King's major success began in the 1960s when she and her first husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote more than two dozen chart hits, many of which have become standards, for numerous artists. She has continued writing for other artists since then. King's success as a performer in her own right did not come until the 1970s, when she sang her own songs, accompanying herself on the piano, in a series of albums and concerts. After experiencing commercial disappointment with her debut album Writer, King scored her breakthrough with the album Tapestry, which topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks in 1971 and remained on the charts for more than six years.
King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry, which held the record for most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist for more than 20 years. Her record sales were estimated at more than 75 million copies worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a performer and songwriter. She is the recipient of the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first woman to be so honored. She is also a 2015 Kennedy Center Honoree.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_King
Studio albums
Writer (1970)
Tapestry (1971)
Music (1971)
Rhymes & Reasons (1972)
Fantasy (1973)
Wrap Around Joy (1974)
Thoroughbred (1976)
Simple Things (1977)
Welcome Home (1978)
Touch the Sky (1979)
Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King (1980)
One to One (1982)
Speeding Time (1983)
City Streets (1989)
Colour of Your Dreams (1993)
Love Makes the World (2001)
A Holiday Carole (2011)
Speeding Time
Carole King Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your illusions disappear
And you fear the speeding time
You find a dream that you embrace
Look the other way and it's a race
Trying to keep pace with the speeding time
And its not easy to laugh at your defeat
But hang in--hold on
There will be relief
Y'gotta try, gotta try to keep your love alive
In this speeding time
Get your feet on solid ground
It's a nightmare you have found
The howling sound of speeding time
Y'hear the cries behind stone walls
Decipher echoes down the halls
But don't you fall in the speeding time
Drifting back is no way to begin
Y'gotta try to find the strength within
And hang in--hold on
There will be relief
Y'gotta try, gotta try to keep your love alive
In this speeding time
You never listened when the prophets said
Prepare yourself for times that lie ahead
Now that you know they didn't speak a lie
There's nothing for you to do except to try
And hang in--hold on
Oh, hang in--hold on
There will be relief
Y'gotta try, gotta try to keep your love alive
In this speeding time
The song "Speeding Time" by Carole King is a reflection on the rapid passage of time, and how it can leave one feeling overwhelmed and fearful. The lyrics suggest that as you get older, time seems to pass by faster and faster, and the illusions of youth disappear. The rushing pace of life can make it feel like a struggle to keep up, and there is a sense that life is slipping away. Despite this, the song suggests that there is hope and relief to be found in holding on and keeping love alive.
The opening lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The idea that decades can pass in just one year is a powerful metaphor for how quickly time seems to fly by as one gets older. The loss of illusions and the fear of the future are common themes in Carole King's music, and this song is no exception. The line "Trying to keep pace with the speeding time" captures the sense of struggle that can accompany growing older.
The chorus of the song offers a message of hope: "Y'gotta try, gotta try to keep your love alive in this speeding time." The song suggests that despite the challenges that come with the passage of time, there is still a way to find relief and hold on to what matters most.
Line by Line Meaning
Decades pass in just one year
Time moves quickly and before you know it, you have lost decades.
And your illusions disappear
As time goes on, the things that you believed to be true as a younger person lose their hold on you.
And you fear the speeding time
The way that time moves can be scary and anxiety-inducing.
You find a dream that you embrace
Sometimes, the only way to keep going is to focus on a dream and work towards it.
Look the other way and it's a race
If you don't stay focused on your dream, time will feel like a race that you can never win.
Trying to keep pace with the speeding time
It's difficult to keep up with the speed of time and can be exhausting to try.
Don't see no more dancin' on the street
As time passes, you may lose touch with the things that brought you joy in your younger years.
And its not easy to laugh at your defeat
Accepting defeat with humor is harder as you get older and have experienced more losses.
But hang in--hold on
Despite the challenges of time, it's important to keep going and hold on to hope.
There will be relief
There are moments of solace and relief even in turbulent times.
Y'gotta try, gotta try to keep your love alive
It's important to try to hold onto love and the things that matter to you even when time is difficult.
Get your feet on solid ground
In order to withstand the challenges of time, it's important to be grounded and stable.
It's a nightmare you have found
Time can feel like a nightmare that you can't escape.
The howling sound of speeding time
The sound of time can be unsettling and distressing.
Y'hear the cries behind stone walls
It can be difficult to understand and process the emotions that come with time.
Decipher echoes down the halls
Echoes of the past can ring throughout time and affect us in the present.
But don't you fall in the speeding time
It's important to hold onto yourself and not lose yourself in the chaos of time.
Drifting back is no way to begin
It's not helpful to get stuck in the past and dwell on what could have been.
Y'gotta try to find the strength within
Finding inner strength is essential when facing the challenges of time.
You never listened when the prophets said
Warnings about the challenges of time may have been ignored in the past.
Prepare yourself for times that lie ahead
It's important to be prepared for the difficulties of the future.
Now that you know they didn't speak a lie
The warnings about time were true, and we have to face them.
There's nothing for you to do except to try
Even when the challenges of time seem insurmountable, trying is still important.
Oh, hang in--hold on
Once again, it's important to hold onto hope and keep going.
Writer(s): Carole King, Gerald Goffin
Contributed by Victoria B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.