"Closing Time" is a song by American rock bandSemisonic. It was released in March 1998 as the lead single from their second studio albumFeeling Strangely Fine. Their signature song, it was written by Dan Wilson and produced by Nick Launay. The single reached number one on the US BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart and the top 50 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is certified silver in the latter country and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Songin 1999. While the song is about people leaving a bar at closing time, and widely interpreted as such, drummer Jacob Slichter has also indicated that the song was written by Wilson "in anticipation of fatherhood" and that it is about "being sent forth from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar."
Background and writing
Prior to the composition "Closing Time", Semisonic would usually end their concerts with the song "If I Run". The band grew tired of playing this song every night and so Wilson set out to write a new song that they could play at the end of their set. Wilson's girlfriend was pregnant at the time and although Wilson did not set out consciously to write a song about giving birth, he has stated that "Part way into the writing of the song, I realized it was also about being born." The song ends with a quote attributed to Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
Music video
The music video was directed by Chris Applebaum. It features two continuous shots, running side by side on the screen. One side shows the band playing the song in a rehearsal space. The other side features a woman as the singer Dan Wilson's girlfriend. As the video progresses, Dan and his girlfriend switch sides of screen, as they attempt to meet up. At the end of the video, they both wind up at the same nightclub. However, they still end up missing each other by mere seconds and never meet. The "trick" of the video is that each shot was done as one long, continuous shot, with no cuts or editing, and therefore relies on proper timing to get the two sides of the video lined up properly.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Chart
Peak position
Year-end charts
Certifications
Covers and samples
"Closing Time" was the final song in the polka medley "Polka Power!" on "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1999 albumRunning with Scissors. Wilson recorded a solo version of the song for his 2017 album Re-Covered, a collection of his own versions of songs he had written for other artists; "Closing Time" was the only song on the album that Wilson had originally recorded himself.
Use in media
"Closing Time" has been featured in a number of films and television series in the years following its release. In an article about the song's oddly enduring legacy and its use to punctuate comedic scenes, songwriter Dan Wilson believed the song had become "shorthand for that interesting feeling when you realize someone very different from you shares your cultural background" and that it is a song many people know but not everyone likes. The song was featured in the 2010 film Due Date during a scene in which Danny McBride beats up the film's two protagonists. Wilson says that while he was not "bummed" about the song's usage in the film, he would not have approved its usage if he had been personally asked because the scene it was used in was very violent. The song was prominently featured in the 2011 film Friends with Benefits where, in the climax, Justin Timberlake's character points out that the song is by Semisonic and not, as he believed, Third Eye Blind. The song was featured in the series finale of Melrose Place. The song is also featured during the cold open of the 2011 The Office episode "Doomsday", in which newly appointed manager Andy Bernard plays the song every day as everyone is leaving, much to the annoyance of his coworkers. The song was featured in the series finale of Rules of Engagement as the final credits were played. The Milwaukee Brewers play this song at the end of their home games. The song was used in the 2012 film American Reunion. Dodgers organist Dieter Ruehle played the song at the end of the 2018 World Series, played at Dodgers Stadium.
