"Twilight" is a song written by

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

for English rock band

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

(ELO), originally released on their 1981 album ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. The lyrics tell of a man who falls asleep while in a twilight state, where he imagines everything in his life that is going to happen to him. They contribute to the album's overarching theme of

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

. ELO writer Barry Delve says that "a cacophony of sound effects...transport us chaotically to the year 2095" to start the album and that the song "doesn't stop or pause for at least 2 minutes," making the song "one of the most exciting experiences ELO ever gave you." Delve suggests that the piano break is influenced by

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said that it was "more intricate" than most ELO songs and that "a grand orchestral build coincides with swirling vocal harmonies for great effect." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that it has "roller-coaster surges of angelic voices and awesome strings." ''Messenger-Press'' critic Steve Wosahla said that "Twilight" "indicates that ELO may never get away from Jeff Lynne's accessibly spacey pop pizzaz." ''Cincinnati Post'' critic Jerry Stein said that it "is a pounding tune but still has that soaring arrangement favored by the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

in so many of their uptempo songs. It was the second single released from the album, peaking at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 38 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Delve explains the single's relatively poor performance despite his thinking that it is "A-grade ELO" saying that "with ''Time'' conceived and realized as a running narrative rather than a series of unconnected songs heard in isolation, many of the lyrics are quite esoteric with their talk of such things as time transporters and baffling references to the 1980s as if they were in the distant past which would have made less sense when heard out of context on top-40 radio stations."

Charts

In popular culture

It appeared, with authorisation and credit, in a 1982 Japanese advertisement for the Toyota Celica XX. It was also used as the finale song in the 2009-2010

Burton Snowboards Burton Snowboards is a privately-owned snowboard manufacturing company that was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977. The company specializes in products aimed at snowboarders, such as snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, and accessor ...

film ''The B Movie'', featuring most of the Burton team snowboarding on a "B" built out of snow.

Daicon IV

The song was used (without authorisation) as the theme music for the opening animation to the 1983 Daicon IV science fiction convention in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. In 2005, as an homage to the Daicon IV animation, the song was used as the opening theme of the television series '' Train Man'', which features an

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

as the main character. As a similar homage, it has served as the opening song for the anime convention

Otakon Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved to the Walter E. Washing ...

's AMV contest since 2008, with the exception of 2017.

References

{{Electric Light Orchestra singles Electric Light Orchestra songs 1981 singles Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne 1981 songs Jet Records singles Songs about time travel