Until It's Time For You To Go - and the story behind it

[MikeFromHolland]

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GERRY started an interesting topic called "We Can Make The Morning": http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=93475#p1499848

He writes:
"Until It's Time for You to Go" / "We Can Make The Morning" reached number 9 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in the US in March 1972 and number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1972.

Thought it would be nice to collect some background information about Until It's Time For You To Go in a dedicated topic.




UNTIL IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO

This song was written (words & music) begin 1965 by Buffy Sainte-Marie, According to Wikipedia "a Native Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist,educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire also includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism".


Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1968



Buffy Sainte-Marie in 2015


"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from her 1965 album Many a Mile.



On the backside we read:
"Until It's Time For You To Go," an assertion of the reality of two persons in love, and of the great importance of every moment they share, is a personal love statement by Buffy. "Just a song," she says diffidently of this simple poem about universal emotion.

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A recent interview with this wonderful woman (June 2016) can be found in Ottawa Life magazine, and is online: http://www.ottawalife.com/2016/06/power-in-her-blood-the-buffy-sainte-marie-interview-part-1/

An answer to a question in an earlier interview for RHYTHMS Magazine, Dec. 18, 2014:

What’s the cover that you hold closest to your heart?
Chet Atkins did ‘Until It’s Time For You to Go’ on television on Austin City Limits. Oh god, it was really something. I was an Elvis fan, but I really wish he’d recorded that song when he was 19 instead of when he and Priscilla were getting married. There’s been some classical versions too. Some people have done nice versions of ‘Universal Soldier’ and ‘Cod’ine’, Quicksilver Messenger Service I think it was. I don’t know, there’s too many.

Interesting to know that on her personal website (buffysainte-marie.com) she shares a link to a video from Elvis in Greensboro April 14 1972, performing Until It's Time For You To Go. While many, and I really mean MANY, other artists had covered that song. It's this specific clip she linking to:

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The only other artist performing this song she's linking to is Andy Williams. All the other artists, she mentioned on her website, who covered this song:

Andy Williams 1972 >>> LINK
Angie Butler
AnnBurton 1972
Barbara Streisand 1969
Blue Suede 1999
Bob Stewart 1995
Bobby Darin
Boston Pops Orchestra (Fiedler)
Carmen McRae 1967
Cher 1998
Claudine Longet 1967
Cleo Laine 1974
Debbie Duncan 1993
Earlene Davis 1998
Eddy Arnold 1968
Eden Perry & The Nashville Pops Orchestra 1979
Elvis Presley >>> LINK
Emile Pandolfi 1991
Emilie-Claire Barlow 2010
Euson 1971
Eva Cassidy
Evie Sands 1969
Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman 2001 Duet in the film Moulin Rouge
Francoise Hardy 1972
Frank Morgan 1986
Freddy Cole 1994
Gabor Szabo 1969
Glen Campbell 1969
Glen Yarbrough 1967
Grover Washington Jr.
Helen Merrill with Gary Peacock Trio
Helen Reddy 1973
Houston Person 1973
Jim Nabors 1975
John Schroeder 1972
Johnny Mathis 1970
Lorez Alexandria 1978
Mark Keeley 2007
Maureen McGovern 1973
Mike Nesmith 1965
Nancy Sinatra 1966
Neil Diamond
Nnenna Freelon 1998
Paivi Paunu 1970
Paul Jones 1968
Peggy Lee 1968
Petula Clark 1974
Phyllis Newman 1968
Ray Bryant 1972
Roberta Flack 1970
Roger Williams 1986
Rusty Bryant 1974
Starlight Orchestra 1992
Starsound Orchestra
Steve Ackles and The Memphis News 2007
Shirley Bassey 1971
The English Congregation 1972
The Four Pennies 1965
The Lettermen 1971
The New Birth
Vikki Carr


A touching story about the role this song played for two people during the Vietnam War: a soldier and his nurse. As told in this book by Jan Hornung:

Angels In Vietnam - Cover.jpg

In Chapter 7 of this book, page 73-78, we read this beautiful story of Gary Jacobson:

Angels In Vietnam - Chapter 7 01.png

Angels In Vietnam - Chapter 7 02.png

Angels In Vietnam - Chapter 7 03.png

Angels In Vietnam - Chapter 7 04.png

Angels In Vietnam - Chapter 7 05.png

Angels In Vietnam - Chapter 7 06.png

In 1966-67, Gary Jacobson served with B Co 2nd/7th 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam as a combat infantryman and is the recipient of the Purple Heart.

Gary, who resides in Idaho writes stories he hopes are never forgotten, perhaps compelled by a Vietnamese legend that says, “All poets are full of silver threads that rise inside them as the moon grows large.” So Gary says he writes because “It is that these silver threads are words poking at me – I must let them out. I must! I write for my brothers who cannot bear to talk of what they’ve seen and to educate those who haven’t the foggiest idea about the effect that the horrors of war have on boys-next-door.”



So the song had different meanings to different people. As stated on the 1965 Buffy Sainte-Marie album Many A Mile: an assertion of the reality of two persons in love, and of the great importance of every moment they share, is a personal love statement by Buffy. And that's what it was.


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SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Until_It%27s_Time_for_You_to_Go
https://www.womadelaide.com.au/news/2014/12/buffy-sainte-marie-interview-from-rhythms-jan-feb-2015
http://buffysainte-marie.com
http://www.usa-patriotism.com/poems/tv/warrior_nurse.htm

[Fabbe]

Nice - thanks for sharing. I love best Elvis' live version. The others have a nice arrangements - but Elvis interpretation resonates with me more. But then again, Elvis is my fav artist.

[jetblack]

Very interesting info. Cheers Mike.

Elvis recorded 'Until It's Time' twice in May and June 1971.

He sings this quite beautifully without overplaying the lyrics. I like it a lot.

All four single releases in 1972 reached the UK Top Ten.

Until It's Time... #5
An American Trilogy #8
Burning Love #7
Always On My Mind #9

Andy

[MikeFromHolland]

Very interesting info. Cheers Mike.

Elvis recorded 'Until It's Time' twice in May and June 1971.

He sings this quite beautifully without overplaying the lyrics. I like it a lot.

All four single releases in 1972 reached the UK Top Ten.

Until It's Time... #5
An American Trilogy #8
Burning Love #7
Always On My Mind #9

Andy

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Thought Elvis was dead after he left the army?

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[jetblack]

No I spoke to him on the phone in 1960.



Andy

[Juan Luis]

Thanks! This song was first brought to my attention on an import (real import not bootleg LOL) album I purchased titled "I Can Help". The best 1970's compilation at the time with so much information on the back regarding dates and musicians. Time flies!

[poormadpeter2]

It's interesting that the Andy Williams version incorporates a folky sound at its core but also features a string arrangement as well. It's a kind of halfway house between the early versions of the song and Elvis's own, but William's voice is lighter and doesn't bog the sound down in or make it sound heavy as Elvis's 1971 voice did. I mentioned the Mike Nesmith and Bobby Darin versions on another thread. Here's the pre-Monkees Nesmith version:

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Darin chose the song for his If I Were a Carpenter album. The album itself is low-key throughout, and Until It's Time For You To Go is the quietest, most reflective song within the set, with Darin almost whispering the song against a background consisting of just an acoustic guitar - which I'm guessing is his own playing, as the style bears considerable resemblance to In Memoriam and the demo of Simple Song of Freedom, both of which feature just guitar and voice and we know feature Darin's playing.

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[GERRY]

Brilliant reading this. Great post Mike.

Hoping the missing session tape is found.

[Domino]

Thanks for all the behind the song info.Never knew the story behind the song.

I think I focused my comment on this song more in the "We Can Make The Morning" topic but I'll say again here that when "Until It's Time For You To Go" plays,I kind of stop what I'm doing.He had a tone that is indescribable.

[Domino]

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Really like the Bobby Darrin version.Never heard it before.

[rlj4ep]

Nice job MikefromHolland. That was neat information. Thank you. As I stated in another thread, I love Elvis' cover of this song. I play the studio version often.

rlj

[poormadpeter2]

Nice topic, Mike. Until It's Time For You to Go is a lovely song and I like Elvis’s recording very much. It may not have the delicate qualities of some versions, especially Buffy Sainte-Marie's original, but it's distinguished by romantic characteristics and a sincere masculinity that's representative of his own musical personality.

I also like the arrangement, which complements the nature and tone of Elvis’s vocal despite being a bit too fussy. But the string section is very nice and there's appealing bass notes throughout that add touches of colour. This said, I've always found him to be quite nasal on the first few lines, which should have been softer and more inviting.

Conversely, some of Elvis’s live renditions are just too heavy-handed, although this is a deceptively robust song. I'm also fond of Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson`s versions. Willie's recording features on his 1984 album, City of New Orleans, which was produced by Chips Moman.

There's also a really nice, jazz-tinged version by Barbara McNair, which she sung during her appearance on the 1971 TV series, McMillan & Wife.

Thanks for pointing out the Willie Nelson version. I never noticed it existed before - I always turn the album off at the first notes of Wind Beneath my Wings!

[Dan_T]

Nice post, Mike, thank you !

I've listened to all the versions posted and its still Elvis' version for me.

Buffy's vibrato is to much on parts of the song.

[MikeFromHolland]

Nice topic, Mike. Until It's Time For You to Go is a lovely song and I like Elvis’s recording very much. It may not have the delicate qualities of some versions, especially Buffy Sainte-Marie's original, but it's distinguished by romantic characteristics and a sincere masculinity that's representative of his own musical personality.

I also like the arrangement, which complements the nature and tone of Elvis’s vocal despite being a bit too fussy. But the string section is very nice and there's appealing bass notes throughout that add touches of colour. This said, I've always found him to be quite nasal on the first few lines, which should have been softer and more inviting.

Conversely, some of Elvis’s live renditions are just too heavy-handed, although this is a deceptively robust song. I'm also fond of Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson`s versions. Willie's recording features on his 1984 album, City of New Orleans, which was produced by Chips Moman.

There's also a really nice, jazz-tinged version by Barbara McNair, which she sung during her appearance on the 1971 TV series, McMillan & Wife.

Thanks!

from the 1969 album WHAT ABOUT TODAY?
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from the 1984 album CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
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from the 1971 TV series, McMillan & Wife Season 1 Episode 7 "An Elementary Case of Murder"
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[poormadpeter2]

I have happened across Elvis's recording of Until It's Time for You to Go quite a lot recently. Firstly through the playing of the 60CD set, then by chance with the ipod on shuffle, and then after going through some LPs and playing the old Hits of the 70s album.

I confess that I have changed my mind about it. I've been rather uncomplimentary about Elvis's version in the past, saying that it was over-produced and heavy-handed in its vocal and arrangement. But I think was wrong about it. The vocal is more nuanced than I remembered, and the arrangement is almost stripped back compared to the horrendous Neil Diamond rendition of a year earlier which, at least in part, seems to be some of Elvis's influence here.

And there are some nice touches here, such as the violin counterpoint, used in a similar way to the Aloha version of My Way, and the soaring soprano at the end of the song. I'd still like to have had the master without the strings overdubbed on top, but they don't get in the way of the song.

Elvis's vocal isn't perfect - and it rarely was in these sessions - and there are times when he seems almost uncertain (he even flubs the final line if you listen closely), but it is certainly more tender than my memory would have me believe. And context helps too. It's far more effective on Hits of the 70s - following the loud and bombastic (although in a good way) Rags to Riches - rather than on Elvis Now where it follows the insipid Put Your Hand in the Hand.

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say you got it wrong!

[bajo]

Well, I was never really keen on this song when I first heard the single cw We Can Make The Morning. Maybe because I thought it was a strange choice for a single. The song has grown on me over the years and I must admit I've come to like it more than before. After hearing these other versions, I like Elvis' rendition even more. Still, I think the voice he had during those sessions wasn't ideal for the song, then. Strangely enough, the voice on the other songs that day sound so much better, imo.

[colonel snow]

Buffy Sainte Marie recorded in april 1965 the LP version (LP Vanguard 9171); in april 1965 she also recorded a different single version (Vanguard 35028).
She re-recorded the song in 1970 again for an album.

Other versions in 1965:
00-10-65 - Michael Blessing (Colpix CP 792) aka Michael Nesmit;
00-00-65 - The Four Pennies (UK - Philips BF 1435).


colonel snow

[r&b]

Never liked Elvis' version and still dont. Very bad single choice. I like Buffy's original though.

[brian]

if Elvis wanted to record this song for a folk album that would have been fine even though ironically his version doesn't sound like folk. I thought it was pointless to release it as a single.

[colonel snow]

Another recording not listed: 00-08-66 by Carolyn Daye (Liberty 55909).


colonel snow

[midnightx]

Elvis' cover of this track is a pleasant enough, as an under-the-radar piece. A horrible choice for a single. Producer, label, and artist all were losing sight of the plot when it was decided this was an appropriate commercial piece for Elvis.

[goldbelt]

I like Elvis' performance of this track a lot.

The master take from May 1971 is very good, as are the added violin and Millie Kirkham's beautiful high voice singing. Unfortunately, Elvis' slight vocal error as the track nears the finish line is a little jarring.

Elvis had another go at recording the song the following month and, although it misses the violin and high voice backing, a very nice alternate master was created during the June 1971 session - first released on the Essential Elvis Volume 4 CD.

Take 5 from May 1971, first found on the TT&F box set, is another take worthy of highlighting, beautiful backing from Millie on that one too.

Alternate Master (June 1971)
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Take 5 (May 1971)
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