"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.

Composition

Croce wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant in December 1970. The arrangement features a

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

that producer Tommy West discovered had been left in the mixing studio.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine called the song "a sweet, tender

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

filled with Croce’s magical vocal touch". '' Record World'' called it "an instant classic and an extremely moving record." "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 Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

. 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. In 1977, ''Time in a Bottle'' was chosen as the title of a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of Croce's love songs.

Track listing

7" single (ABC-11405) # "Time in a Bottle" – 2:24 # "Hard Time Losin' Man" – 2:23

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

In popular culture

*The song was performed on a 1977 episode of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

''. * The song was used in television commercials for Mateus wine in 1983. *The song was sung by Leslie Chow ( Ken Jeong) and Alan Garner ( Zach Galifianakis) in an elevator in '' The Hangover Part II''. *The song was featured in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'' in a slow-motion sequence showcasing the character Peter Maximoff/ Quicksilver. *In 2016, Apple released an iPhone 6s commercial called "Timer" which played some of "Time in a Bottle"; the commercial also features ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''s Cookie Monster interacting with

Siri Siri ( , backronym: Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface) is a digital assistant purchased, developed, and popularized by Apple Inc., which is included in the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, Apple TV, audioOS, and visionOS operating sys ...

. *The song was featured in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

television series '' Agatha All Along'' end credits for episode seven " Death's Hand in Mine".

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{Authority control 1972 songs 1973 singles Jim Croce songs Lena Horne songs Glen Campbell songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs released posthumously Songs written by Jim Croce Songs about death ABC Records singles Folk ballads Songs about time