Richard Thompson: Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

Richard Thompson, who is one of the most under-rated guitarists and performers, interprets the best known tune penned by his former Fairport Convention band-mate Sandy Denny. “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” was best known among non-Fairport fans in the US by Judy Collins 1968 rendition of the tune and her album of the same name. Collins version appeared prior to the Fairport release.

Today’s Traditional Tuesday featured video is just Richard, his guitar, and his unmistakable tone on accompaniment leads. Richard’s tuning had me baffled on this one and I had to break out my trusty Ibanez acoustic-electric to discern what he was doing. He dropped the A string to a G and the low E string to a C. Listen as the wizard of the six strings pay homage to one of the world’s greatest songsmiths, Sandy Denny.

Original Recording by The Strawbs

The original recording of “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” was recorded by Sandy Denny and the Strawbs in 1967 and was not commercially available outside of Denmark until the album “All Our Own Work” was released in Britain in 1973. I bought the import that year and it is a different rendition of what would become the Fairport classic.

The Classic Fairport Rendition

The third Fairport Convention LP “Unhalfbricking” featured the classic version of Sandy Denny singing her own song. Released in 1969, this version features the tasty guitar licks of a younger Richard Thompson in the right speaker. It has always been one of my favorite songs. It is one of the last recordings of drummer Martin Lamble who was killed in an motorway accident prior to the album’s release.