Time Is Love

Album: Punching Bag (2011)
Charted: 44
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first single from Country music singer Josh Turner's fifth studio album finds him turning the phrase "time is money" on its head: ("Time is love / Gotta run / Love to hang longer but I got someone who waits / Waits for me and right now she's where I need to be / Time is love, gotta run.") The song was released digitally on December 20, 2011 and for radio adds on January 8, 2012.
  • Nashville tunesmiths Tom Shapiro, Tony Martin and Mark Nesler penned the song. Their previous collaborations together include Keith Urban's single, "You Look Good In My Shirt."
  • Josh Turner: "This song grabbed me from the first listen because it has such an infectious melody and lyrically it really tells a message that I have been wanting to say for a long time. It's not about quality time but quantity time and taking the time to get to know the person better and develop a relationship with that person."
  • The demo that was pitched by the songwriters to Turner had Mark Nesler's vocals on it. The "Why Don't We Just Dance" singer told The Boot that when he heard Nesler's voice, he knew it was "a good sign." He added: "He and Tony Martin have a way of creating magic, because they have such a groove. They write once a week together and have it down to an art and a science. They brought Tom Shapiro in on this one, and Tony had had this idea laying around for quite a while. Then they finally came together on this one particular day and finished it out."
  • The song is a spin-off on the saying "time is money." Turner admitted to The Boot that he didn't originally pick up the play on the phrase. "That didn't even cross my mind," he admitted. "Maybe that's just the way my brain works. But once I realized it, it makes sense. I still don't think that was the key to the song. It's really about arranging your priorities in the right order, having the most important things first; love being above money. That was the central idea in my mind."
  • Peter Zavadil directed the music video, which finds Turner playing basketball with some of his buddies. They include a friend who goes to church with the singer as well as a member of his band. Said Turner to The Boot: "I play basketball all the time. Me and my band play every week on the road. That's something that I've never really given up since high school. I wish I would've had a better shake at it. During high school I had the worst coach in history, so I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time."
  • This was named by Billboard magazine as the #1 Country song of 2012 despite never reaching the peak position on the Hot Country Songs chart. It was only the second song in the chart's history to achieve this distinction, the other being Lee Brice's "Love Like Crazy," which peaked at #3 in 2010.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.