Until It's Time for You to Go#Notable Cover Versions

{{about|the song by Buffy Sainte-Marie|the album by Rusty Bryant|Until It's Time for You to Go (album)}}

{{short description|1965 song by Buffy Sainte-Marie}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Until It's Time for You to Go

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Buffy Sainte-Marie

| album = Many a Mile

| B-side = "The Flower and the Apple Tree"

| released = 1965

| format =

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

| length =

| label = Vanguard

| writer = Buffy Sainte-Marie

| producer = Maynard Solomon

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Until It's Time for You to Go

| cover = Elvis_Until_Its_Time_For_You_To_Go_PS.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Elvis Presley

| album = Elvis Now

| B-side = We Can Make the Morning

| released = January 4, 1972

| format =

| recorded = May 16, 1971

| studio = RCA Studio B, Nashville

| venue =

| genre = Pop

| length =

| label = RCA Victor

| writer = Buffy Sainte-Marie

| producer =

| prev_title = Merry Christmas Baby

| prev_title2 = O Come, All Ye Faithful

| prev_year = 1971

| title2 = We Can Make the Morning

| next_title = He Touched Me

| next_title2 = Bosom of Abraham

| next_year = 1972

}}

"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by American singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. Sainte-Marie included a French-language reworking of the song, "T'es pas un autre", on her 1967 album Fire & Fleet & Candlelight. French translation was made by Quebecer songwriter Claude Gauthier.

The song has been recorded by many other singers.{{cite web |title=secondhandsongs.com |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/375 |website=secondhandsongs.com |access-date=April 23, 2021}}

Background

The lyrics concern an ordinary man and woman who love each other, but cannot stay together because they come from different worlds. The singer asks their lover: "Don't ask why / Don't ask how / Don't ask forever / Love me now." According to Sainte-Marie, the song "popped into my head while I was falling in love with someone I knew couldn't stay with me."[http://www.creative-native.com/lyrics/untillyr.htm Until It's Time for You to Go], Buffy Sainte-Marie website.

"The Flower and the Apple Tree"

Featured as a B-side to the Sainte-Marie's single release of "Until It's Time for You to Go" is the rarity "The Flower and the Apple Tree", an original song that was exclusive to the single.{{Cite web|title=Buffy Sainte-Marie With Gershon Kingsley And His Chorus & Orchestra* - Until It's Time For You To Go|url=https://www.discogs.com/Buffy-Sainte-Marie-With-Gershon-Kingsley-And-His-Chorus-Orchestra-Until-Its-Time-For-You-To-Go/master/677371|access-date=2021-01-11|website=Discogs|year=1965 |language=en}}

Notable cover versions

  • It was a UK Top 20 hit for British group The Four Pennies in 1965.{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= British Hit Singles & Albums| edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited| location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5}}
  • Also in 1965, Michael Nesmith (under the moniker of "Michael Blessing") recorded a version of the song produced by Bob Krasnow, released on Columbia Pictures' record label Colpix Records.
  • In 1969, Glen Campbell on his studio album "Galveston"
  • In 1970, after having released a cover in 1969, Neil Diamond went to #11 on the US Easy Listening chart and #53 on the US Hot 100.{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=78}} Record World said that "Neil Diamond has done a beautiful job" with the song.{{cite magazine|title=Single Picks of the Week|magazine=Record World|date=February 14, 1970|page=1|accessdate=2023-04-28|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/70/RW-1970-02-14.pdf}} Billboard called it "one gem of a performance".{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|page=80|title=Spotlight Singles|date=February 14, 1970|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1970/Billboard%201970-02-14.pdf|accessdate=2023-04-29}} Cash Box called it "a splendid reading with the velvet style polished by 'Holly' and 'Caroline.{{'"}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Cash Box|page=28|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=February 14, 1970|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1970/CB-1970-02-14.pdf|accessdate=2023-04-29}}
  • In 1970, on her album Chapter Two (Roberta Flack album), Roberta Flack included a cover of the song, which appears on side two as the album's sixth track.{{cite web |title= Chapter Two (Roberta Flack album)|url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapter_Two_(Roberta_Flack_album)|accessdate=2024-09-14}}{{Circular reference|date=February 2025}}
  • In 1972, Elvis Presley released the song, which peaked at #40 on the US Hot 100, and #9 on the US Easy Listening chart.{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=196}}
  • In 1973, New Birth featuring future Supremes member Susaye Greene recorded a version of the song, which peaked at #21 on the US Hot Soul Singles chart.{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=427}}

References