Time (Pink Floyd song)

Infobox Single
Name = Time


Artist = Pink Floyd
from Album = The Dark Side of the Moon
A-side = "Us and Them"
Released = 1973
Format = 7"
Recorded = Abbey Road
June 1972-January 1973
Genre = Progressive rock, hard rock
Length = 7:05
5:56 (without Breathe Reprise)
3:33 (single edit)
Label = Harvest, EMI (UK)
Harvest, Capitol (US)
Writer = David Gilmour/Nick Mason/Roger Waters/Richard Wright
Producer = Pink Floyd
Last single = "Money"
(1973)
This single = "Us and Them"/"Time"
(1973)
Next single = "Have a Cigar"
(1975)
Misc = "The Dark Side of the Moon"Tracks

1. "Speak to Me" (1:08)
2. "Breathe" (2:48)
3. "On the Run" (3:31)
4. "Time" / "Breathe (Reprise)" (7:04)
5. "The Great Gig in the Sky" (4:47)
6. "Money" (6:23)
7. "Us and Them" (7:48)
8. "Any Colour You Like" (3:25)
9. "Brain Damage" (3:50)
10. "Eclipse" (2:06)
"Time" is the fourth track [The track number depends upon the edition of the album as some releases merge the two tracks "Speak to Me" and "Breathe."] from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon", and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band. It is noted for its long introductory passage of clocks chiming and alarms ringing, recorded as a quadrophonic test by Alan Parsons, not specifically for the album.

The song is a "memento mori" describing the phenomenon in which time seems to pass more quickly as one ages, often leading to despair in old age over missed opportunities of the past.

Composition

Each clock at the beginning of the song was recorded separately in an antiques store. This is followed by an eerie two-minute passage dominated by Nick Mason's rototoms and backgrounded by a tocking sound created by Roger Waters picking two muted strings on his bass. With David Gilmour singing lead on the verses and with Richard Wright singing lead on the bridges and with female singers providing backup vocals, the lyrics of the song deal with Roger Waters's realization that life was not about preparing yourself for what happens next, but about grabbing control of your own destiny.
A guitar solo from Gilmour provides the refrain over the same chord progressions as the verse and chorus. A reprise of the album's earlier "Breathe" brings the song to a closing, before it segues into "The Great Gig in the Sky". When the tom drums were recorded, there were only 3 available so the band had to tune the drum after each hit to get the right pitch and then mix the hit into the song. "Time" is at the tempo of 120 bpm, which switches to half time (60 bpm) at the chorus. This is at the same tempo of a clock.

The song is the second longest on the album [This includes the reprise of "Breathe". When subtracting that song, it reduces the running of "Time" down to 5:56, thus making it the third-longest song on the album (right behind "Money").] , after "Us and Them", and is renowned for Gilmour's guitar solo after the first verse, which is often considered to be one of his best.

Personnel

*David Gilmour - Guitars, vocals
*Roger Waters - Bass
*Nick Mason - Rototoms and drums
*Rick Wright - Farfisa Organ, Wurlitzer electric piano,VCS3 synthesizer and vocals
*Doris Troy - Backing vocals
*Lesley Duncan - Backing vocals
*Liza Strike - Backing vocals
*Barry St. John - Backing vocals

Pop culture

* The song's opening is used at the end of the trailers for the second series of "Life on Mars".
* The song's opening was used as the main menu music for the video game "Destruction Derby 2".
* The Beastie Boys sampled "Time" for their song "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun", which appeared on their album "Paul's Boutique".
* 3rd Bass sampled the introductory clocks for "Steppin' to the A.M." from their Cactus Album.
* The Killers covered this song multiple times during their "Hot Fuss" tour after having their song On Top segue into it.
*The song was used on a few occasions in the Cantonese language re-release of Bruce Lee's first adult starring role, The Big Boss
*The Prodigy sampled the alarm bell for their tracks "Claustrophobic Sting" and "Wake Up Call"
*On February 3-11, 1995 the opening sequence of "Time" was played as a wakeup call for the crew of space mission STS-69.

Alternative and Live versions

*A live version of the song can be heard on the "P•U•L•S•E" concert DVD and CD.
*Another live version was played on the "Delicate Sound of Thunder" CD and concert video. It does not include the "Breathe (Reprise)" section at the end.
*On the Roger Waters solo "" tour DVD and CD, a version sung by him, Doyle Bramhall II and Jon Carin is played.
* Live versions with Rick Wright appear on the David Gilmour solo "Remember That Night" DVD and "Live in Gdansk" CD.

Cover Versions

*This song was covered on the Echoes of Pink tribute album in 2002 by Melissa Quade.

*A cover version of "Time" by Kelsey Wood (who was 14 years old upon its release) appears on the 2003 Pink Floyd tribute album "A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd"

*Dream Theater covered this song, as a part of their live cover of the entire Dark Side of the Moon album in 2006.

*Also, there's a reggae version of this song, sung by Easy Stars All-Stars, in an album titled "The dub side of the moon", which is an entire cover of the "Dark side of the moon" album.

*Weezer covered this song on their 2008 Troublemaker Tour, with drummer Patrick Wilson on vocals.

Notes