Singer Carly Simon brings us today’s classic song of the day, “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain.” Included in her album, Hotcakes (the one with a pregnant Carly on the cover), the single was released in April of 1974 and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #2 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” was written by Ms. Simon (music) and her longtime collaborator Jacob Brackman (words). The song is about a woman celebrating her new love and being able to leave the pain of past relationships behind:
All those crazy nights
When I cried myself to sleep
Now melodrama never makes me weep anymore
You showed me how
How to leave myself behind
How to turn down the noise in my mind
Now I haven’t got time for the pain
I haven’t got room for the pain
I haven’t the need for the pain
Not since I’ve known you
The musicians backing Carly on this one included then-husband James Taylor and session ace Jimmy Ryan on acoustic guitars, Klaus Voormann on bass, Ralph McDonald on percussion, and the legendary Jim Keltner on drums. Carly played piano and Paul Buckmaster did the string arrangement. Buckmaster also did the strings for Elton John’s “Levon” and “Tiny Dancer,” as well as Ms. Simon’s previous hit, “You’re So Vain.”
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s then-52-year-old Carly Simon singing “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” live at New York’s Grand Central Station in 1995. For someone who is notoriously stage shy, Carly has one helluva presence and command of the room when singing live.
