Savor—as if you have a lifetime—one young man’s chilling cover of Jim Croce’s classic ‘Time in a Bottle.’ It will be moments well spent!

Meet 15-year-old Cormac Thompson of Lancashire, England. According to the musical timeline on his website, Cormac took his first singing lesson when he was 8, and he’s been busy since then. In May of 2020, he sang ‘Danny Boy’ during a video chat with his maternal grandparents in Ireland. He’d hoped to cheer them during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, but after his recording was shared and went viral, he was offered a record deal with Decca Records. He is the youngest singer to have ever signed a global record deal!  

Here, Cormac sings one of Jim Croce’s most famous songs. The teen singer’s voice has changed a lot in recent months, becoming more mature and deeper. Several of the nearly 300 comments reference how beautifully Cormac’s voice is changing. Others praise his rendition of the song, saying that his voice is like a “healing balm.” Cormac’s voice, Jim Croce’s lyrics, and the video images are perfect!

The video opens with a view of footprints in golden sand and the incoming tide, followed promptly by an hourglass and Cormac casually seated on a stool in the studio. His rich, pure notes are complemented by the mood created in the video. The song is wistful and pensive. It’s hard to imagine a person of his age truly understanding the fleeting nature of time, the way days, months, and years escape us. However, Cormac is convincing.

At 1:15, we see a film strip sliding across the screen; it seems to be a metaphor for life as a movie. There are spinning clock faces, and, at 1:25, we see digits in jars flip forward like years against a wall of gears. Though it is hard to catch, the very first year that appears is 1972. That happens to be the year that ‘Time in a Bottle’ was recorded. The song appeared on Mr. Croce’s 1972 album You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. 

As the video wraps up, we see stacks of old letters and photos and, finally, images of a young girl as she ages into an old woman and a dandelion as its seeds are blown in the wind. It really is a beautiful video!

Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash on September 20, 1973, at the age of 30. It seems prophetic that the artist wrote a song about making the most of days and valuing time. Cormac’s career is just beginning, and we hope he has a very long one ahead. He will surely bless the world just as the writer of the song that he sang so beautifully!

“for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.” Job 8:9