"Time" is in the key of
F♯ minor. Each clock at the beginning of the song was recorded separately in an
antiques store. These clock sounds are followed by a two-minute passage dominated by
Nick Mason's drum solo, with
rototoms and backgrounded by a
tick-tock sound created by
Roger Waters picking the muted second and third strings on his bass.
David Gilmour sings lead on the verses, while
Richard Wright sings
lead on the bridges with female singers and Gilmour providing backup vocals. The lyrics deal with Roger Waters' realization that life was not about preparing yourself for what happens next, but about grabbing control of your own destiny. According to an interview by Phil Taylor in 1994, David Gilmour had been using a
Lexicon PCM-70 to store the circular delay sounds heard in "Time", which could duplicate the kind of echo he used to get from his old
Binson echo unit. The verse chords cycle through F♯ minor,
A major,
E major, and F♯ minor again. During this section, Gilmour's guitar and Wright's keyboards are panned to the extreme right and left of the stereo spectrum, respectively. Gilmour sings lead during this section. The bridge section, with Wright singing lead, has a notably "thicker" texture, with the female backing vocalists singing multi-tracked "oohs" and "aahs" throughout, and Gilmour singing harmony with Wright in the second half. The chords of this section are D
major seventh to A
major ninth, which is repeated. The second half progresses from D major seventh to
C♯ minor, then
B minor to
E major. The first bridge leads to a guitar solo by Gilmour, which plays over the verse and bridge progressions. The solo is followed by another verse sung by Gilmour. When the bridge is repeated, it does not conclude on E major as before. Instead, the B minor leads to an
F major chord, while Waters's bass stays on B, resulting in an unusual
dissonance as a transition to the key of
E minor for "Breathe (Reprise)". Pink Floyd performed the song live from 1972 to 1975, and after the departure of Waters, from 1987 to 1994. Waters began performing the song in his solo concerts, singing the verses himself, beginning in 1999 with
In the Flesh and again with
The Dark Side of the Moon Live from 2006 to 2008 (occasionally featuring guest appearances from Nick Mason) and the
Us + Them Tour from 2017 to 2018. Gilmour has performed the song live on every one of his solo tours since
the Division Bell Tour, with the late Richard Wright sharing vocals until his death. ==Reception==