Some songs don’t just age well — they grow wiser. Willie Nelson’s Funny How Time Slips Away is one of those rare gems. Written in 1961 when he was still hustling as a songwriter in Nashville, the tune has been passed around like a well-worn letter — reread, reinterpreted, and cherished across generations. Yet no version hits quite as deep as the one Willie sings himself.
At first listen, it’s a simple conversation — an old flame meets you again after time has passed. But the more you sit with it, the more it reveals. There’s grace in the way the lyrics say, “Ain’t it funny how time slips away,” like it’s nothing. But behind that line is a world of unspoken longing, regret, and the ache of knowing some things can’t be rewound.
Willie’s delivery is where the magic lives. His voice doesn’t rush. It lingers on the edges of each word, like he’s remembering in real-time — not just telling a story, but reliving one. The way he phrases things, the pauses he leaves hanging — it all adds this quiet melancholy that feels incredibly human. Not bitter. Not angry. Just… wistful.
What’s also beautiful is how this song mirrors Willie’s life. He wrote it as a young man, but it feels even more profound sung by him as an old one. Over the decades, he’s watched friends go, lovers fade, and entire chapters close. So when he sings about time slipping away now — at 92, still standing, still smiling — it doesn’t feel like a throwback. It feels like wisdom earned, shared gently.
Funny How Time Slips Away isn’t flashy, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s the kind of song you put on when you’re cleaning out an old drawer and find a photo that makes you pause. Or when you’re driving alone at night and realize how fast the years have gone. It makes you feel seen — like someone else knows what it’s like to carry memories that still hum under the surface.
It’s not just a song. It’s a reminder — that time always moves, but some feelings never really leave.
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Lyrics
… Well, hello there
My, it’s been a long, long time
How am I doing?
Oh, I guess that I’m doing fine
… It’s been so long now
And it seems now that it was only yesterday
Gee, ain’t it funny how time slips away?
… How’s your new love?
I hope that he’s doing fine?
I heard you told him
That you’d love him ’til the end of time
… Now that’s the same thing that you told me
It seems like just the other day
Gee, ain’t it funny how time slips away?
… I gotta go now
I guess I’ll see you around
I don’t know when though
Never know when I’ll be back in town
… But remember, what I tell you
That in time you’re gonna pay
And it’s surprising, how time slips away