Full disclosure: “Time After Time” isn’t on my list of all-time favorite tunes.

Is it a classic? Absolutely. Is Cyndi Lauper an absurdly talented songwriter? You bet.

Is this song also one that I continuously scroll past when it comes on some old school, “best of the 80s” playlist? Yep.

But Sam Smith. That voice. That freakin’ voice. 

Back in October 2020, Smith performed a virtual concert at Abbey Road, the iconic London studio where The Beatles recorded most of their classic songs. That concert, titled “Love Goes—Live at Abbey Road Studios,” was released on Netflix this week and I’m just slightly obsessed with it.

What caught me off guard was that Smith’s version of “Time After Time” made me hear that song in a way I never had before. It made me fall in love with it.

They infused the song with so much soul, so much feeling, that I found myself singing along, a little teary-eyed. Unexpected, but considering what their voice usually does to me, not entirely surprising.

These comments, from a few listeners on YouTube, pretty much sum up how I feel:

“Can we just have [them] cover every hit song and just play [their] version?”

“True fact: Everyone who listens to this song is getting healed.”

“Is it wrong that I’ve listened to this at least 12 times today?”
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