Time in a Bottle

"Time in a Bottle" is a song by singer-songwriter Jim Croce. It appeared on Croce's 1972 ABC third album You Don't Mess Around with Jim and was featured in the 1973 ABC made-for-television movie She Lives! After Croce was killed in a plane crash in September 1973, the song was aired frequently on radio, and demand for a single release built. The single of "Time in a Bottle" became Croce's second and final track to reach number one in the United States.^[3]

"Time in a Bottle"
Single by Jim Croce
from the album You Don't Mess Around with Jim
B-side	"Hard Time Losin' Man" (USA/Canada) "Hey Tomorrow" (international)
Released	November 1973
Recorded	January–March 1972
Studio	The Hit Factory (New York, NY)[1]
Genre	Psychedelic folk[2]
Length	2:29
Label	ABC
Songwriter(s)	Jim Croce
Producer(s)	Terry Cashman, Tommy West
Jim Croce singles chronology
"I Got a Name" (1973) "Time in a Bottle" (1973) "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" (1973)

Composition

Croce wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant in December 1970.^[4]

The arrangement features a harpsichord that producer Tommy West discovered had been left in the mixing studio.^[5]

Reception

Cash Box magazine called the song "a sweet, tender ballad filled with Croce’s magical vocal touch".^[6] Record World called it "an instant classic and an extremely moving record."^[7]

"Time in a Bottle" was the third posthumous Billboard number-one hit after "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding and "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin.^[8]

After the single finished its two-week run at the top of the charts in early January 1974, the album You Don't Mess Around with Jim became No. 1 for five weeks.^[9]

In 1977, Time in a Bottle was chosen as the title of a compilation album of Croce's love songs.

Track listing

7" single (ABC-11405)^[10]

1. "Time in a Bottle" – 2:24
2. "Hard Time Losin' Man" – 2:23

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1973–1974) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 1 U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[11] 1 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 1 Australian Top 100 Singles[citation needed] 60 Canadian RPM Top Singles[12] 1 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[13] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Rank U.S. Billboard Hot 100 24 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[14] 36 Canadian RPM Top Singles[15] 39 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[16] 592

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17]	Gold	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture

• The song was performed on a 1977 episode of The Muppet Show.^[18]
• The song was used in television commercials for Mateus wine in 1983.^[19][20][21]
• The song was sung by Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) and Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis) in an elevator in The Hangover Part II.^[22]
• The song was featured in X-Men: Days of Future Past in a slow-motion sequence showcasing the character Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver.^[23]
• In 2016, Apple released an iPhone 6s commercial called "Timer" which played some of "Time in a Bottle"; the commercial also features Sesame Street's Cookie Monster interacting with Siri.^[24]
• The song was featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Agatha All Along end credits for episode seven "Death's Hand in Mine".^[25]