Story behind 25 or 6 to 4, by Chicago

Waiting for the break of day
Searching for something to say
Flashing lights against the sky
Giving up I close my eyes
Sitting cross-legged on the floor
Twenty-five or six to four

Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Should I try to do some more
Twenty-five or six to four

Feeling like I ought to sleep
Spinning room is sinking deep
Searching for something to say
Waiting for the break of day

Twenty-five or six to four
Twenty-five or six to four

25 or 6 to 4, by Chicago.

As with Smoke on the Water, by Deep Purple, I love the rock defining guitar pieces in this Chicago classic.  Chicago is one of my longtime favorite bands anyway, stretching back to their first official album when their band was initially called Chicago Transit Authority (1969).  I could name all seven of their inaugural band members.  Besides the guitar, it was the brass section that drew me in.  Theirs wasn't classic rock in the sense of ear shattering, heavy metal, but of orchestral sounds unique in rock music.  Then, too, there is the curious story behind the song.  For the longest time, I didn't know what the title meant, and the lyrics did seem as if songwriter Robert Lamm was tripping.

Lamm says it's simpler than that. "The song is about writing a song. It's not mystical," he says. Take a look at some of the lyrics:

Waiting for the break of day - He's been up all night and now it's getting close to sunrise.
Searching for something to say - Trying to think of song lyrics.
Flashing lights against the sky - Perhaps stars or the traditional flashing neon hotel sign.
Giving up I close my eyes - He's exhausted and his eyes hurt from being open too long, so he closes them.
Staring blindly into space - This expression can be seen often on the faces of writers and reporters. Trust me.
Getting up to splash my face - Something you do when you're trying to stay awake, though a good cup of Starbuck's does wonders.
Wanting just to stay awake, wondering how much I can take - How far can he push himself to get the song done?
Should I try to do some more? - This is the line that makes many think it's a drug song. But it is just as easily construed as a frustrated writer wondering if he should try to do some more lyrics/songwriting.

As for the curious title, Lamm says, "It's just a reference to the time of day" - as in "waiting for the break of day" at 25 or (2)6 minutes to 4 a.m. (3:35 or 3:34 a.m.)

I think we can take Lamm's word for the whole thing. Because, when it's that early in the morning, does anybody really know what time it is?

Reference: What does the Chicago lyric "25 or 6 to 4" mean?

Nice little allusion there at the end.