Time After Time

Rob Hyman wrote one of the song's early lines at a piano with Cyndi Lauper during the final stages of her debut album, and "suitcase of memories" struck her as a wonderful line. The two had been introduced in early 1983 by her producer, Rick Chertoff, who insisted they record just "one more song" for She's So Unusual, even though most of the album, including "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "She Bop," had already been recorded. Both writers were going through similar troubles in their romantic lives at the time; Hyman was coming out of a relationship, and Lauper was having difficulties with her boyfriend and manager, David Wolff.

The title came from a TV Guide listing for the 1979 science fiction film Time After Time, which Lauper meant to use only as a temporary placeholder. She later tried to change it, but felt the name had become so fundamental to the song that it would fall apart with a different title. Epic Records wanted the track as the album's lead single, yet Lauper feared a ballad would pigeonhole her as a balladeer and potentially kill her career. Wolff argued for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" instead, and the label agreed.

"Time After Time" was released on March 27, 1984, as the album's second single. It became Lauper's first number one in the United States, topping the Billboard Hot 100 on June 9, 1984, and staying there for two weeks. It reached number 3 in the United Kingdom and number 6 in Australia, and earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.