-jYxE
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