"Precious Time" is a popular song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter
Van Morrison and recorded on his 1999 album, ''
Back on Top''. It was released as a single in the UK and charted at No. 36. Since first recording it, Morrison has played it in concert 574 times from March 1998 until June 2008, making it one of his most frequently performed songs.
Recording and composition
It was recorded in 1998 at
The Wool Hall
The Wool Hall is a recording studio in the village of Beckington, near Bath, Somerset, England. It was originally a residential studio set up by Tears for Fears in the 1980s and used by many artists, including The Smiths and Van Morrison. Sinc ...
Studios in
Beckington
Beckington is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which ...
with Walter Samuel as engineer.
[Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p. 528]
"Precious Time" has a happy upbeat melody and introspective lyrics about the quick passing of time:
:''Precious time is slipping away''
:''You know you're only king for a day''
:''It doesn't matter to which God you pray''
:''Precious time is slipping away''
Other releases
A live performance version from Morrison's appearance at the
Austin City Limits Festival
The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-based ...
on 15 September 2006, was included on the limited edition album, ''
Live at Austin City Limits Festival
''Live at Austin City Limits Festival'' by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison is a limited edition live album recorded from the Austin City Limits Festival concert at which he was the first night headliner on 15 September 2006. It has ...
''. In 2007, this song was included on the compilation album, ''
The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3'' and a remastered version of this song is included on another 2007 compilation album, ''
Still on Top - The Greatest Hits''.
Personnel
*Van Morrison – vocals
*
Geraint Watkins –
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
*
Mick Green – electric and acoustic guitars
*Ian Jennings – double bass
*
Bobby Irwin
Bobby Irwin (23 March 1953 – 8 May 2015) was an English drummer, record producer and songwriter. He is known for working in close collaboration with Nick Lowe as co-songwriter and drummer and as a member of Lowe's band the Cowboy Outfit, as w ...
– drums
*
Pee Wee Ellis –
tenor and
baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
s
*
Brian Kennedy – backing vocals
Notes
References
*
Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', Chicago Review Press,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Precious Time (Van Morrison Song)
1999 singles
Van Morrison songs
Songs written by Van Morrison
1998 songs
Polydor Records singles
Song recordings produced by Van Morrison