Time Enough At Last

Lyrics

(1)

It's time I started thinking on my feet
Instead of on my back
Now I got time
Time enough at last

Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
It's been the bane of my life
But I've got time enough at last
I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last

And sometimes people think you're just stupid
But I got time 
at last

I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last

Cos I got time
Time enough at last
It's just stupid thinkin' 'bout the past
Cos I got time enough at last
In a city in turmoil
It's hard to extract
The brains from the head
Of a minor executive
Now I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
And the projectiles hit you
When you least expect it

But I got time
Time enough at last
From a summit of experience
To the pit of its knowledge (2)
Cos I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
I got time
Time enough at last...

Notes

1. The song is named after a Twilight Zone episode starring Burgess Meredith as a man whose fondest dream is to have a lot of books at hand and time to read them. He escapes destruction when a nuclear bomb goes off, and happily winds up at the public library, finally ready to devote his days to reading; as he approaches the library, however, he drops his glasses and the lenses shatter.  

From Dan:

Typewritten comments from the sleevenotes of Code:Selfish: "4. TIME ENOUGH AT LAST. Too many people have too much time on their hands. Am envious, but not interested in their OPINIONS."

^

2. Martin points out that this line also seems to be an allusion to The Twilight Zone, in particular Rod Serling's spoken introduction:

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."

 

^

Comments (6)

dannyno
  • 1. dannyno | 21/08/2013
I've just been watching "Time Enough at Last". Great story, economically told. The Burgess Meredith character drops his glasses on the library steps, and they smash. He doesn't step on them.

Dan
dannyno
  • 2. dannyno | 15/07/2014
Corrections.

"And sometimes people think you're just stupid
But I got time enough at last"

Should be "But I got time at last".

and

"From a summit of experience
To a pit of its knowledge"

It's "To the pit of its knowledge"

Dan
Martin
  • 3. Martin | 22/03/2016
Not only does the song title repeat the title of a Twilight Zone episode (see notes and comments above) but the lines:

"From a summit of experience
To the pit of its knowledge"

are surely influenced by the Rod Serling-penned lines which served as the introduction to the first season of the show:

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."

Link to the opening title sequence of "Time Enough at Last:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB1Ot9MEOOs
bzfgt
  • 4. bzfgt | 24/03/2016
Good one, thanks.
dannyno
  • 5. dannyno | 16/04/2017
Typewritten comments from the sleevenotes of Code:Selfish:


4. TIME ENOUGH AT LAST. Too many people have too much time on their hands. Am envious, but not interested in their OPINIONS.
Guest Informant-ah
  • 6. Guest Informant-ah | 28/08/2022
Wikipedia:
Serling himself stated that his favorite episodes of the series were "The Invaders" (directed by Douglas Heyes) and "Time Enough at Last"[4] (directed by John Brahm).

Add a comment