Who Knows Where The Time Goes by Fairport Convention

Album: Unhalfbricking (1969)

License This Song

lyrics

Songfacts®:

The song's title has no question mark, probably because the question is purely rhetorical. Written by Sandy Denny, who recorded it as a demo in 1967, it was covered the following year by Judy Collins, who released it as the B-side of "Both Sides Now." Denny joined Fairport Convention, and it was recorded for their third album Unhalfbricking, on which it runs 5:13. In 2007, it was voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners as their favorite folk rock track of all time.
This may be Sandy Denny's greatest song but it is also her epitaph, because time ran out for her on April 21, 1978 when she died in the Atkinson Morley Hospital, London, aged just 31. She fell down a flight of stairs, was knocked unconscious, and never woke up. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2
The Judy Collins version appears on her album Who Knows Where the Time Goes. Sessions for the album are where she met Stephen Stills, who played guitar and bass on LP. They soon began dating, and Stills wrote the song "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" in her honor.

Comments: 2

Tony from San DiegoI simply LOVE old Fairport with the classic line up.
Brad from Lancaster, PaIt is not true that Sandy never woke up from her concussion--in fact she was sent home from the hospital and lived for several more days before collapsing suddenly and passing away. It is believed she had a brain hemorrhage possibly triggered by a medication given her at the hospital which thinned her blood. It was a horrible tragedy and an a devastating loss. Her daughter Georgia was still a baby at the time and Sandy had recently been struggling with depression and alcohol abuse--a situation directly responsible for her accident. Years later her husband Trevor Lucas (himself a member of Fairport for several years in the mid-1970's ) had remarried and he and his wife released a number of rarities cassettes called "The Attic Tracks" to help pay for Georgia's education. These tracks, including some truly exquisite demos, are now available on various boxed sets and compilations. Sandy was an absolutely unique talent. Her astonishing voice is of course legendary but her artistry as both a songwriter and an interpreter of other people's songs is often overlooked. I have often said that if I could listen to only one artist for the rest of my life it would have to be Sandy Denny.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

DowntownPetula Clark

When Petula Clark reached #1 in the US with "Downtown" in 1965, she became the first female singer from England to hit #1 in the US during the Rock Era (after 1955).

We're Not Gonna Take ItTwisted Sister

Musically, the Twisted Sister song "We're Not Gonna Take It" is based on the Christmas tune "O Come All Ye Faithful."

You Don't Know How It FeelsTom Petty

MTV reversed the word "joint" in Tom Petty's "You Don't Known How It Feels" so it was unintelligible, but gave the video a VMA anyway.

Just Give Me A ReasonPink

Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.

E.T.Katy Perry

Katy Perry's song "E.T." came from a beat originally intended for the rap group Three Six Mafia. When her producer accidentally pulled up the beat, Perry asked to use it.

Cat's In The CradleHarry Chapin

Harry Chapin's wife Sandy wrote the lyrics to "Cat's In The Cradle," which were actually about her first husband.

Editor's Picks

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.