Love is always some form of consistency over time. A great song is always some form of consistency over time signature.

The consistently fascinating voice of Cyndi Lauper was born to be wrapped in this song's synthesizers and chorus-effect guitar - and to leap out from them in the urgent refrain, soaring but so intelligently regimented to the tapping beat.

I confidently declare that the 1980s were the greatest era of melody ever in pop music, and "Time After Time" is maybe the top song of them all, consistent with beautiful ideas at all levels, transcendent with a vocalist's magic.