B108: Who Knows Where The Time Goes!

Greenhill Class of 1983 - June 1983

One of my favourite songs is by the late Sandy Denny, “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”.  I find that I’m asking myself that very question a lot lately ……. a real sign that “I’m shoving on”.  But I was really thinking of this song a lot leading up to last month’s Greenhill Class of ’83 40th Reunion.

Written when the singer was just 19, just a couple of years older than most of us leaving Greenhill, this plaintive song has been covered extensively down through the years.  But I love the version here released in 1973.  It really pulls at the heartstrings and some regard it as “one of the saddest songs ever written”.

For us leaving school in 1983 it was indeed a sad time on the jobs front. John F. Kennedy on his presidential visit to Ireland in June 1963 twenty years earlier had remarked ‘Most countries send 

oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has had only one export and that is its people.’ Thankfully, during the 1960s and 1970s, emigration decreased somewhat, as Ireland's economy improved and the country joined the EEC in 1973. However, by the 1980s, migration and emigration had once again increased. In this decade, the Irish (and global) economy contracted and over 450,000 emigrated. As in the 1950s, many of those emigrating were young - but, in contrast to the earlier decades, many were educated and left Ireland in search of better opportunities.
​
And so the images that Sandy Denny uses in this song of a “sad, deserted shore”, birds migrating and seasonal change which evoke a profoundly plaintive sense of loss and the passage of time always, for me, drew parallels with the migration and emigration of me and my classmates.  Forced migration and emigration IS sad. 

However, at the Reunion our memories of the 80s were not at all sad and depressive!  We laughed so much recalling our time in Greenhill, the nicknames and the characters, the nuns and the lay-teachers and their idiosyncrasies and habits.  I listened to wonderful stories of resilience, toughness, humour and survival as the girls made their way in the world.  Of lessons learned, loves lost and lives lived. It’s truly amazing what we have achieved in the last 40 years not only surviving but thriving in the face of adversity.  A lot of the girls returned to Ireland when things improved in later years. Some didn’t.  Those still in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada were sadly missed on the night.
​
As I looked around at these warm, friendly, funny and strong women, I couldn’t help wondering what the nuns and teachers would think of “how we turned out” – the Class of ‘83.  I was also thinking how wonderful they all look making hopeful like Sandy that …. “I do not fear the time! ❤️

Greenhill Class of '83 40th Reunion - June 2023

---

Sandy Denny

Alexandra “Sandy” Denny was born in Wimbledon, London, in 1947 and began singing in London’s folk clubs in the mid-1960s. “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” —  originally titled “Ballad of Time” — was, astonishingly, among the first songs she wrote, at the age of 19.
​
There are home demo versions but she first recorded the song professionally with The Strawbs in 1967, when she was briefly in the band. They didn’t then have a deal and the album, All Our Own Work, wasn’t released until 1973.
​
Although she was twice voted Britain’s best female singer by the readers of Melody Maker and had a devoted following, Denny’s post-Fairport career as a solo artist never really took wing. She died in 1978 at the age of just 31 from a brain haemorrhage after falling down stairs. It was the third such fall she’d had in as many weeks. “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” was the last song she sang at her last ever performance, a village hall fundraiser for her local school.

Covers & Accolades

​"Who Knows Where the Time Goes" has been recorded by Judy Collins, Eva Cassidy, Nina Simone, 10,000 Maniacs and Cat Power. Her recorded work has been the subject of numerous reissues, along with a wealth of previously unreleased material which has appeared over the more than 40 years since her death, including a 19-CD box set released in November 2010.  In January 2023, Denny was ranked #164 on Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

This Recording

​This solo live studio recording of 11 September 1973 for the BBC Radio 1 show “Sounds of the Seventies”, hosted by John Peel, was first broadcast in the UK on FM Stereo on 25 September 1973. It was first published in 1997 on The BBC Sessions 1971-73 and later in 2007 on the 3 CD+DVD set Live at the BBC". (Courtesy: mainlynorfolk.info).

Lyrics (as sung here)

​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 shall still be dreaming
I do not count the time
 
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
 
Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go
But I shall still be here, I have no thoughts of leaving
I have no thoughts of time
 
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
 
And I am not alone while my love is near me
And I know it shall be so 'til it's time to go
So come the storms of winter there
And then the birds in spring again
I do not fear the time
 
For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?

---

---

Bucket List Items Ticked Off in the above Blog post 108
​Number 74(b) - Experiences - Pick 80 Songs/ Pieces of Music

• "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"

​Other Blog Posts
Blog 11 - Sydney, Australia
Blog 12 - Hong Kong, China
Blog 17 - Beijing, Xi'an & Shanghai, China
Blog 19 - California, USA
Blog 27 - Scotland
Blog 28 - Barbados
Blog 29 - Canada

Do you have a favourite song?  Tell me about it in the comments section below.
​
If you liked this post, please share.  Sharing is caring 😊
​​