"Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" is a song written by the English folk-rock singer and songwriter

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...

History

Denny recorded a first demo of the song in 1966. It was the second song she ever completed. She again recorded the song as a demo in 1967, singing and playing guitar on the track. In 1967 she joined the folk band

The Strawbs The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hit " ...

, and in 1968 she re-recorded the song, again with only her voice and guitar, for what became the Strawbs album ''

All Our Own Work ''All Our Own Work'' is an album by Sandy Denny and the Strawbs, recorded in 1967 but not released until 1973. The album was recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, and contains an early recording of one of Sandy Denny's best known songs " Who Knows Wh ...

'', which was not released until 1973. (This version has the opening line "Across the purple sky...") The American folk singer

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

heard a tape of the original demo recording in 1968 and decided to cover the song. She recorded her version in New York City on August 26, 1968, at A&R Recording's 799 7th Avenue studio. She released her recording first as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of her version of "

Both Sides, Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. (The earliest commercial release was by Dave Van Ro ...

", and then as the title track of her album ''

Who Knows Where the Time Goes "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" is a song written by the England, English folk-rock singer and songwriter Sandy Denny. History Denny recorded a first demo of the song in 1966. It was the second song she ever completed. She again recorded the so ...

'', both released in 1968. Hers was the first commercially released recording of the song. In 1968, Denny joined the folk-rock band

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

. She recorded the song on her second album with the band, the 1969 album ''

Unhalfbricking ''Unhalfbricking'' is the third studio album by the English folk rock band Fairport Convention and their second album released in 1969. It is seen as a transitional album in their history and marked a further musical move away from American infl ...

''. This version had more of a rock influence, although it retained its tranquil and contemplative spirit, with Richard Thompson playing the delicate guitar licks (that are fed through the right audio channel on the track). The song became a

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

for both Denny and Fairport Convention, and was subsequently covered by many artists. It was the last song Denny sang at her last ever performance, before she died at age 31.

Structure and lyric

The song is a reflection in three verses on observed events ("Across the evening sky all the birds are leaving"). Denny writes that she does not count time ("Before the winter's fire, I will still be dreamin'; I have no thought of time") and in the last line of the short chorus asks rhetorically, "Who knows where the time goes?". The last verse includes the lines "I am not alone while my love is near me, I know it will be so until it's time to go.”

Cover versions

Versions have been recorded by, among others,

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and musician known for her interpretations of jazz, Folk music, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her f ...

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( ; born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer and politician. Over the span of her career, she has released an estimated 450 albums in at least thirteen languages, including Greek language, Greek, French language, French, ...

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

and

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

, Deanna Kirk,

Eddi Reader Sadenia "Eddi" Reader Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as the lead vocalist of the Folk music, folk and soft rock band Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo caree ...

Julianne Regan Julianne Regan (born 30 June 1962) is an English/Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. She achieved success in the late 1980s and early 1990s having formed the band All About Eve. Her major role in the band was as lead singer and songwriter ...

(with Fairport Convention),

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

(on her 1970 live album '' Black Gold''),

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include " I Know Him So Well" (a chart-topping duet with Elaine Paige), " Answer Me" and " January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK ...

, The Lasses,

Heather Masse Heather Masse is an American alto singer and member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. She was born and grew up in Maine, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music as a jazz singer. She is currently based in Taos, New Mexico ...

(on the radio program ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

''),

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, and Kate Wolf (on her 1983 live album ''Give Yourself to Love'').

Reception

In 2007, the ''Unhalfbricking'' version was voted "Favourite Folk Track of All Time" by listeners of

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

called it "one of the saddest songs ever written";

called it a "lovely, lovely thing"; and

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

said "I don’t find it to be sad. Great music is always uplifting to me. She was so young when she wrote it but it pinpoints exactly the feelings I have now, at 71. It also resonated strongly with me when I was a teenager. Love and loss portrayed so sweetly. A song for all ages."

In popular culture

* The Fairport Convention version was used as the closing music for the 2017 final episode of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Grace and Frankie ''Grace and Frankie'' is an American comedy television series created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris for Netflix. The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the eponymous Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein, two aging women who form ...

''; in the BBC's ''

Inspector George Gently ''Inspector George Gently'' (also known as ''George Gently'' for the pilot and first series) is a British crime drama television series produced by Company Pictures for BBC One, set in the 1960s and loosely based on some of the Inspector Gently ...

'' episode "The Lost Child" set in 1968; in the fourth episode of BBC drama '' Us''; and in the "One Giant Leap" episode of the NBC family drama ''

This Is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different ti ...

''. * It played once at the end of the 2009 film ''

Don't Worry About Me ''Don't Worry About Me'' is the first album released by Joey Ramone as a solo artist. It was released posthumously on February 19, 2002, by Sanctuary Records, less than a year after his death. The album was produced by Daniel Rey, who also did ...

'' and twice in the 2012 Irish film ''Silence''. * ''

s version is also used in a season 2 episode of '' Stath Lets Flats'' (2019). *

's version was featured in the Season 1 Episode 10 of the Netflix drama ''

Firefly Lane ''Firefly Lane'' is an American drama television series created by Maggie Friedman for Netflix. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah. The series premiered on February 3, 2021, and navigates the lives of two teen ...

''. * The Judy Collins version can be heard in the 1968 film '' The Subject Was Roses'' and in the 1999 film '' A Walk on the Moon'' while the Nina Simone version is used in the 2002 film '' The Dancer Upstairs'', in the 2018 British TV series '' Save Me'', and season 3 of ''

Master of None ''Master of None'' is an American comedy drama television series, which was released for streaming on November 6, 2015, on Netflix. The series was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, with the first two seasons starring Ansari in the lead rol ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1967 songs Fairport Convention songs Judy Collins songs Nina Simone songs Sandy Denny songs Songs written by Sandy Denny Matthew Sweet songs