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:

Thinking About YouCalvin Harris

"Thinking About You" was the ninth track from Calvin Harris' 18 Months album to enter the UK singles Top 10. No other artist has obtained so many hits from one LP - Michael Jackson was the previous record holder with seven Top 10 tunes from both his Bad and Dangerous sets.

Don't You Want MeThe Human League

Phil Oakey of The Human League recorded his vocals for "Don't You Want Me" in the studio bathroom. The recording was disrupted by guitarist Jo Callis reaching through an open window from outside to repeatedly flush one of the toilets.

Born In The U.S.A.Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." was inspired by the book (later a movie) Born On The Fourth Of July by Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran who protested the war when he returned home.

Silver SpringsFleetwood Mac

Stevie Nicks got the title for the Fleetwood Mac song "Silver Springs" from the city of Silver Spring, Maryland, but the song has nothing to do with the city - it's a message to her bandmate Lindsey Buckingham following their split.

I Write The SongsBarry Manilow

Barry Manilow didn't write his #1 hit "I Write The Songs." Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys wrote it.

Moves Like JaggerMaroon 5

Mick Jagger was a little freaked out when Maroon 5 released "Moves Like Jagger," a celebration of his stage moves. "It puts a bit of pressure on me when I go out dancing," he said.