"Time Changes Everything" is a Western swing standard

Standard (music)

In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...

 written by Tommy Duncan

Tommy Duncan

Thomas Elmer Duncan , better known as Tommy Duncan, was a pioneering American Western swing vocalist and songwriter who gained fame in the 1930s as a founding member of The Texas Playboys...

, the long-time vocalist with Bob Wills

Bob Wills

James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...

 and The Texas Playboys. Written as a ballad, the lyrics tell of a failed romance and of the hurt that has healed. Each verse ends with:

... time changes everything.

The Texas Playboys first recorded "Time Changes Everything" in 1940 (OKeh 05753). It became on of the top singles that year. Artists ranging from Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...

 (Decca 5908, 1940, with Spade Cooley

Spade Cooley

Donnell Clyde Cooley , better known as Spade Cooley, was an American Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality...

 on fiddle) to Woody Herman and His Orchestra

Woody Herman

Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...

 (Decca 3751, 1941) soon brought out competing records. The Roy Rogers version reached #4 on Billboard's "Hillbilly...Hits" chart in October, 1941

It has been recorded numerous times since, including on tribute albums by George Jones

George Jones

George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....

 (George Jones Sings Bob Wills

George Jones Sings Bob Wills

George Jones Sings Bob Wills is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1962 on the United Artists Records...

), Ray Price

Ray Price (musician)

Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...

 ("San Antonio Rose") and Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

 (A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)).