Time In A Bottle – Jim Croce

Verse
 
  Dm Dm(maj7) Dm7 Dm6
If I could save time in a bottle  
  Gm6 A7
The first thing that I'd like to do
  Dm Dm7 B- Gm7 Dm
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
  Gm A7
Just to spend them with you.
  Dm Dm(maj7) Dm7 Dm6
If I could make days last forever  
  Gm6 A7
If w ords could make wishes come t rue
  Dm Dm7 B- Gm7 Dm
I'd sa ve every da y like a treasure and the n
  Gm A7
Again, I would spend the m with you.
Chorus
 
  D Dmaj7
But there never seems to be enough time
  D6 D G Gmaj7 Em7 A7
To do the things you want to do Once you find the m  
  D Dmaj7
I've looked around enough to know
  D6 D G Gmaj7 Em7 A7
That you're the one I want to go through time with.  
Verse
 
  Dm Dm(maj7) Dm7 Dm6
If I had a box just for wishes  
  Gm6 A7
And dreams that had never come true
  Dm Dm7 B- Gm7 Dm
The box would be empty except for the memory  

Gm 7

Of how they were answered by you

Chorus
 
  D Dmaj7
But there never seems to be enough time
  D6 D G Gmaj7 Em7 A7
To do the things you want to do Once you find the m  
  D Dmaj7
I've looked around enough to know
  D6 D G Gmaj7 Em7 A7
That you're the one I want to go through time with.  
Verse
 
  D Dmaj7
But there ne ver seems to be enough time
  D6 D G Gmaj7
To do the tings you w ant to do once you f ind them  
    D Dmaj7
1 3/ ked around en ough to know
  D6 D G
That y ou're the one I w ant to go through t ime with.
 
1

On the last go 'round, play and hold Dm.

 

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"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)
ReleasedNovember 1973
RecordedJanuary–March 1972
StudioThe Hit Factory (New York, NY)[1]
Genre
Length2:29
LabelABC
SongwriterJim Croce
ProducersTerry 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)

"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]

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 used as the title of a compilation album of Croce's love songs.[10]

Track listing

7" single (ABC-11405)[11]

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

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[18] Platinum 30,000‡
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Jim Corce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim: Ratings & Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  2. ↑ Breihan, Tom (May 1, 2019). "The Number Ones: Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7th edition, Billboard Books, 2000, p. 159.
  4. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley. The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits, Billboard Books, 1999, p. 132.
  5. ↑ Eskow, Gary (November 2009). "Classic Tracks: Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle"". Mix (magazine). Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 17, 1973. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 17, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ Zellner, Xander (June 27, 2018). "Artists Who Hit No. 1 On The Hot 100 Posthumously: XXXTentacion & More". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  9. ↑ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955–1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 88, 505.
  10. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Time in a Bottle: Jim Croce's Greatest Love Songs". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle". discogs. 1973. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Time in a Bottle (song by Jim Croce) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". musicvf.com. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 20, No. 23, January 19 1974". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Adult Contemporary – Volume 20, No. 23, January 19 1974". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1974". www.cashboxmagazine.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010.
  16. ↑ "The RPM Year-End Charts: 1974". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  18. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle". Radioscope. Retrieved May 5, 2026. Type Time in a Bottle in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  19. ↑ "American single certifications – Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  20. ↑ Jackson, Don (January 9, 2013). "Jim Croce hits Number 1 with 'Time in a Bottle'". WMJI. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Marketing & Media Decisions". Decisions Publications. April 30, 1983. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via Google Books. Mateus highlights "Time in a Bottle" campaign on spot tv. Thirty- second spots created by Shaller Rubin & Winer link Mateus with romance and intimacy to the tune of Jim Croce's love ballad, "Time ...
  22. ↑ "Art Direction". Advertising Trade Publications. April 30, 1984. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via Google Books. Last year's Mateus ad centered around Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle," and the current spot continues on a similar note with its "Spend the good times with Mateus" ...
  23. ↑ "Beverage World". Keller Publishing Corporation. April 30, 1985. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via Google Books. The major advertislng support for Mateus during the past growth year was the 'Time in a Bottle" television spot, with its message. "Spend the Good Times with Mateus."
  24. ↑ Board, Josh (May 26, 2011). "MOVIE REVIEW: The Hangover Part II". SanDiego.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  25. ↑ O'Connell, Sean (May 23, 2014). "How Did They Film Quicksilver's Amazing X-Men: Days Of Future Past Scene?". Cinema Blend. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Apple enlists help of Cookie Monster to highlight 'Hey Siri' in new iPhone 6s ad". Apple Insider. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  27. ↑ Erdmann, Kevin (October 24, 2024). "Agatha All Along Episode 7 Easter Eggs & Marvel References". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_a_Bottle

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