Lyrics for Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is... as interpreted by Demau Senae

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is... Lyrics
As I was walking down the street one day
A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch, yeah
And I said

Does anybody really know what time it is
Does anybody really care
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to cry

And I was walking down the street one day
A pretty lady looked at me and said her diamond watch had stopped cold dead
And I said

Does anybody really know what time it is
Does anybody really care
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to cry

And I waq walking down the street one day
Being pushed and shoved by people trying to beat the clock, oh, no I just don't know
I don't know
And I said, yes I said

Background:
People runnin' everywhere
Don't know where to go
Don't know where I am
Can't see past the next step
Don't have time to think past the last mile
Have no time to look around
Just run around, run around and think why

Does anybody really know what time it is
Does anybody really care
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to d

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  • 12 Comments
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adambomb02
01-14-2002

Rated -1 
i guess it just is talking about New York City. You have an ordinary guy who is just strolling down the city blocks, and gets bombarded with people asking him what time it is because they are in a rush to get somewhere. People have to meet deadlines, they are in a constant rush, and must know what time it is, in order not to be late. Even an upper class, probably Central Park West lady, came up to the man, (diamond watch) means, she is rich, and even she asked for the time. The city represents money as well as the phrase "the city never sleeps." Being pushed and shoved by people trying to beat the clock, its obviously new york city, peoplerushing to get to their destinations on time.

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stephibaby
05-08-2003

Rated 0 
this is an awesome song...i think we're playing it in jazz band this year...which would rule.

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Rfeynman
09-25-2004

Rated 0 
I think the writer is trying to say "slow down, relax". The diamond watch reference is to show that to this woman time is very valuable. Of course it would be nice to have the kind of life where you can disregard time, but we can't all be rock and roll stars.

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sgtpepper
12-15-2004

Rated 0 
Does anybody really know what time it is? That is the ultimate rhetorical question. Does anyone REALLY know? Well that's a thought.

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washingtonative91
07-30-2005

Rated 0 
Great song about making your way through the big city.

It Also brings up a good question. Does anybody REALLY know what time it is?

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freakishorde
03-24-2006

Rated 0 
As far as the "we can't all be rock and roll stars" goes, at the time this was written they weren't stars (this was on their first album - which of course was a big success). So it seems much more sincere to me, as if a more average person were singing and feeling it.

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Ilayaraaja1986
04-23-2006

Rated 0 
After listening to this song on repeat for a whole night I've come to conclude that this song is about somebody going psycho, honestly. One day this fellow was just taking a strole down the street, he was probably high on something, till somebody asked him for the time, and then a thought just him: 'Why?' and it just ramified from there. He couldn't stop these thoughts, they just kept on coming.

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zeppy19991
05-10-2006

Rated 0 
it kinda sounds to me like this guy is a bit depressed about something

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norder
03-21-2007

Rated 0 
Great song on a great album. Sad that Chicago kind of declined (imo) after they got popular.

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raunchy
07-14-2007

Rated 0 
"Does anybody really care
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to cry/die"

To add on the theme of "slow down, and relax" these lyrics express how people are too busy to care about time, and if they allow themselves to make time, they can express human emotion, like sadness for example. (you have time enough to cry) Or, they will realize if they do not take time to experience "human emotions" etc., then life will pass them by, and they will die without experiencing anything profound (oh, but you have time enough to die!)

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Mattbluhalofan
07-18-2007

Rated 0 
This was Chicago's first big hit. And, for the record, this song helped me get into my high school jazz choir (I used this for my audition piece).

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Rumpelstiltskin
07-28-2009

Rated 0 
This is an anti-war song. Was written in the time of the Veitnam War when guys of their age were getting drafted and dying in large numbers. It was also a time when you couldn't just come out with an anti-war song if you wanted to make it as musicians (I believe this was their first single), which explains why the references are veiled.

So the time of the day seems rather trivial when your buddies are dying in Nam and you are worried about being drafted. "We've all got time enough to cry/die" seems pretty obvious. Meanwhile all of the older crowd (the ones old enough to not be drafted) are running around worried about making a buck. Remember there was also a large disparity in that the poor kids were often drafted while rich kids often found ways to avoid going to Nam. You see this also in CCR's 'Fortunate Son.'

'A pretty lady looked at me and said her diamond watch had stopped cold dead.' Again we have the rich/poor dichotomy along with an allusion to the thousands of dead soldiers in Nam.

Just my two cents, but I must say I was surprised no one else commented on this song being largely related to the Vietnam War.

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