"Right in Time" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 1998 as the first single from her fifth album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998).
| "Right in Time" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 promotional CD single artwork | ||||
| Single by Lucinda Williams | ||||
| from the album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:35 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Lucinda Williams | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Earle, Ray Kennedy, Lucinda Williams | |||
| Lucinda Williams singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was featured on the season one soundtrack album to the Showtime series The L Word.[2] Sarah McLachlan selected the track for inclusion on her Artist's Choice compilation album in 2004.[3]
Content
editA review of the song from AllMusic stated: "Few artists could conjure a sense of yearning for an absent lover the way Lucinda Williams does in 'Right in Time', making physical the painful nature of unsatisfied and overwhelming longing, [the song] moves to a feeling of immediacy as the chorus enters, shifting the tone from longing, twangy guitars propelling the chorus--'The way you move, it's right in time/It's right in time with me.' The song then segues into the more intimate setting of Lucinda's private world, where time slows down to a stagger, 'I take off my watch and my earrings/My bracelets and everything/Lie on my back and moan at the ceiling...Think about you and that long ride/I bite my nails, I get weak inside/Reach over and turn off the light/Oh my baby' drawn out in such a low, aching moan that the return of the guitars and closing chorus is a palpable release.[4]
Reception
editLA Weekly ranked "Right in Time" at No. 8 on their list of Williams' best 11 songs,[5] while music website Return of Rock ranked it No. 3 on their list.[6] Pitchfork wrote that the song includes some of her "most irreducible, eloquent poetry—'Not a day goes by I don’t think about you/You left your mark on me, it’s permanent, a tattoo'—before becoming a moaned narrative of a woman alone in bed, pleasuring herself. It is unbelievably sensual, a daydream."[7] NME observed that the song is "rich in meaning, pulsing with the thrill of love remembered, and hurting with the chill of absence."[8]
In a five-star-out-of-five review of Car Wheels on a Gravel Road for Rolling Stone, Robert Christgau observed "from the album's very first lines-in which the flat 'Not a day goes by I don't think about you' sets up the ambush of 'You left your mark on me, it's permanent [pause, we need a rhyme fast] a tattoo [gotcha!]', which is instantly trumped by 'Pierce the skin, the blood runs through' and then swoons into a forlorn, unutterably simple 'Oh my baby'-Williams's every picked-over word and effect has something to say.[9]
Track listing
edit- CD single - US[10]
- Album Version - 4:35
- CD single - UK[11]
- Album Version - 4:35
- CD single - Europe[12]
- Album Version - 4:35
References
edit- ^ Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "The L Word – Original TV Soundtrack". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ Tilland, William. "Artist's Choice: Sarah McLachlan". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ Kunoff, Kim Reick. "Right in Time – Song Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ Smyers, Darryl (20 September 2013). "Lucinda Williams' Best 11 Songs". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ "Lucinda Williams Songs Ranked". Return of Rock. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (October 28, 2018). "Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ Martin, Gavin (July 25, 1998). "Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road". NME. London. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (July 23, 1998). "Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road". robertchristgau.com. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ Discogs (1998). "Lucinda Williams – Right in Time - US single". Discogs. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ Discogs (1998). "Lucinda Williams – Right in Time - UK single". Discogs. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ Discogs (1998). "Lucinda Williams – Right in Time - Europe single". Discogs. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
External links
edit- Album version by Lucinda Williams on YouTube, official audio (no music video)