Pink Floyd: Time

“Time“ is the fourth track from English 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. 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 vocals on the bridges and with female singers and David Gilmour providing backup vocals, the lyrics of the