The new video for ‘With Time’ by Beth Nielsen Chapman is a gorgeously produced performance piece to match the timeless class of the song. Chapman’s weary, emotional vocal is entirely convincing and absorbing, rising above the flow of her piano keys. Lyrically, Chapman’s words capture a feeling familiar to many, that of being caught in time’s fast-flowing currents, unable to move back and trapped into a future you don’t yet know; a sense of surging forwards too quickly, without control, but feeling that you still have so much more to offer. She sings: “You can’t catch the future // Or get back the past // Still, there’s a lot of life to live // Still, there’s a lot of love to give // I stand in the middle // I can’t know the end // Life likes to make me start over again.” This could be bitter or nostalgic but chapman’s sophisticated touch ensures that the theme, and the song, are ultimately hopeful and positive, highlighting the joy and magic to be found on our life’s journey in spite of the challenges.
The song was written with long-time friend Annie Roboff. Nielsen explains: “We worked on ’With Time’ over such a long period and from the moment we started to write it we knew it was an incredibly special song. The lyric was one of the more difficult lyrics I have ever tried to decode. I was really stumped at certain times and I would put it down for half of a year and then pick it back up and try to get one more syllable or one more phrase. When it was finally finished it was so clear what is I had always been wanting to say about wonder and time and love, the magic of life and the breath of our journey through it.”
‘With Time’ is taken from the forthcoming album ‘Crazytown’, due for release on 23rd September, which was produced by 5-time GRAMMY-winner Ray Kennedy, who has also worked with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and John Mellencamp. The songs on this collection cover the everyday stuff of life, whoever you are: love and loss. Universal truths and experiences make this an album that is easy to engage with and relate to. Chapman’s skill as a songwriter ensures that it’s all handled with a sense of poetry, dignity and sensitivity. Chapman says of the album: “It’s about navigating chaos. How, even despite everything being crazy, on some level one can trust that things are in divine order and that we will be OK. There’s a lot of groove and joy and fun on this album, along with a couple of deep dive ballads.”
The GRAMMY-nominated Nielsen and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, shows why she’s so highly regarded on this single. Simply put, it’s melodious and beautiful. Check it out.
