About The Song
Ray Price delivered a heartfelt take on the Western swing classic “Time Changes Everything” as part of his 1962 tribute album *Ray Price Sings San Antonio Rose*. Released by Columbia Records in May of that year, the project featured a full set of Bob Wills favorites and quickly earned widespread respect. In Billboard magazine’s annual poll of country and western disc jockeys, the album ranked as the number one favorite country LP of 1962, a notable achievement during an era when Price was balancing his signature shuffle sound with the smoother Nashville production style.
The song itself dates back more than two decades earlier. Tommy Duncan, the longtime vocalist and primary songwriter for Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, penned “Time Changes Everything” in the late 1930s. The Texas Playboys recorded it on April 15, 1940, at a makeshift studio in Saginaw, Texas, and released it on OKeh Records that September. It became one of their stronger singles of the year, helping establish the tune as a Western swing standard. Duncan’s original version captured the easy swing and emotional directness that defined the Texas dance-hall sound Price had grown up admiring.
Born in Perryville, East Texas, in 1926, Price maintained a lifelong connection to the music of his home state. He had served in the Marines during World War II before launching his career on regional radio and the Big D Jamboree in Dallas. By the early 1950s he had moved to Nashville, formed the Cherokee Cowboys, and scored major hits that popularized what fans called the “Ray Price beat.” Even as he helped shape modern country, Price never forgot the Western swing pioneers like Wills whose fiddle-and-steel-driven sound had first inspired him. Recording an entire album of Wills material in 1961 felt like a natural return to those roots.
Sessions for the album took place on September 25, 1961, at Bradley Studios in Nashville under producers Don Law and Frank Jones. Price was joined by top session players including guitarist Grady Martin, fiddler Tommy Jackson, pedal steel guitarist Jimmy Day, and pianist Pig Robbins. Notably, a young Willie Nelson, who had once played bass in Price’s band and written songs for his publishing company, contributed acoustic guitar. The arrangement kept the Western swing flavor alive while allowing Price’s rich baritone to shine through with the warmth and maturity he had developed over more than a decade of recording.
The lyrics unfold as a straightforward reflection on lost love and the passage of time. The narrator recalls a romance that once felt eternal—“There was a time that I thought of no other / And we sang our own love’s refrain”—only to watch it fade. Each verse ends with the simple, resigned chorus line “But time changes everything,” acknowledging how heartbreak eventually loses its sting. Rather than bitterness, the song offers quiet acceptance, a theme that resonated with listeners familiar with the ups and downs of life on the road and in the honky-tonks.
By the time Price recorded the track, country music was shifting toward more polished arrangements, yet he chose to honor the raw swing energy that had launched his influences. The album as a whole demonstrated his versatility and respect for tradition at a moment when many artists were moving away from their early styles. AllMusic later awarded the release five stars, praising the way Price brought new life to these classics without losing their spirit.
“Time Changes Everything” remains a subtle but telling example of Ray Price’s deep ties to Texas music history. Long after the album’s release, the song continued to appear on tribute projects by artists such as George Jones and Merle Haggard, underscoring its place as a lasting standard. For Price, who would collaborate again with Willie Nelson on another San Antonio Rose-themed project nearly two decades later, it stood as both a nod to the past and a reminder of the enduring power of honest country storytelling.
Video
Lyric
There was a time that I thought of no other
And we sang our own love’s refrain
Our hearts beat as one as we had our fun
But time changes everything
When you left me my poor heart was broken
Our romance seemed all in vain
The dark clouds’re gone and there’s blue skies again
The time changes everything
— Instrumental —
You can change the name of an old song
Rearrange it and make it swing
I thought nothing could stop me from loving you
But time changes everything
So goodluck to you, may God bless you
I can’t say I won’t love again
You’ve gone your way and now I’ll go mine
‘Cause time has changed everything…