What was 25 or 6 to 4 about

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. The Straight Dope homepage. Filed under: Origin Stories. By Straight Dope Staff Oct 18, Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Dear Straight Dope: I have searched several music sources and asked numerous individuals for the answer to the following question. Dennis Wilson, P. Searching for something to say — Trying to think of song lyrics. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

One of - and this is debatable, but it's what I think - the best rock songs ever is by a band called Chicago. But the name has always confused me. The song is called "25 Or 6 To 4". What does this mean? It's said repeatedly in the lyrics, but they give no hint as to what it actually means.

Lamm himself says that the title is "just a reference to the time of day" and that "the song is about writing a song. It's not mystical. I have always understood that the song was about the act of songwriting itself. Robert Lamm was describing the process of staying up all night and suffering sleep deprivation and confusion while trying to find the inspiration to compose a new song on a deadline. At that time LSD 25 was prevalent and one of the prescription drugs people were doing was methequalone in mg.

On the side of the pills was the number I doubt very much he was sitting cross legged on the floor trying to write a song on his lap to meet some deadline. It is the position usually while rocking back and forth that many people who where tripping late at night would be in.

Writing a song late at night is a good clean story for the masses but more likely at some "hippie house" at that time I would think the drug induced answer would be far more likely and a more memorable experience worth writing a song about.

Do you really think I was writing a song at 4 am. Good luck and believe what you want. Maybe 25 or 6 to 4 is a time for the sake of catchy song but it sounds like a trip either way and going to work is the last thing on someones mind.

Been there done that! This post contains independently chosen affiliate links. See full affiliate disclosure. Song : 25 or 6 to 4 Is the song simply about the time of day? Or is it about drugs? There are a lot of things I like about Chicago, at least before they became a ballad mill in the Solid Gold hosted by Andy Gibb days although those songs are pretty and all. One is that they are Chicago. Love that. Keep it simple. Keeping up with all those horns was probably confusing enough.

The song 25 Or 6 To 4 is usually the last song that Chicago will play in a concert. A selection of lyrics from the song are as follows, form Song Facts:. They are a rock and roll band that has sold over ,, records, including 21 Top 10 singles, 11 Number One singles, 5 consecutive Number One albums, and five Gold singles. The band was initially named The Big Thing.

They spent the majority of the Summer of Love in playing different cover songs until obtaining a manager. They then changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority, but after objection from the actual Chicago Transit Authority, they shortened their name to simply Chicago.

They began releasing all of their albums in numerical order, titled with Roman numerals — i.