I almost always play “Closing Time.” By that gig, I had actually done “Closing Time” so many times at so many gigs that I had been telling this long, involved story. I’ve never agreed with artists who avoid their big hit song at their concerts, that annoys me, actually. Semisonic’s big hit “Closing Time” is not on the record. So it seemed like a nice way to put a cap around that period of time. The previous show in Minneapolis, year before, it was a little bit proper and precise, and like an execution of an idea, and this show we ended up recording, I knew that it was going to be loose and more of a live experience. It seemed like it was going to be loose and fun and the band, we’ve played a lot together. I don’t know if I thought about it consciously, but I didn’t want to wrap up that phase without documenting it somehow.
#Semisonic closing time song meaning free
I was so enjoying the free life, the stretch of touring and playing those songs live and getting the band kind of happening. I knew that I was heading into writing and recording a new jam of some kind. Why did you decide to put out a live record? Wilson’s latest album, Live At The Pantages, surveys his career so far. Instead, he’s become the king of the co-write, working with artists as diverse as Dixie Chicks, Weezer, Keith Urban, Josh Groban, and The Bravery. If you can’t see it yourself, here’s Dan Wilson’s explanation.Dan Wilson’s band Semisonic may have gone on hiatus, but the man behind “Closing Time” has never stopped writing. Taking a closer look at the lyrics, this makes sense. They think it’s about being bounced from a bar, but it’s about being bounced from the womb.” And I hid it so well in plain view that millions and millions of people heard the song and bought the song and didn’t get it. So I did what any good sneak would do, and I hid my junior song, and I did it in plain view, which is where a good sneak knows is the best place to hide something. “I knew that my bandmates… were feeling that dread. He chose to write one, but to make it inconspicuous. He said it’s something that everyone in a band understands will happen, and that the rest of Semisonic was expecting it. Turns out, it’s a song about the pending birth of his son.Īt the reunion, Wilson explained that he wanted to write a song about the arrival, but didn’t want it to be the cliché song that so many turn out to be. Singer Dan Wilson (who is a Harvard grad – who knew?) explained the song’s actual meaning during a reunion performance. Released in March of 1998, this song has been the last song played at more bars than I care to (or am able to) count ever since.įor nearly 20 years, I’ve always thought the song was simply about that last desperate hour in a bar, where people seeking someone take their last chances at meeting them, and head out into the night, either alone or with company. One of the ‘comfort songs’ from the period was ‘Closing Time’ by Semisonic. The station takes me back to young adulthood in the early-to-mid 90s, the decade of some of the best times of my life. If I’m trying to close myself off from the rest of the office (which happens more than I’d like to admit), I’ll throw my headphones on and listen to this station on for most of the day as I work. One of my standby stations on Pandora is 90s Alternative.