"She Don't Care About Time" is a song by American

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

. It was released on a non-album single in October1965, as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "

Turn! Turn! Turn! "Turn! Turn! Turn!", or "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)", is a song written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s and first recorded in 1959. The lyrics – except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the fin ...

". The song was written by

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

, the Byrds' main songwriter between 1964 and early 1966. "She Don't Care About Time" was recorded during sessions for the group's second album ''

''. The song is on most of the band's hits compilations.

Composition

As was true with the Byrds' first album, the majority of group-penned compositions on "Turn! Turn! Turn!" were written by Gene Clark. The composition's lyrics have been well cited for their complexity by many who have been affiliated with the group. In particular

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

stated in his biography ''Timeless Flight'' that the elaboration of the lyrics were in anticipation of Clark's later work and were a "fascinating apotheosis in which naturalistic detail and abstraction coalesced". Musically, the recording featured a guitar solo patterned after by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's "

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (or simply "Joy"; German: ''Jesus bleibet meine Freude'') is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from a chorale setting from the cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147 ("Heart and ...

". The Byrds' recording of "

Mr. Tambourine Man "Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album '' Bringing It All Back Home''. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been includ ...

" opens with a similar and distinctive, Bach-inspired guitar riff played by

Jim McGuinn Jim McGuinn, born James Slusarek, is an American radio personality. He served as program director of the now defunct Y100 100.3FM (1997–2005) and its predecessor, WDRE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1995–97), both of which changed formats ...

. The previously unreleased first recording of the song appears on '' The Byrds box set''. It is played at a much faster tempo with Clark performing a

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

solo and McGuinn's guitar playing being more dissonant. Other early versions have been known to feature the group's producer

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...

, playing the piano. Although the track was released as single it was ultimately left off the album, along with the

Dylanesque ''Dylanesque'' is the twelfth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. The album consists of cover versions of ten Bob Dylan songs and one traditional song that Dylan himself covered on his first ...

"The Day Walk (Never Before)" (also written by Clark). "The Day Walk (Never Before)" was left to languish in the Columbia tape vaults for more than 20 years. This was one of two songs that

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

cited as inspiration for "

If I Needed Someone "If I Needed Someone" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist. It was released in December 1965 on their album '' Rubber Soul'', except in North America, where it appeared on the J ...

". Upon the release of the Beatles' ''

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work ...

'' album, he sent a letter to the group's

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...

Derek Taylor Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one ...

, stating: "Tell Jim cGuinnand David rosbythat 'If I Needed Someone' is the riff from 'The Bells Of Rhymney' and the drumming from 'She Don't Care About Time', or my impression of it."

Reception

Since its release, "She Don't Care About Time" has been highly praised by fellow Byrd members. When asked about the recording, McGuinn stated: "I love that song ('She Don't Care About Time'), I really do. I don't know why that never got on. That was for the Turn Turn Turn album, right? I think we had enough stuff already – except that I'm not too happy with the last four cuts of that album."

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

and

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent ...

were also big advocates of song, praising its importance in many interviews since Clark's death. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "rollicking, hard-driving contagious, teen-angled romancer."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Matthew Greenwald considers it to be "one of the early Byrds' finest records" and that the Bach-inspired guitar lines (from "Joy of Man's Desiring") "took the song to even greater heights". In 2012, Will Levith of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' rated the song as Clark's third best composition, praising McGuinn's Bach-inspired guitar riff and Clark's "introspective lyrics and driving melody".

Appearances

In addition to its appearance on The Byrds' second album as a bonus track, "She Don't Care About Time" also appears on several compilations, including '' The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1'', ''

The Essential Byrds ''The Essential Byrds'' is a comprehensive two- CD compilation album by the American rock band the Byrds. It was released in 2003 as part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. ''The Essential Byrds'' did not chart in the U.S. or the UK. A 3.0 ed ...

'', ''

History of The Byrds ''History of The Byrds'' is a double album compilation by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on May 18, 1973 by CBS Records (''see'' 1973 in music). The compilation was released exclusively in Europe and the UK, peaking at number ...

'', and the expanded and reissued edition of '' Never Before. The song is also available on the ''

There Is a Season ''There Is a Season'' is a four- CD and one DVD box set by the American rock band the Byrds that was released on September 26, 2006 by Columbia/Legacy. It comprises 99 tracks and includes material from every one of the band's twelve studio albums, ...

boxset A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

, which comprises 99 tracks and includes material from each of the band's twelve studio albums, presented in roughly chronological order. A version by

Richie Furay Paul Richard Furay (born May 9, 1944) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member (with Buffalo Springfield). He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruc ...

and Carla Olson appears on Olson's 2013 album "

Have Harmony, Will Travel ''Have Harmony, Will Travel'' is an album by singer and songwriter Carla Olson. It was released by Busted Flat Records on April 30, 2013 and marked Olson's first studio album since her 2001 release ''The Ring of Truth'' (in between, she and her ba ...

". The recording features former Byrd

John York John C. York (born April 18, 1949) is a retired American cancer research pathologist, married to Marie Denise DeBartolo York, and former co-owner and current co-chairman of the San Francisco 49ers.Richard Podolor Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night. Life and caree ...

on mandolin. The song was also revisited by Chris Hillman on his Tom Petty produced 2017 album “Biding My Time.” Hillman told Rolling Stone magazine that it “is one of my favorite Gene Clark compositions.”

References

Sources

* {{Authority control 1966 singles The Byrds songs Songs written by Gene Clark Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher Columbia Records singles