Brandon Reigelsperger

Dean Leonard

ENG 1201

February 13 2021

I’ve Had the Time of My Life

Especially due to the current global circumstances, isolation can affect the mind and

body. Everyone needs to go out with friends or family at least once in a while, and these two

songs, The Black Eyed Peas' "Dirty Bit" and "The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley, emphasize

this fact. They both share the same idea and lyrics that the human soul needs to party, how that

party carries on in both songs illustrates their different takes on such.

Both songs share these four lines:

I've had the time of my life

No, I never felt this way before

Yes, I swear, it's the truth

And I owe it all to you

“The Time of My Life”, the original version of the lyrics, aims to show a party for a more

slow and methodical dance. The video itself shows young adult couples dancing with hands

wrapped around each other, signaling that the song is most likely aimed towards that audience.

The lines “Yes, I know what's on your mind when you say, ‘Stay with me tonight’” are

indicating that the man singing wants his dancing partner he met on the dance floor to stay by his

side even after the party. This indicates the stereotype that was still true at the time of the song’s

release in 1987 where the man had more control over the woman’s life. The song overall has a

slow swing to it that a couple can slow dance to.

 The Black Eyed Peas’ “Dirty Bit”, however, shares a different rendition of a party. The

song starts lyric-wise the same as its predecessor, but the beat and video is much different. The

video itself begins in space and slowly zooms in on the male lyricist as a techno beat builds up.

The music and its accompanying video as a whole is much more hectic than Medley’s, with the

camera shots panning from shot to shot, showing both men and women dancing, drinking, and

performing some “actions” on a crowded, shoulder-to-shoulder dance floor. The lines “So come

on, let's go; let's lose control. Let's do it all night 'til we can't do it no more” shows that the party

tends to last the entirety of the night and is not like the other song. They want a one-night show

and to forget about the world by washing it away with drinks rather than just focusing on a

significant other and dancing slowly with them. As well, the lines “I don't wanna take no

pictures, I just wanna take some shots” backs the idea of the partygoers gathering all as a

conglomerate and party “‘til they can’t do it no more”.

Both versions of the lyrics that the two songs share have different meanings due to the

rest of the song and accompanying video. “I had the time of my life, and I've never felt this way

before” is interpreted differently in each song. In Medley’s version, the feeling is warm and

gives off a soft vibe. In the Black Eyed Peas’ version, it is that “one night stand” feeling where

the night before was amazing and the greatest time of your life, but the next morning is a

headache, mostly from the drinks and loud music. “Yes, I swear, it's the truth, and I owe it all to

you”, however, has roughly the same meaning in both songs despite both being distinct in tone.

They both agree that their partner (or partners) is the reason for that “time of their lives”.

The same audience is targeted in both songs, however different the message is: young

adults. One version sings a warm melody that speaks to the youth about having a man or woman

close by your side, while the other disagrees and speaks the idea of partying in a rave group
together with many and perhaps having a lover after the party. Nevertheless, the target audience

is the same.

No matter the target audience, the decades that separate the two songs target the same age

group but in a different cultural time. Some young adults may look down at the older version by

Medley and be bewildered at the idea of slow dancing close, arms wrapped around as you swing

side-to-side to the soft music. The same could be true to the now aged group who were young

adults at the time of recording; they may be confused as to why a young adult would willingly

throw themselves into a large pit of people and blast their ears out listening to a loud speaker

while drinking. Nevertheless, the target audience is the same and both songs have their own

quirks for everyone.

 Works Cited

Medley, Bill and Jennifer Warnes. “(I've Had) The Time Of My Life.” The Best Of Bill

Medley, Curb, 1987, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BQLE_RrTSU.

The Black Eyed Peas. “The Time (Dirty Bit).” The Beginning, Interscope, 2010,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwQZQygg3Lk.