Time Warp (song)
 | This article contains promotional content. (December 2023) |
| "Time Warp" | |
|---|---|
 South African single A-side label | |
| Song by | |
| from the album The Rocky Horror Picture Show | |
| Released | 1975 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:18 |
| Composer(s) | Richard O'Brien, Richard Hartley |
| Lyricist(s) | Richard O'Brien |
"Time Warp" is a song featured in the 1973 rock musical The Rocky Horror Show, its 1975 film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the 2016 TV production The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again. The song title comes from a dance performed during the chorus of the song.
The dance
[edit]The song is both an example and a parody of the dance song genre, with much of its lyrics consisting of instructions for performing the dance. (Example: "It's just a jump to the left / And then a step to the right / Put your hands on your hips / Bring your knees in tight.")[2]
This dance became one of the major audience participation activities during screenings of the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show and live performances of the original 1973 stage productionThe Rocky Horror Show.[3]
The song is in the key of A major.[4]
Placement
[edit]
"Time Warp" was the fifth song in the original stage show (after "Science Fiction/Double Feature", "Dammit Janet", "Over at the Frankenstein Place" and "Sweet Transvestite") where it was performed by Riff-Raff (Richard O'Brien), Magenta (Patricia Quinn), Columbia (Nell Campbell) and the Criminologist (Jonathan Adams), but fourth in the film (following "Over at the Frankenstein Place" and preceding "Sweet Transvestite"). O'Brien, Quinn and Campbell reprised their roles from the stage production in the film but the Criminologist was instead played by Charles Gray. In the 2016 TV production, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time-Warp Again, the number was performed by Reeve Carney (Riff-Raff), Christina Milian (Magenta), Annaleigh Ashford (Columbia) and Tim Curry (the Criminologist).[5]
Stage productions continued to use the original placement until Richard O'Brien revised the script for the 1990 West End revival in which he moved the song to the film's placement. For reasons of pacing, most productions now follow this order.[6]
The song is reprised briefly at the end of the film, in flashback, and in the stage show it serves as an encore led by Dr. Frank N. Furter (played by Tim Curry in the original stage production and film).[6]
Charts
[edit]Weekly charts
[edit]| Original Australian cast recording | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chart (1977) | Peak position | |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 85 | |
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show | |
|---|---|
| Chart (1980–81) | Peak position |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 3 |
| Canada (RPM Top Singles) | 12 |
| Europe (Euro Digital Songs) (Billboard) | 16 |
| France | 20 |
| UK (UK Singles Chart) | 13 |
| U.S. (Billboard) (Hot 100)[8] | 29 |
Year-end charts
[edit]| Chart (1980) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 66 |
| Chart (1981) | Position |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] | 27 |
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Other appearances
[edit]The Hillywood Show used the song in a 2014 Doctor Who parody, which actor David Tennant (who portrayed the Fourteenth Doctor on the series) called "extraordinary".[12][13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1975". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 313–314. ISBN 9781493064601.
- ^ ""Time Warp Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Feb. 2024".
- ^ "TRHPS Official Fan Site: Participation: How to do the Time Warp". rockyhorror.com.
- ^ "Time Warp - Sheet Music". Scribd.
- ^ Payne, Chris (August 16, 2016). "Let's Do the Time Warp… Again! Hear Iconic 'Rocky Horror' Song Reworked For TV Special". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Thompson, Dave (2016). The Rocky Horror Picture Show FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Campy Cult Classic. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 9781495063770.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 281. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. January 5, 1981. Retrieved January 17, 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. January 4, 1982. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ "British single certifications – Richard O'brien/Patricia Quinn – Time Warp". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
- ^ Anderson, Kyle (May 27, 2014). "The Hillywood Show: Doctor Who Parody Does The Time Warp". Nerdist.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Campbell, Tina (May 28, 2014). "David Tennant does the Time Warp in Doctor Who musical parody video". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ "David Tennant Knows Who We Are!". YouTube. April 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
