I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that the song was about the band being pressured by the record company to get an album out, the lyrics are about staying up all night trying to come up with new songs.

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This song is about being wasted from drugs, simply. 25 or 6 to 4 is the site of a clock. Look at a clock when its 3:54 or "6 to 4". Then look at that same clock upside down and its 9:25 or 10:25. The song is about losing track of time and seeing the clock and you can't tell exactly if its 9:25 or 3:54.

The clock thing sounds pretty good, but wouldn't that be 24 or 6'til 4...or maybe 25 or 5 'til 4? Either way, the title says to 4, not 'til 4, right?

In doing further research, I found that the author of the song says the title IS in reference to the time of day...25 or (2)6 minutes until 4 A.M. I believe the author.

If it is the upside down clock that's amazingly creative...even if not I still love the song. We got to play a version in jazz and it was the best thing we've ever played.

mfry is right, the song title means Twenty-five or Twenty-six to Four-O-Clock. Hilde is also correct that the song is about writing a song. He is up late writing and doesn't know if he should keep going or not. Another interesting (though untrue) theory about the title is that is a mathematical ratio for cutting cocaine.

Well, i heard that it meant to get into chicago there was Rt. 25 to get there or you can take rt 6 then onto rt 4

This song is written (or at least everything points to) about a trip on acid. Specifically LSD-25...The big question that I see is that it's 6:24 (Six Two Four perhaps?) and our hero is wondering if he should 'drop' more '25'...or maybe it's just about forcing writing...cause that works really well...

This has got to be one of the most intriguing songs ever. I am inclined to agree with 25 or 26 minutes til four in the morning trying to write a song. We all know that you can only write when either depressed or joyous; status quo just is not inspirational enough.

I hate to jump on the drug bandwagon (there's always some schmuck trying to tell you that any given song is about drugs, even if it's something like "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"), but there are some parts of this song that remind me of drug usage..."Wondering how much I can take, should I try to do some more", and "Spinning room is sinking deep" all seem to be references to being stoned. Of course, that's pretty ambiguous, I realize, and that may very well not be the meaning of the song, I'm just saying that's what it reminds me of.

i think the line "Searching for something to say" points to it been about the making of a song but it so also could be about drugs. maybe well never know. hey maybe its about both.

Wrong meanings...the song is about writing a song..."6 to 4": what time signature do they want? It's more or less the frustration about writing a song I guess. The other interpretations are pretty good, but, as I understand it, this was about the frustration to pick a proper time, etc. while writing a new song. Regardless..it's a great song by a great band.

You are ALL wrong!!! ..."25" is LSD 25, which was popular in the late 60's. "6 to 4" is the amount of time the drugs effects last in your system. LSD would last 10 hours in your system. In this case, from 6pm to 4am. The lyrics clearly explain an acid trip. You must remember the time frame when this song was written (1968). Hendrix had "Purple Haze" and the psychadelic era was happening. The band members of Chicago always avoided telling the real meaning of this song, but if you're an old hippie like I am, you know what it is about.

You are ALL wrong!!! ..."25" is LSD 25, which was popular in the late 60's. "6 to 4" is the amount of time the drugs effects last in your system. LSD would last 10 hours in your system. In this case, from 6pm to 4am. The lyrics clearly explain an acid trip. You must remember the time frame when this song was written (1968). Hendrix had "Purple Haze" and the psychadelic era was happening. The band members of Chicago always avoided telling the real meaning of this song, but if you're an old hippie like I am, you know what it is about.

It actually sounds like the author was writting about not having anything to write about. The band, in an interview had once said that they had no idea what this song was about.

Um, yeah. Since Chicago as a whole was anti-drugs I kinda doubt the stoned thing. I tend to lean toward the up 'til 4 writing a song theory because anyone who has done that knows that it is extremely confusing at that time of day. Besides, once you start to get groggy at 4 in the morning the room does spin quite a bit sometimes. So, ApollyonCrash, I wouldn't jump on that bandwagon too quickly. And thinkitbeit, rock on with the jazz band thing!

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Uh, noreasterbunny, I have never seen the time signiture 25. Just a point I would like to make clear and 6/4 would be a pretty awkward signiture to right in. Keep trying.

Skaball: I've stayed up all night many a time, but I never recall the room spinning. :P

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Yea, boogiemenscott is right. It is about LSD.

Well, trying to explain what drugs feel like,is akin to explaining sex to a virgin! As one who has done his share of LSD-25, I can attest to the fact that the song is about doing LSD-25. The tripper is wondering if he should do some more acid,or get to sleep,because it is 6 to 4 in the morning. If anyone has ever been up till the wee hours of the morning tripping their brains out,then EVERY line in the song makes sense! As for Chicago being anti-drug.. buahahahaha!!!

I thought it was about the number of Molly hits Freakshow sold at the Chattoaboogie show. I could be wrong though. I do know that one is the loneliest number just ask grandma.

According to a Bobby Lamm interview, the song is about the process of writing a song, and how in that process he looked up and glanced at the clock.

I ran a small investigation and I go for the LSD-25 story, even though that for all of you who dont now what is 6 to 4, its not an hour, it is a reference for 624-Qualudes which were "hypnotic sedatives" used in the 60s and 70's, and LSD 25 was the second most popular lsd of the time, so it makes perfect tense, and taking more qualudes to sleep cos the LSD has you with insomia its a pretty good idea... Great song by the way, it is included at evry chicago greates hits album!!!

Here is what may be the final word on the subject from the Straight Dope Website. You decide!

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m25or6to4.html


What does the Chicago lyric "25 or 6 to 4" mean?
18-Oct-2000


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Dear Straight Dope:

I have searched several music sources and asked numerous individuals for the answer to the following question. Obviously you are my best bet as your book series now occupies the shelves previously held by my Britannica. What the heck does 25 or 6 to 4 mean in the song by Chicago (previously Chicago Transit Authority--everything seems shorter these days)? Any help is appreciated, oh wise Cecil and/or research staff. --Dennis Wilson, P.E., Omaha

SDSTAFF Songbird replies:

It's always wise to leave such big things in our hands, Dennis.

Big Thing, incidentally, was the band name used by Robert Lamm, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, Lee Loughnane, Terry Kath and Danny Seraphine when they first got together. After some mild success, they opened for a band called The Exceptions for two weeks. When The Exceptions' bassist (a guy named Peter Cetera) heard the Big Thing's new sound, he took exception to his own band and joined Big Thing.

When the group's sound really began to come together, they changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority and cut an album. Then the real CTA objected to the name, so they shortened it for their second album to the now familiar Chicago.

The song "25 or 6 to 4" appeared on "Chicago II" and was written by organist/vocalist Robert Lamm. The title and lyrics have puzzled many since it appeared in 1970. Some say it's a drug reference, suggesting a unit of measurement involving the quantity of joints that can be rolled from a what-used-to-be dime bag. Some feel it's about looking for spiritual revelation, undergoing a mysterious soul-searching journey.

Perhaps you're too young to recall that in the late '60s and '70s it was a popular parlour game--if not quite an intellectual pursuit--to read hidden messages and double meanings into song lyrics. Many people thought "Hey Jude" was about shooting heroin. Just about everything Bob Dylan wrote went through hours of scrutiny by his fans. Did you ever check into the "Hotel California" by the Eagles? Many of the Rolling Stones songs were supposedly about drugs, though it's hard to ignore the more explicit meanings ("You make a dead man come.") What about "I Am the Walrus," which was supposedly written on an acid trip about Paul McCartney's greatly exaggerated and rumored demise? Goo goo g'joob, baby.

Lamm says it's simpler than that. "The song is about writing a song. It's not mystical," he says. Take a look at some of the lyrics:

Waiting for the break of day--He's been up all night and now it's getting close to sunrise.
Searching for something to say--Trying to think of song lyrics.
Flashing lights against the sky--Perhaps stars or the traditional flashing neon hotel sign.
Giving up I close my eyes--He's exhausted and his eyes hurt from being open too long, so he closes them.
Staring blindly into space--This expression can be seen often on the faces of writers and reporters. Trust me.
Getting up to splash my face--Something you do when you're trying to stay awake, though a good cup of Starbuck's does wonders for Cecil and me.
Wanting just to stay awake, wondering how much I can take--How far can he push himself to get the song done?
Should I try to do some more?--This is the line that makes many think it's a drug song. But it is just as easily construed as a frustrated writer wondering if he should try to do some more lyrics/songwriting.

As for the curious title, Lamm says, "It's just a reference to the time of day"--as in "waiting for the break of day" at 25 or (2)6 minutes to 4 a.m. (3:35 or 3:34 a.m.)

I think we can take Lamm's word for the whole thing. Because, when it's that early in the morning, does anybody really know what time it is?

SDSTAFF Euty comments:

Does anybody really care?

--SDSTAFF Songbird
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board

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