For a long time, I was daunted to write about Time of Our Lives, mostly because I felt I couldn’t do the song any real justice. It stands, for me, as one of the most well constructed and fully realised songs of the modern era. It sits comfortably in my personal top songs of all time – not just because I have kind of a Perri crush, but because it’s just so darn good! How do you classify it. Is it a ballad? Pop? Hip-hop adjacent? The answer is probably yes to all three, and that mix seems part of its strength.
What distinguishes Time of Our Lives is not just its lyrics – direct, uncluttered, and emotionally intelligent – but the way the song unfolds. It builds slowly, layering momentum until it reaches a crescendo. There’s a sense of movement throughout, as though the song itself is mirroring the fleeting nature of the moments it describes. In that way, it captures something like the feeling of living through something meaningful before you’ve had time to recognise its significance. The song almost passes by as quickly as the listener has time to ingest its meaning, much like a moment in life itself.
I used Time of Our Lives as an informal soundtrack to a family trip along Colombia’s Caribbean coast a few years ago, particularly during our stay in Palomino. We stayed in a small, rustic, artisan-run beach spot. Below is a short video I shared from a nearby restaurant-bar.. well we were tired, hungry, a little sunburnt, waiting on pizzas.
Perri encapsulates in this song the pure, unfiltered joy and exuberance of finding yourself at one with yourself, family, and love. It sounds hip and modern, yet at the same time reminiscent, full of life-changing moments unfolding before your eyes. Moments so absorbing that you barely find time to reflect on how meaningful they are. The song embodies that very feeling: it’s so complete and immersive that it seems to pass by in the blink of an eye.
That’s how it seems to me – call me sentimental – but that’s how big it is to me. And above all that, I don’t know how she did it. Like all the greats, I honestly have no idea how she was able to make that song a reality in the midst of motherhood and while overcoming her own personal grief. That is pure art from an artesana.
[Verse 1]
I was younger, the summers were longer
I had no fear, I was stronger and freer
With fire, a fire that didn’t expire
The reason or meaning of somethin’ to believe in
I was hopeful we had it, the magic
The love that we had wasn’t tragic, so we grabbed it, we went there
Nothin’ but air, so we breathed it, ’cause we need it
To free fall for somethin’ we believed in
[Chorus]
Lookin’ back through my eyеs, everybody says goodbye
Whеre did all the time fly by, where did it go, you know?
Do you feel my heartbeat? ‘Cause, darlin’ it’s not over yet
Where did all the time fly by, where did it go, you know?
These are the times of our lives
[Verse 2]
I was fearless, I was able, I was brave
Put all of my cards on the table, didn’t waste them
All of my demons that turned into dreams
And I chased them, I faced them, replaced them for somethin’ to believe in
[Pre-Chorus]
I don’t remember the rain (I don’t remember)
I don’t remember the details (All the details)
There’s nothin’ that I wanna change
I’d do it again and again and again
[Chorus]
Lookin’ back through my eyes, everybody says goodbye
Where did all the time fly by, where did it go, you know?
Fallin’ like a sunset, but, darlin’ it’s not over yet
Where did all the time fly by, where did it go, you know?
These are the times of our lives
[Post-Chorus]
‘Cause we hope and we pray
Keep ’em close, make ’em stay
Yeah, we hold back the time, like the clock, I rewind
Hold your breath, one more time, don’t forget you’re alive
These are the times of our lives
These are the times of our lives, oh
These are the times of our lives
These are the times of our lives, ooh
These are the times of our lives
[Outro]
You’re older, the sunlight is shorter
Am I the girl in the corner?
I dream to adore her
A moment forever before us, I’m in it
And you are, someone to believe in
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I know how fond you are of Christina Perri, and I think you have a solid case. She’s a pretty decent songwriter and vocalist! And let’s be honest. She’s also not unpleasant to look at!
Thanks man. As far as her songwriting is concerned her latest album I think hits lyrically Cohen territory. It may sound extreme but if you listen (or just read the lyrics alone) to ‘Blue’, ‘People Like You’ and ‘Evergone’ you could be forgiven for thinking they were Leonard Cohen lyrics. But Perri is like a 30 something year old in motherhood. The class of music artistry she has is really on another level – not to quote Cohen’s great song ‘On the Level’ Haha
Such a young girl to be writing a song like this. I wonder what she’ll be writing when she’s truly old ~ like my age.
Creative geniuses just tend to write stuff that’s beyond their years, I guess.
Or you always feel older than you actually are ~ feeling old is different than maturity. Take from an old broad LOL
You know I realised I was getting older when I stopped getting looks from sweet things on the street a good while ago now. So, now the hunted has become the hunter (so to speak), relying on charm – which I never really had. Haha.
Same here.