Time (Tom Waits song)

"Time" is a song by Tom Waits appearing on his eighth studio album Rain Dogs. It was written by Waits and was recorded in 1985 at RCA Studios in New York City.^[1]

"Time"
Song by Tom Waits
from the album Rain Dogs
Released	September 30, 1985 (1985-09-30)
Recorded	1985
Studio	RCA, New York City
Genre	Experimental rock
Length	3:55
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Tom Waits
Producer(s)	Tom Waits

It was covered by Tori Amos for her 2001 concept album Strange Little Girls. Amos made a notable appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman to perform the song; it was the first musical performance on the show after the September 11 attacks.^[2]

"Time" was covered again in 2019 by Rosanne Cash for Come On Up to the House: Women Sing Waits, a Tom Waits tribute album featuring female artists' covers of Waits' songs.^[3]

Accolades

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank
2000	Elvis Costello	United Kingdom	The Best Songs from the 500 Best Albums Ever[4]	*
2011	Toby Creswell	Australia	1001 Songs[5]	*
2014	Musikexpress	Germany	The 700 Best Songs of All Time[6]	510

(*) designates unordered lists.

Personnel

Adapted from the Rain Dogs liner notes.^[7]

• Tom Waits – vocals, guitar, production

Musicians

• William Shimmel – accordion
• Larry Taylor – double bass

Production and additional personnel

• Dennis Ferrante – recording
• Tom Gonzales – recording
• Robert Musso – engineering, mixing
• Howie Weinberg – mastering

In popular culture

The song was used in "The Mother Box Origins" clip for 2021s Zack Snyder's Justice League.^[8]

The song was used in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Winter Episode for a flashback of Richard Gilmore’s funeral.

See also

• Tom Waits discography