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Rolling StonesSongs: Time Waits For No One
Drink in your summer, and gather your corn/ The dreams of the night time will vanish by dawn…
Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, Jan. 14-28 1974; Rolling Stones Mobile, Stargroves, Newbury, England, Apr. 1974; Island Recording Studios, London, England, May 20-25 1974 Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano), Ray Cooper (percussion) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
More about Time Waits For No One by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Time Travels Smooth: A Rare Rolling Stones Groove
Released in 1974, Time Waits for No One isn’t your typical Stones track. Where most of their songs swagger with raw rock energy, this one flows with elegance, introspection, and surprising smoothness. The Latin-tinged rhythm feels like a soft breeze through the tropics, driven by British percussionist Ray Cooper’s tasteful touches and Charlie Watts’ most jazz-inspired groove. Keith Richards creates a hypnotic swirl on rhythm guitar, while Nicky Hopkins dances across the piano with high, improvisational runs. But it’s Mick Taylor who steals the show — delivering a searing, melodic guitar solo that still draws comparisons to Carlos Santana. His playing, possibly influenced by a trip to Brazil, elevates the track into another realm. The lyrics, poetic and philosophical, show Jagger trading swagger for soul-searching wisdom. With lines like “hours are like diamonds, don’t let them waste,” it’s as if he’s reminding himself — and us — that youth slips away fast.
Legacy, Regret, and Mick Taylor’s Farewell
This six-minute masterpiece marked a turning point — both creatively and personally — for the band. Taylor’s soaring solo is often seen as his finest moment with the Stones, but the lack of songwriting credit deepened his disillusionment with the Jagger/Richards stronghold. That sense of regret echoes in the lyrics too, with Jagger reflecting on aging, missed chances, and fading dreams. It’s more than just a song; it’s a philosophical detour, a meditation on time itself. Despite a butchered version appearing on Sucking in the Seventies, the original track lives on — a jewel in their 1979 Anthology and a testament to the band’s ability to stretch beyond their blues roots. Time Waits for No One might be an outlier in the Stones’ catalog, but it’s also one of their most quietly powerful creations.
In Mick Taylor’s very own words (2012): My favorite Stones song in terms of my own guitar playing is Time Waits for No One. I love that solo. I think it’s probably the best thing I did with the Stones. It’s not one of their hits; it was an album track. But it’s quite lyrical and it’s a bit different from a lot of other Stones songs. I’d done something that I’d never done. Because of the structure of the song. It pushed my guitar playing in a slightly different direction. It’s more – I don’t like to use the term Carlos Santana-esque because it sounds too pretentious, but I kind of played in a different mode. You know, they had their rock and roll songs and they had their ballads as well, and they were very different. And mostly the ballads were usually written by me.” (Ref. Rolling Stones song Time)
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