Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four)

Subject: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four
From: Slag
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 12:50 AM

Could sure use the lyrics to this one. Was it about a Yoga meditation, a bum trip, or difficulty in reading the clock?

Subject: ADDPOP: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 01:49 AM

Hi, Slag - a good, popup-free place for finding pop lyrics is Lyrics World. Can't say I have any idea about the meaning of this song, but I sure like it.
-Joe-

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25 Or 6 to 4
(R. Lamm)

Waiting for the break of day
Searching for something to say
Dancing lights against the sky
Giving up I close my eyes
Sitting cross-legged on the floor
25 or 6 to 4


Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Should have tried to do some more
25 or 6 to 4

Feeling like I ought to sleep
Spinning room is sinking deep
Searching for something to say
Waiting for the break of day
25 or 6 to 4
25 or 6 to 4

Recorded by Chicago®

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 11:31 AM

Robert Lamm has his own site at: Robert Lamm. There is a song list; this is in the 1970 section, but I get not found messages for all the songs I tried. (There's also a wikipedia article on him).

I think the song may be on youtube too (didn't bother following up the reference).

There's a forum on the website that might answer your question. He's obviously awake in the early hours, when he'd rather be asleep (should have taken more), but why? Here's a post from a thread that might answer it: The story line of Robert's music where does it lead?:(the site needed cookies for the search; I didn't check if it needs it to access the thread).


"Robert Lamm said that the song refers to a man who was asked a lot
of questions by his girlfriend in 1967 & 1968."

I didn't bother following the whole thread, but you might take a look (there's a search function on the forum).

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four
From: Nick
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 01:16 PM

I seem to remember reading that the title definitely refers to the time ie 25 or 26 minutes to 4 in the morning.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 13 Dec 07 - 01:29 PM

That's how I understood the title too.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four
From: Slag
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 05:10 AM

Thank you all. Sounds like a bum trip: the kind that most of us have experienced one time or another. Except for (or maybe because of the numerical reference?) it sounds like it could be a Zen session!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 14 Dec 07 - 06:43 AM

No I don't think it's either of those. He's still awake at 25/26 to 4 in the morning because the girl is asking him lots of questions (maybe over a break up - I misquoted earlier Should have tried to do some more, could be to prevent the break-up) - and he just wants morning to come so that it's over.

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 25 or 6 to 4 (Twenty-five or Six to Four)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 15 Dec 07 - 06:03 PM

There's an article about 25 OR 6 TO 4 at Wikipedia. Not much analysis there, but there's a link to another article at The Straight Dope, which does a line-by-line interpretation. Turns out there's nothing to contradict Robert Lamm's own explanation: "The song is about writing a song. It's not mystical."