Time Warp

About Time Warp

The Time Warp is a song & dance featured in the rock musical The Rocky Horror Show and the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, performed during the chorus of the song of the same name. The song is both an example and a parody of the dance song genre in which much of the content of the song is given over to dance step instructions. The dance is one of the major audience-participation activities during screenings of the film and performances of the show. It has become a popular song beyond the reaches of the film and show, and is often played at dances and weddings. Cover versions have been recorded by such artists as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Black Lace, Damian, Groovie Ghoulies, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, and Sebastian Bach of the heavy metal band Skid Row, as well as an Italian adaptation by Elio e le Storie Tese and a Spanish adaptation by the pop group Timbiriche.

A tap dance often appears in the middle of the song, but recent versions have replaced it with such diverse substitutes as a Dance Dance Revolution pattern, an air guitar solo, and a rally-like chant.

The song, fourth in the film (after "Science Fiction/Double Feature," "Dammit Janet," and "Over at the Frankenstein Place"), but fifth in the original stage show and 2006-2007 UK tour (Sweet Transvestite precedes it), consists of verses sung by alternating characters, serving as the introduction to two of them, and choruses sung by the chorus of "Transylvanians" (Movie) or "Phantoms" (Musical), and the Criminologist/Narrator (played by Charles Gray in the movie). The characters that sing the verses are, in order, Riff-Raff (Richard O'Brien in the movie), Magenta (Patricia Quinn in the movie), and Columbia (Little Nell Campbell in the movie). After the second full chorus, Columbia launches into her tap dance (see above).