As “Captain Time” I am understandably obsessed with all things time- related. Unusual clocks, watches, hourglasses, sundials, and of course, “time songs.”
So, as a fun project, I pulled together my personal Top 10 Time Songs to share with you.
Please note these are my personal favorites – songs I connect to emotionally and not an unbiased expert opinion of the quality of songwriting or performances.
And now for Captain Time karaoke…
Just kidding! I wouldn’t inflict that on you. Instead, I will use a few clips from originals.
The songs played during my video are short excerpts so as not to trigger copyright takedowns. I have put the links to the official videos of the full-length songs where I could find them in the accompanying article so you could hear the whole songs for yourself.
So, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s jump into my personal favorites!
#10: Time – Prism
Let’s start this list with a great classic song.
The #10 entry on my top 10 songs list surprised me because I have to admit I am not a big Prism fan. (Why are villagers with pitchforks, torches, and Prism t-shirts gathering outside my office? 😕)
Like nearly everyone else, I always loved Prism’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” but was kind of oblivious to a lot of the rest of their music. I had heard it often in my youth, but didn’t own any Prism albums.
But Prism’s “Time” is a very intriguing song.
Amazing musical intro, bells, ticking, and a great building swell until the lyrics come in.
The lyrics also resonate with me. They begin with:
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
A very poetic way to describe wasting time.
You can see all the lyrics for Pink Floyd’s “Time” song at Genius
#9: Time – Alan Parson’s Project
#9 on my list is Time by the Alan Parson’s Project. A very lovely ballad.
Time, flowing like a river
Time, beckoning me
Who knows when we shall meet again
If ever
But time
Keeps flowing like a river
To the sea
A very evocative song about time flowing like a river until it is gone forever. See the full lyrics for Time by the Alan Parson’s Project at Genius.
#8: Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band
The word “time” isn’t mentioned in the title, but the chorus goes
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Which is exactly how time goes – slippin’ into the future while we usually don’t notice it. Then we wonder where the time went.
Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band lyrics at Genius.
#7: No Time – The Guess Who
As a Canadian, I have a soft spot in my heart for this great Canadian band. The Guess Who was iconic in my youth, with songs like “American Woman” and “These Eyes.”
“No Time” was another favorite Guess Who song for me, long before I started my journey to become “Captain Time.”
No time left for you
On my way to better things
No time left for you
I’ll find myself some wings
No time left for you
Distant roads are calling me
No time left for you
I also love the section that says “seasons change and so did I.”
Full lyrics for No Time by the Guess Who at Genius
#6: The Times They Are A-Changing – Bob Dylan
Time to go to the folk music genre for the next one. This ballad by Bob Dylan became one of the anthems of the civil rights movement in the 60’s.
Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a-changin’
And you have to love a song that calls out to senators and congressmen to join the movement!
View The Times They Are A Changin’ lyrics at Genius.
#5: Who Wants to Live Forever – Queen
I think I first became aware of this song when it was used in the movie Highlander. In the show, the song was used poignantly to show an immortal’s plight and loss when the woman he loves ages and dies over time while he remains young.
There’s no time for us
There’s no place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams
Yet slips away from us?
[Chorus:]
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever? Ooh
View Who Wants to Live Forever lyrics at Genius.
#4: Turn, Turn Turn – The Byrds
Back to the folk genre for my #4 favorite time song! Originally released in 1965 by the Byrds.
[Chorus]
To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
[Verse 1]
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
I love the discussion that things come in their own time and that everything has a season. We spend too much time trying to force things that may not be ready for fruition.
Great catchy chorus and melodies.
Read the full lyrics of Turn, Turn, Turn at Genius.
#3: Time after Time – Cyndi Lauper
This hit by Cyndi Lauper is more of a love song than a time-passing song. But I am a sucker for a good love song, even more, when it has “time after time” in it.
[Chorus]
If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I’ll be waiting
Time after time
If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, oh, I’ll be waiting (I will be waiting)
Time after time
There is also an unrelated movie called “Time after Time” where H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th century after Jack uses his time machine. Maybe I need to do a time movie article as well.
See full Time after Time lyrics at Genius.
#2: 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) – Simon & Garfunkel
This has to be one of my all-time favorite songs, let alone one of my favorite time songs.
I loved it from the first time I heard it but I didn’t even know the real name until years later. Like many people I just called it the “Feeling Groovy” song.
[Verse 1]
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy
Ba da, ba da, ba da, ba da … feelin’ groovy
See full 59th St. Bridge Song lyrics at Genius.
Honorable Mention
Before I reveal my #1 favorite time song, here are a few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make my personal Top 10.
Back In Time – Huey Lewis & The News
Hung Up – Madonna
Time – Tom Waits
Time Warp – Rocky Horror Picture Show
#1: Time in a Bottle – Jim Croce
And now for #1 – Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce.
I am definitely a long time fan of Jim Croce.
Jim Croce is brilliant at fun songs like Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, and Roller Derby Queen.
But Jim is a master of love ballads as well. Operator, I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song, These Dreams, and others are all excellent.
But Time in a Bottle blows them all away. Written in 1970 for his wife and unborn son, the song first appeared on his 1972 album You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. Tragically, Croce was killed in a plane crash in September 1973 at the age of 30.
After his death, Time in a Bottle reached #1 in 1974.
[Verse 1]
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
[Chorus]
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go through time with
See full lyrics of Time in a Bottle at Genius.
Thank you so much for listening and reading about my personal “Top 10 Time Songs.” In the comments below, let me know which of these songs you like or which other time songs are your favorites.
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