“Time in a Bottle” was a posthumous number-one hit for singer-songwriter Jim Croce, reaching the top of the charts in December 1973, three months after his death in a plane crash.

The song was originally written for Croce’s son, A.J., and appeared on his first album in 1972, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. The following year Croce would shoot to fame with his hit single “Bad Bad Leroy Brown“, just months before the September 20 plane crash. Time in a Bottle was later used as the title for a compilation album of Croce’s love songs.

The song started receiving widespread airplay in the fall of 1973, after it was featured in an ABC TV movie, She Lives!, starring Desi Arnaz Jr. and Season Hubley. (Wikipedia)

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Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce.
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Transcribed by Brian O’Flaherty.

Intro.

-5—5—5–3—3—3—-3–0–1–3–1–0———-3–2–0—-
–3—2———————————–2–3–5–5–3–2—-
———-5—4—3—3—————————————
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Bridge

———–3–2–0–
–2–3–5–5–3–2–
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Verse 1
Dm Dm7# Dm7 Dm6
If I could save time in a bottle
Gm6 Bridge
The first thing that I’d like to do
Dm Dm7 Gm6 Dm
Is to save every day ’til eternity passes away
Gm6 Bridge
Just to spend them with you.

Verse 2

If I could make days last forever,
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then again
I would spend them with you.

Chorus
D Dmaj7
But there never seems to be enough time
D6 D G G7 Em7 A7 Bridge
To do the things you want to do once you find them.
I’ve looked around enough to know that
your the one I want to go through time with.

Verse 3

If I had a box just for wishes
and dreams that had never come true.
The box would be empty except for the memory of
how they were answered by you.

Chords

Dm xx0231
Dm7# xx0221
Dm7 xx0211
Dm6 xx0201
Gm6 xx2333
Dmaj7 xx0222
D6 xx0202
G 320003
G7 320002
Em7 022030
A7 x02223

Ending
—–1—–1—0—–1—–1—0—–1—–1—0–1—–
—3—–3—0—–3—–3—0—–3—–3—0—-3—–
-2—–2———2—–2———2—–2———-2—–
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