"Time Waits for No One" is a song by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

from the 1974 album ''

It's Only Rock 'n Roll ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll'' is the 12th British and 14th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 18 October 1974 by Rolling Stones Records. It was the last Rolling Stones album to feature guitarist Mick Tay ...

''. It was the first song recorded for the album. Credited to

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, "Time Waits for No One" is a slower, smoother song than the ones for which the Stones are best known. The track features a distinctive groove that has been compared to the later song "

Waiting on a Friend "Waiting on a Friend" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album ''Tattoo You''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released as the album's second single, it reached on the Billboard Hot 100 singles ch ...

" (recording of which in fact started in late 1972). It is also noted for its distinct

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

influences. The song opens with a

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

by Richards which echoes throughout the rest of the song. Drummer

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...

and

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

keep affected jazz beats. Song contributor

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

provides the song's distinctive driving percussions, including

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

and a knocking beat that carries through the entire song like the sound of a ticking clock. Wyman also contributes an early use of

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

on a Stones track. Stones recording veteran

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

provides the song's swirling piano runs. The song's most noteworthy elements, however, are

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

's extended guitar solo and Jagger's lyrics. Taylor credits inspiration for the solo to a visit to Brazil following the Stones' European Tour 1973. Taylor's solo guitar piece carries the song to its conclusion. Jagger's lyrics are a pastiche of complex observations and reflections. He speaks in the voice of a person learning the true meaning of life, that, as the title suggests, time waits for no one:

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

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

described "Time Waits for No One" as having "aching beauty". The song, though well regarded among the Stones' canon of work, has never been performed live and has appeared on only two compilation albums. The track appeared on the British compilation album '' Time Waits for No One: Anthology 1971–1977'', issued in 1979. This album was available on vinyl only (CDC59107) and has never been released on CD. Subsequently, the track was included on 1981's ''

Sucking in the Seventies ''Sucking in the Seventies'' is the sixth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. As the successor to 1975's ''Made in the Shade'', it covers material from ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll'' (1974), ''Black and Blue'' (197 ...

''. This is a truncated version, with a running time some two minutes shorter than the original, and Taylor's solo faded out early. The song (during the chorus) can be heard when Malcolm McDowell is time-traveling as H.G. Welles in the science-fiction thriller 'Time After Time'.

References

{{Authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1974 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards