Song by Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd’s “Time,” released in 1973 on The Dark Side of the Moon, is one of the band’s most defining songs. The song was written primarily by Roger Waters and featuring contributions from all four members. The track opens with a collage of ticking clocks before moving into a deep reflection on aging, routine & the feeling that life is slipping by….

Each clock sound in the intro of the song was recorded separately in an antique store by Alan Parsons. His motivation for the clock montage was to demonstrate what quadrophonic mixing could do. The clocks swirl aroudn the listener on a quadraphonic setup.

The Dark Side of the Moon marked a turning point for Pink Floyd. Waters took on a larger role, aiming for a more cohesive concept and creating the first Pink Floyd album where all of the tracks shared a common theme. 

Released as a single in the United States, this is the only song on the album that explicitly credits all four members of Pink Floyd. 

The song is the 4th track on the album. Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, Liza Strike and Barry St. John contributed the backing vocals.

Song words:

*ticking clocks*

*clocks ringing*

Ticking away

The moments that make up a dull day

You fritter and waste the hours

In an offhand way

Kicking around on a piece of ground

In your hometown

Waiting for someone

Or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine

Staying home to watch the rain

You are young and life is long

And there is time to kill today

And then one day you find

Ten years have got behind you

No one told you when to run

You missed the starting gun

And you run, and you run

To catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking

And racing around

To come up behind you again

The sun is the same in a relative way

But you’re older

Shorter of breath

And one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter

Never seem to find the time

Plans that either come to naught

Or half a page of scribbled lines

Hanging on in quiet desperation

Is the English way

The time is gone, the song is over

Thought I’d something more to say

Home, home again

I like to be here when I can

When I come home cold and tired

It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire

Far away across the field

The tolling of the iron bell

Calls the faithful to their knees

To hear the softly spoken magic spells