“Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” by Sandy Denny

When we contemplate life and the enigmatic nature of time, oftentimes a song can help to facilitate the process. Some tunes just beg us to think about the important things. “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” provides listeners with a palatable template to consider life, its nuances and the people we love.

Sandy Denny 
Credit: covermesongs.com

Sandy Denny wrote the song in 1967. She originally recorded it as a solo artist and later released a version she’d produced with the band Fairport Convention, of which she was a member. “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” has been covered by countless artists since, and is now considered to be classic example of late-1960s folk music. The first stanza engages the listener instantly:

Across the evening sky all the birds are leaving

But how can they know it’s time for them to go?

Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming

I have no thought of time

We’re given a view of fluttering birds departing amid a winter’s evening. The narrator wonders how the birds have decided that it’s time to leave. How can any of us know when it’s time for us to go? Our lack of any definitive answers regarding our time on this planet is inherently vexing.

However, the narrator seems to pay this no mind; she is busy dreaming, with little thought about the passing hours. She follows with the chorus, her ever-looming inquiry: “For who knows where the time goes? Who knows where the time goes?”

The song is so wonderfully put together that it seems to hang in the air while it’s playing. The soothing, mellifluous instrumentation blends seamlessly with the various vocal intonations.

The Importance of Love

The third stanza of “Who Knows Where the Times Goes?” touches on the vital roles that love and companionship can play in our lives. Denny sings:

And I am not alone while my love is near me

I know it will be so until it’s time to go

So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again

I have no fear of time

Our narrator mentions how she does not feel alone when she’s with her lover. This may be obvious in the literal definition of “alone.” However, it is certainly possible to be in a room with or in proximity to someone and not feel a connection. Physically you may not be alone, but emotionally this may be the case. In “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” though, she does feel love and an intimate bond.

Denny challenges the winter storms to disrupt the relationship between her and her companion, when she ultimately welcomes the new birds of spring. Denny now says she has no fear of time, as if its passage doesn’t really matter if she’s with her loved one.

The lyrics of “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” are very interesting. The title uttered by itself is obviously rife with existential potentials and utterances. Ideas of the passage of time, reflecting on life, the meaning of it all, etc. can fill volumes. However Denny counters the questions with statements like, “I have no thought of time.”

Perhaps we aren’t meant to consider time and its multitude of meanings or what happens to it over the years. Maybe, we’re just supposed to enjoy the days we have with our loved ones, living each moment in harmony with each other when we can.

You can listen to a recorded version of Sandy Denny singing the song with Fairport Convention here.

Below is a live recording of Rufus Wainwright singing a version of the song with an accompanying band.