Summer hasn’t even officially begun, and already it feels like the warm-weather days are zooming by. It must be the early spring that creates the mental time warp.
That feeling of valued time slipping away is a familiar song theme, too. Here are a few of my timely favorites:
Fleeting time
• Enya’s mesmerizing “Only Time.”
• Jimmy Elledge’s “Funny How Time Slips Away.” There are more than a dozen great versions of this Willie Nelson song, but this is my favorite.
• Jerry Wallace’s poignant “How the Time Flies.”
Songs of regret
Lost opportunity — or wasted time — is a theme nicely explored in these evocative songs:
• Expose’s “Seasons Change.”
• Paul Davis’ “Ride ’em Cowboy” offers a candid rodeo rider’s review of his life. Here’s a touching sample:
Oh, Midnight was a champion
He’s the only bronc I couldn’t ride
Now they tell me Midnight’s blind
Rides the little children for a dime.
Ladies used to hang around
I must’ve been a hero in their eyes
My silver spurs are rusty now
Lord, I wish I tried to settle down . . .
• Roy Clark’s harsh reflection on his life, “Yesterday, When I Was Young.”
• “Time,” a reflective slice from the Pozo-Seco Singers (which gave us solo country artist Don Williams).
Reminiscences
A whole bunch of songs recall special times:
• Rod Stewart’s “As Time Goes By,” with Queen Latifah.
• Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days.”
• Paul Anka’s “Times of Your Life,” the Kodak song.
• Gale Garnett’s “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine.”
And two different songs with the same title:
• Mary Hopkin’s “Those Were the Days.”
• And “Those Were the Days,” the Archie Bunker clan’s theme song from “All in the Family,” complete with the seldom-heard second-verse lyrics.
Songs of change
• Bob Dylan’s anthem, “The Times They Are A-changin’.”
• Billy Joel’s “The Longest Time.”
• Henry Mancini’s “The Days of Wine and Roses.”
Some other timely songs
We’ll wrap up with a few other “time” songs, ending with an often-recorded pop classic:
• The Outsiders’ “Time Won’t Let Me.”
• “Time Is Tight,” with Booker T. and the MG’s.
• Ed Ames’ “Time, Time.”
• Simon and Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter.”
• Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
• Jimmy Jones’ “Good Timin’.”
• And Chris Montez’s version of the standard “Time After Time.”
