By Dr. Tim Seelig—
OK, I know it’s Father Time, but for this septuagenarian, it’s Grandfather Time. Much has been said about time. As you get older, you realize there is not an endless supply. The time is marked, “While Supplies Last.” Time is a finite number. The problem is, we don’t have any clue what that number is. It is one of the oddities and challenges of our time on this planet.
It is very tempting to go to Claude, Claudette, Groc, or Ms. Groc for help. They would have plenty to say, even TMI. They could write an 800-word article in two minutes. But I resisted. They know lots of stuff, but they don’t know me or my favorite music! My music career now spans more than 70 years; I have sung and conducted hundreds of songs about time. I can be my own personal AI agent on this one. It’s a tiny bit of the soundtrack of my life.
If we asked AI how much time we have left on the planet, it might be an answer we don’t want to hear! The recent revelations that AI might end life on the planet in 10 years fell differently on everyone’s ears. Regardless of how old you might be, one reaction shared by all is, “Well, we better get with it and live every moment as if it were the last.” It’s not that easy. Life gets in the way, and we are distracted by all the things. Sandi Patty’s song “The Stage Is Bare” refers to them as “daily days.” We don’t have time for just plain old daily days.
There was a lot of talk about time in the church. Time was used as a fear tactic. If you walked out of the church service and were hit by a bus and you weren’t right with God, not only was your life over, but you were also going to burn for eternity. Eternity is apparently a long time! We were also reminded that no one was allowed to know the big secret—when Jesus would come back and all hell/heaven would break loose. We weren’t even supposed to guess. All we knew was that it was coming soon! The current trouble in the Middle East has only stoked the flames of prophecy coming true. (See what I did there with the flames.)
In the evangelical church, I think we only got stuff from the Old Testament when there was some tidbit that would enhance the fear of the New Testament. The Byrds broke that rule and used Ecclesiastes in 1965 in a song we sang this last concert: “Turn, Turn, Turn.”
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to love, and a time to hate.”
Speaking of time, we could all sing along with the 1996 hit, “Seasons of Love,” from Rent. “525,600 minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?” The musical hit on so many difficult lessons that had not been on a national stage. Included in these was the fact that the composer Jonathan Larson died of an aortic aneurysm the night before the show’s off-Broadway premiere. It was his time—so they say. That’s a terrible thing to say.
For those of us who were in the middle of the AIDS pandemic, time became an even more precious thing. In 1996, David Friedman wrote “We Live on Borrowed Time” for the incredible Nancy LaMott. It was later recorded by Barry Manilow. By 1996, we were just seeing the light at the end of the tunnel out of our journey with AIDS. We had first-hand knowledge of these words.
“We live on borrowed time
Yesterday is past, tomorrow seems a million miles away
But I promise you that I’m gonna make love last
By living every moment, every hour, every day.”
There were hundreds of songs over the next 30 years. I would love to share more, but that article would be a book. I hope you are thinking of your own. There are heroic anthems, love songs, and requiems.
Eighteen months ago, something changed with my new chorus, Portland Sage Singers: Q+ Elders and Allies. You must be 55 to join, and the average age is around 70. These people know all about time. These people know how to have a good time. These people are not interested in the drama of youth. Time’s just too short.
We titled our very first concert Our Time, after the Stephen Sondheim song from Merrily We Roll Along. The words are: “It’s our time, breathe it in, worlds to change and worlds to win.” We followed that up with a gorgeous song by Stephen Schwartz. Let me tell you a story about that one.
If you read this column regularly, you know that Stephen is a friend. He had Bobby and me over for tea last November when we were in New York City. As we sat on his sofa, I told him that our favorite Sage Singers song was “In Whatever Time We Have” from Children of Eden. As I told him how deeply it touched chorus and audience alike, he teared up and could hardly speak. It’s still one of our favorites.
“In whatever time we have
For as long as we are living
We can face whatever comes
If we face it now as one.”
Stephen wasn’t the only one who wiped away tears when it was sung by 100 oldies. Jump ahead to our last concert. We sang a song by an amazing songwriter, Bobby Jo Valentine. It’s titled “Most Good Things Take Time.” It begins with a little boy who can’t grow a garden because he is impatient, waters too much, and picks the fruit long before it’s time. After growing up, experiencing life to its fullest, and learning its lessons, he decides to try again.
Finishing out Grandfather Time’s Playlist is one for the ages and one of my absolute favorites. Please go listen to Susan Werner singing “May I Suggest.” It will make your day. You may cry.
Dr. Tim Seelig is the Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. http://www.timseelig.com/
TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation
Published on October 8, 2026
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