Elvis Presley hit the top 20 on the country music charts in the early 1970s with a heartbreaking Willie Nelson song written a decade earlier.
Nelson penned “Funny How Time Slips Away” in 1961 during a particularly productive week of songwriting. According to American Songwriter, Nelson created the songs while commuting from Pasadena, Texas, to the Esquire Ballroom in Houston.
That one week, he wrote “Crazy,” “Night Life,” and “Funny How Time Slips Away.” In an interview posted by Kera News, Nelson shared the details of that iconic songwriting week.
“In one week, I wrote ‘Crazy,’ ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ and ‘Night Life,’” the country icon explained. “That’s when I decided maybe to go to Nashville.”
Parade Daily🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬
“So I took off to Nashville in my ’46 Buick and went immediately to a place called Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, where I had heard was the spot to be if you want to find some songwriters. And, sure enough, it was the great spot to be.”
Nelson concluded, “I wish I had known then what [the songs] were going to do. Maybe it’s better that I didn’t—made enough mistakes as it was. I had no idea that these songs would be as successful as they have been.”
After country singer Billy Walker and Nelson’s own version, Presley took a swing at the bittersweet song. He released it in 1971 on his 13th album, Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old). The album was a hit, reaching number 12 on the charts.
“Funny How Time Slips Away” is Nelson reflecting on how quickly love can fade. The lyrics are bittersweet, noticing how relationships can drift apart before partners even realize they are over.
In 1971, Rolling Stone reviewed the hit Presley album. Author Peter Guralnick wrote, “The core of the album, and perhaps the core of Elvis’ music itself, are the soulful gospel-flavored ballads, ‘Tomorrow Never Comes,’ ‘Funny (How Time Slips Away),’ and the Eddie Arnold-Solomon classic, ‘I Really Don’t Want to Know.’ “
Guralnick added, “The way in which [Elvis] uses his voice, his dramatic exploitation of vocal contrast, the alternate intensity and effortless nonchalance of his approach all put one in mind of a singer who passed this way before, only going the other way. And here he uses these qualities to create a music which, while undeniably country, puts him in touch more directly with the soul singer than with traditional country music.”
Ironically, Nelson and Presley were reportedly big fans of each other’s work. In a 1991 interview with Bob Costas, Nelson said he never met the King of Rock and Roll. However, they remained connected through music.
“Elvis came out when I was a disc jockey, and I was playing country music,” Nelson explained. “He came out and he was doing rock and roll, or blues, or whatever they called it back then. I got a little criticism for it, from some of the old dye in the wool puritan country fans, but I thought he was great.”
Nelson added that he saw Presley live in the latter part of his career. “I saw him when he was in Vegas, but I never met him.”
Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in August 1977. Willie Nelson, 92, recently wrapped his Outlaw Music Festival after a Summer of shows.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
