Closing Time

Closing Time – Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

– Semisonic

I had the pleasure of seeing Semisonic open for the Barenaked Ladies in Milwaukee on June 7, 2023, and have loved their music for decades. One of my favorite bands, Semisonic put out the hit song Closing Time in 1999. It became their major hit and they still end their shows today when out on tour. At first, one might think this song is about leaving a bar at the end of a long, entertaining evening. However, the lyrics go much deeper than being out with friends, enjoying music and drinks.

Writer and lead singer Dan Wilson wrote this song during a time when he was having a child, and several reports say that the song is really about giving birth and leaving a hospital for home. “This room won’t be open till your brothers or your sisters come” is one of many quotes in the song that reflect a delivery room setting; some other beginning’s end is the original pregnancy which is now over due to the new beginning of birth. “It’s all about being born and coming into the world, seeing the bright lights, cutting the cord, opening up into something deeper and more universal,” Wilson has been quoted as saying in an interview about the song. More on these comparisons can be found at https://11points.com/closing-time-semisonic-childbirth-not-last-call-bar/.

But could there be another meaning to Closing Time?

The chorus of this song immediately brings me to the thought of cutting ties with things that are no longer serving you, starting instead something else that is more desirable at the moment.

We all struggle to let go of projects, jobs, or people to whom we made a commitment at one point and later have found them not what we originally thought or need now.

This is especially true in situations where we’ve invested something in them: time, money, feelings; we really have a problem with abandoning the sunk costs and moving on. The sunk cost fallacy is a psychological barrier that ties people to unsuccessful endeavors simply because they’ve committed resources to it.

But there are many times when we need to cut ties and move in a different direction. After all, every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. Don’t be afraid to assess your situation regularly and redirect as needed so that your future self will thank you. Instead of sunk costs, think of the opportunity cost of staying in that situation instead of exploring something more fruitful. At every moment in time, we have a choice.

“You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.” Where might you go if given the freedom to? What new beginning is waiting for you?

Here’s a recording of Dan doing Closing Time in a more intimate environment than the Semisonic concert I attended on Milwaukee’s lakefront. I hope you enjoy the song as much as I have.