"Time Marches On" is a song written by Bobby Braddock, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. It was released in March 1996 as the second single and title track from his album Time Marches On. It was the 15th chart single of his career. It spent three weeks at Number One on the Billboard country charts in mid-1996, becoming the longest-lasting Number One hit of his career.[1] It also received a Single of the Year nomination from the Country Music Association in 1996,[2] as well as a Song of the Year nomination for both 1996 and 1997.
Background
The song is in a moderate tempo in the key of A major with a vocal range of A3-F♯5. It features three verses, with a bridge preceding the third. The introduction and interludes follow a chord pattern of A-F♯m for four measures. Each verse uses that same chord pattern for four measures, followed by D-Bm for two measures, two more A-F♯m measures, ending on Bm-F♯m-Bm-A. The bridge uses D-Bm twice, A-F♯m twice, D-Bm twice again, and ends on E-Bm-D-E-A. After the third verse, Lawrence sings the line "Time marches on" several times over the chord pattern F♯m-Bm-A.[3]
Content
The song tells the story of a married couple and their two children, starting with the sister crying out from her baby bed, the son running in with feathers on his head, the mother's in her room learning how to sew, and the father was drinking beer while listening to the radio. The second verse shows the sister using rouge, the son wearing beads and smoking dope, the mother is depressed barely making a sound, and the father gets a girlfriend. In the bridge, Lawrence talks about how the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes. In the third and final verse, the sister calls herself a sexy grandmother, the son is on a diet from high cholesterol, the mother is senile with reality, and the father was in the ground beneath the maple tree due to his death. Lawrence mentions Hank Williams singing "Kaw-Liga" and "Dear John" in the first verse, Bob Dylan singing "Like a Rolling Stone" in the second verse, and the angels singing an old Hank Williams song in the third and final verse.
Critical reception
Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine in her review of the album called the song a "quirky kind of 'Pilgrim's Progress' set in the saga of a white-trash family."[4] Price also reviewed the song as an official single. She called it an "intriguing song that chronicles the life of a family in different stages; it uses vivid images that connect the listener to the lyric through the characters and cultural references." She goes on to say that "Lawrence's delivery and Cook's production are right on target..."[5]
Music video
The music video was directed by Marc Ball and premiered on CMT on March 24, 1996. It shows Lawrence performing in front of an audience. It was released as part of Lawrence's Unplugged series, filmed in February of 1996.
^Time Marches On (Media notes). Tracy Lawrence. Atlantic Records. 1996. 82866-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
