About The Song
Ray Price included “Funny How Time Slips Away” on his 1965 studio album The Other Woman, released by Columbia Records in September of that year. The track, which runs 3:39, sits on side two of the LP and was recorded on May 10, 1965. Written by Willie Nelson, the song had already seen success in other hands before Price added his version to a set that also featured two charting singles from the project.
By the mid-1960s Price remained one of country music’s most consistent performers. He had built his reputation in the 1950s with the Ray Price shuffle and hits such as “Crazy Arms” and “Heartaches by the Number.” Nelson had played bass in Price’s band, the Cherokee Cowboys, during the early part of the decade, and Price had already recorded several of Nelson’s compositions, including the signature “Night Life” in 1963. The 1965 album captured Price in a transitional phase, moving toward a smoother Nashville sound while retaining the warm baritone that defined his style.
The Other Woman reached number three on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. It entered the list on October 2, 1965, and spent 38 weeks on the survey. The title track climbed to number two on the country singles chart, while “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me” hit number eleven. Although “Funny How Time Slips Away” was not issued as a single, its placement on a strong-selling album helped keep the song in circulation among Price’s audience.
Nelson wrote the piece during a single productive week in the early 1960s alongside “Crazy” and “Night Life.” Billy Walker released the first recording in June 1961 on Columbia, taking it to number 23 on the country chart. Other artists quickly followed, including Jimmy Elledge, whose version crossed over to the pop Top 40. Price’s decision to cut the song continued a pattern of bringing Nelson’s material to a wide country audience at a time when the young songwriter was still establishing himself in Nashville.
The lyrics unfold as a chance encounter between former lovers. The narrator reflects on how much time has passed since they last met, notes the changes in their lives, and remarks on the quiet way years disappear. There is no bitterness, only a gentle recognition that people move on and moments fade. Price delivers the verses with measured restraint, letting the melody and his rich voice carry the weight of the observation without dramatic flourishes.
Price returned to the song in 1980 for the duet album San Antonio Rose with Willie Nelson. The collaborative project revisited several Nelson compositions and gave “Funny How Time Slips Away” a fresh arrangement that paired the two longtime friends’ voices. The track appeared alongside other shared favorites and reminded listeners of the professional bond that began when Nelson worked in Price’s band two decades earlier.
Over the years “Funny How Time Slips Away” has remained a steady presence in Price’s catalog. It illustrates both his skill as an interpreter of other writers’ work and the lasting influence of the material he chose during one of his most commercially successful periods. The song’s straightforward reflection on time and memory continues to fit comfortably within the body of work that earned Price a place among country music’s most enduring voices.
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Lyric
Well hello there my it’s been a long long time
How am I doin’ oh I guess that I’m doin’ fine
It’s been so long now and it seems now that it was yesterday
Oh ain’t it funny how time slips awaySay how’s your new love I hope he’s doing fine
I heard you told him that you’d love him till the end of time
Now that’s the same thing that you told me it seems like yesterday
Oh ain’t it funny how time slips awayI gotta go now I hope I’ll see you around
But I don’t know when though never know when I’ll be back in town
But remember what I tell you in time you’re gonna pay
Oh ain’t it funny how time slips away