Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

Sandy Denny wrote "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" in the late 1960s: Songlines says 1967 to 68, while Wikipedia gives a first demo in 1966, a second in 1967 and 1968 as the writing date. Its first commercial release was Judy Collins's, recorded on August 26, 1968 at A&R Recording in New York and issued as the B-side of "Both Sides, Now" and as the title track of her album. Denny's own recording with the Strawbs, made in 1968, was not released until 1973 on All Our Own Work, and Fairport Convention recorded it for Unhalfbricking in 1969, with Richard Thompson's guitar licks; BBC Radio 2 listeners voted it Favourite Folk Track of All Time in 2007. Denny sang it at her last performance. Rufus Wainwright has called it one of the saddest songs ever written, and Simon Nicol of Fairport called their take an almost perfect studio recording.

Wikipedia reads the three verses as a reflection on the evening sky and departing birds, with a last verse about love and loss and the comfort of a loved one's presence. Simone's version is the live recording on Black Gold, track five at 8:09 (Mainly Norfolk puts it first on side two at 8:08), made at Philharmonic Hall on October 26, 1969 and produced by Andrew Stroud. Wikipedia attributes to her the remark that it was a lovely, lovely thing, without a source or date. The upload, from the label's VEVO channel, is titled "Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Live) (Audio)". There was no single, and we found no chart entry or video.

Covers include Nanci Griffith, Eva Cassidy, Judy Collins, Nana Mouskouri, Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet, Eddi Reader, Kate Rusby, Barbara Dickson and Kate Wolf, who sang it live in 1983.