"Time Marches On" is a song written by

Bobby Braddock Robert Valentine Braddock (born August 5, 1940) is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during more ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1 ...

. It was released in March 1996 as the second single and title track from his album ''

Time Marches On ''Time Marches On'' is the fourth studio album released by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. The title track spent three weeks at Number One on the '' Billboard'' country charts in 1996, becoming Lawrence's biggest chart hit to date. " ...

''. It was the 15th chart single of his career. It spent three weeks at Number One on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country charts in mid-1996, becoming the longest-lasting Number One hit of his career. It also received a Single of the Year nomination from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

in 1996, as well as a Song of the Year nomination for both 1996 and 1997.

Background

The song is in a moderate tempo in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

with a vocal range of A3-F5. It features three verses, with a bridge preceding the third. The introduction and interludes follow a chord pattern of A-Fm for four measures. Each verse uses that same chord pattern for four measures, followed by D-Bm for two measures, two more A-Fm measures, ending on Bm-Fm-Bm-A. The bridge uses D-Bm twice, A-Fm twice, D-Bm twice again, and ends on E-Bm-D-E-A. After the third verse, Lawrence sings the line "Time marches on" several times over the chord pattern Fm-Bm-A.

Content

The song details various events in the lives of a married couple and their two children, starting with the children's young

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

s, then moving through their

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

s and

adulthood An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

s. In the bridge, the narrator observes that "the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes". By the final verse, the children have grown up and moved away, the daughter is now a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

grandparent Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

, the son is on a

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

to control his

high cholesterol Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a form of hyperlipidemia (high levels of lipids in the blood), hyperlipoproteinemia (high levels of lipoproteins in the blood), ...

, the mother is

senile Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a Syndrome, set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negativ ...

(possibly

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

) and the father has

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. Each verse also references various items of pop culture.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine in her review of the album called the song a "quirky kind of '

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...

' set in the saga of a white-trash family." Price also reviewed the song as an official single. She called it an "intriguing song that chronicles the life of a family in different stages; it uses vivid images that connect the listener to the lyric through the characters and cultural references." She goes on to say that "Lawrence's delivery and Cook's production are right on target..."''

'', April 6, 1996

Music video

The music video was directed by Marc Ball and premiered in March 1996. It shows Lawrence performing in front of an audience. It was released as part of Lawrence's Unplugged series, filmed in February 1996.

Chart positions

"Time Marches On" debuted at number 64 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 23, 1996.

Year-end charts

References

{{Tracy Lawrence 1996 songs 1996 singles Tracy Lawrence songs Songs written by Bobby Braddock Song recordings produced by Don Cook Atlantic Records singles