"25 or 6 to 4" is a song written by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musician Robert Lamm

Robert Lamm

Robert William Lamm is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter who came to fame as a founding member of the pop rock band Chicago...

, one of the founding members of the rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

/jazz fusion

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...

 band Chicago

Chicago (band)

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...

. It was recorded

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 for their second album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, Chicago

Chicago (album)

Chicago is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Chicago. It was released in 1970 after the band had shortened its name from The Chicago Transit Authority after releasing their same-titled debut album the previous year.-History:...

(1970), with Peter Cetera

Peter Cetera

Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...

 on lead vocals. The song was edited and released as a single in June of the year 2009, climbing to number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart and number seven on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. This recording features an electric guitar

Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

 solo using a wah-wah pedal

Wah-wah pedal

A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...

 by Chicago guitarist Terry Kath

Terry Kath

Terry Alan Kath , born in Chicago, Illinois, was the original guitarist and founding member of the rock band Chicago...

, and has been included in numerous Chicago compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s.

An updated version of "25 or 6 to 4" was recorded for the 1986 album Chicago 18

Chicago 18

Chicago 18 is the 18th album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1986. As the successor to 1984's multiplatinum smash hit Chicago 17, this album marked a new era for Chicago: their post-Peter Cetera years....

with James Pankow

James Pankow

James Carter "Jimmy" Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument arranger best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.-Early life:...

 listed as co-writer. Featuring new band member Jason Scheff

Jason Scheff

Jason Randolph Scheff is an American bassist, singer and songwriter. Since 1985 he has been the bassist and singer for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago. He is the oldest son of well-known session bassist Jerry Scheff, who toured for several years with Elvis Presley...

 on lead vocals, the single reached number 48 on the U.S. chart. This version was also used as the B-side for the band's next single in 1986 "Will You Still Love Me?

Will You Still Love Me? (Chicago song)

"Will You Still Love Me?" is a song written by David Foster, Tom Keane and Richard Baskin for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 18 . The second single released from that album, it reached number three on the U.S...

".

The song appears as an on-disc track in the video game Rock Band 3

Rock Band 3

Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...

.

Meaning

While it has been speculated that the song's lyrics are drug related, that rumor has been largely dismissed. 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." The time of day in reference is 3:35 AM (or 3:34 AM), which would then be 25 (or 26) minutes to 4 AM.

Cover versions

This song has been covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by multiple artists, including Vince Neil

Vince Neil

Vincent Neil Wharton is an American vocalist and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.-Early life:Neil was born in Hollywood, California to Odie and Shirley Wharton...

 (on Carved in Stone

Carved in Stone (Vince Neil album)

Carved in Stone is the second album by Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil and was released in 1995.It featured guitarist Brent Woods, who had previously played with Wildside and was later a touring guitarist for Warrant....

); fellow rockers Thunderhead

Thunderhead

Thunderhead can refer to:*a cumulonimbus cloud seen during a thunderstormOther meanings:*Thunderhead , a Marvel comic character in the comic Monstergirl...

, featuring singer Ted Bullet; Straitjacket

Straitjacket

A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to themselves or others. Once the arms are inserted into the straitjacket's sleeves, they are then crossed across the chest...

; Local H

Local H

Local H is an American rock duo, formed by Joe Daniels and Scott Lucas in Zion, Illinois in 1987. Local H's 1996 album, As Good as Dead, includes the top 10 hit "Bound for the Floor" Author, rock critic and Rolling Stone contributor Greg Kot and the Chicago Tribune named the band its 2008 Chicago...

; Intruder

Intruder (metal band)

"Intruder" is an American thrash metal band from Nashville, Tennessee. Formerly known as "Transgresser", the group began as a four-piece cover band. They saw the addition of rhythm guitarist Greg Messick after signing with Metal Blade....

; Bruce Foxton

Bruce Foxton

Bruce Foxton is an English rock and roll musician who is best known as the bass player in punk rock bands The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers.-Biography:...

 (solo, ex The Jam); The Moog Cookbook

The Moog Cookbook

The Moog Cookbook is the name of an electronica band made up of Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. as a parody/tribute to the novelty "Moog records" of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The duo performs exclusively on analog synthesizers, especially Moog synthesizers...

; and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

In 2005 Jonathan Coulton

Jonathan Coulton

Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...

 made "When I'm 25 or 64", a mashup

Mashup (music)

A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

 of "25 or 6 to 4" with "When I'm Sixty-Four

When I'm Sixty-Four

"When I'm Sixty-Four" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and released in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.-Composition:...

" by The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

. For the Results Night performance on the finale of the ninth season of American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

, Lee DeWyze

Lee DeWyze

Leon James "Lee" DeWyze, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the ninth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a solo career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So I'm Told in 2007 and...

 performed "25 or 6 to 4", along with "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

"Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" is a song written and sung by Robert Lamm while in the rock band Chicago and recorded for their debut album The Chicago Transit Authority ....

" and "If You Leave Me Now

If You Leave Me Now

"If You Leave Me Now" is the title of a popular hit ballad by the American rock group Chicago, from their album Chicago X. It was written and sung by bass guitar player Peter Cetera and released as a single in July 1976....

", with the band. Constantine Maroulis

Constantine Maroulis

Constantine James Maroulis is an American rock singer, actor, and writer from Wyckoff, New Jersey. He was the sixth-place finalist on the fourth season of the reality television series American Idol, and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Pray for the Soul of Betty...

 released his version of the song as a single in 2011.

The band Pacifika

Pacifika

Pacifika is a band formed by Silvana Kane, a Peruvian born singer, formerly of Canadian pop hit band West End Girls, and accomplished actress with a love of flamenco, electronica, and textured percussion; Adam Popowitz, a Canadian bred guitarist adept at new wave, classical, and pop, and a producer...

 made a cover of the song that appeared on the pilot episode of Ringer

Ringer (TV series)

Ringer is an American television series that premiered on The CW on September 13, 2011. The series stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays twin sisters Bridget Kelly and Siobhan Martin...

, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...

.