For most of my life, I have made it my business to be on time as often as possible. I think punctuality is an admirable trait that demonstrates responsibility and consideration for others. 

Still, there have been instances when I have not acted in a timely fashion, like showing up late to a play, movie or wedding, which can come across as rude. Other times, I missed a deadline or let too much time go by (signing up for a health plan by the deadline, taking too long to apologize for bad behavior) and it cost me money or damaged a friendship. Sometimes, being late can’t be helped, like when unforseen traffic tie-ups cause us to miss a flight.

There are people in my life who don’t share my desire to be prompt. Perhaps their parents didn’t stress the importance of being punctual, so it’s never been all that important to them. In their defense, they are often ambitious folks who try unsuccessfully to cram too many tasks into too little time and end up late for most everything. Their intentions may be good, but their time management skills need improvement. 

Just as I enjoy the feeling of being on time, it makes me a little crazy when I realize I miscalculated how much time it takes to get somewhere and am now going to be late. There’s a scene in Walt Disney’s 1951 animated film version of “Alice in Wonderland” where The Rabbit, on his way to an “Un-Birthday Party,” checks his watch and realizes he’s running behind schedule. He frantically runs off, singing: “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date, /No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”

Popular songwriters have written plenty of songs about being late. I found it interesting that there are at least ten different songs that share the title “It’s Too Late,” generally referring to a person being too tardy to change one’s ways and save a romantic relationship. I’ve rounded up 15 songs from the 1950s through the 2010s that focus on the consequences of failing to act in a timely manner. There’s a Spotify playlist at the end, including multiple versions of some songs.

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“It’s Too Late,” Carole King, 1971

After toiling away for a decade in New York’s famed Brill Building writing many hit singles for other acts like The Shirrelles, Bobby Lee, Herman’s Hermits, The Monkees and Aretha Franklin, King divorced her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin and moved to LA, where she began her second career as a performing artist. Her second LP, 1971’s “Tapestry,” became one of the biggest sellers of all time, and its double-sided single “It’s Too Late”/”I Feel the Earth Move” topped the charts as well. On “It’s Too Late,” King and her new songwriting collaborator Toni Stern captured the resigned feeling of knowing when it’s time for a once-great relationship to end. Several R&B artists, notable The Stylistics, Billy Paul and The Isley Brothers, recorded their own versions of the song within the next year or so.

“Too Late For Goodbyes,” Julian Lennon, 1984

When he was only five years old, Julian Lennon’s father John divorced his mother Cynthia and, from then on, the boy rarely saw his father, and never fully reconciled with him before Lennon’s murder in 1980. So it was only natural that many people interpreted Julian’s single, “Too Late for Goodbyes,” as being about the estranged father-son relationship, but that’s not the case. ”Initially, it was about a relationship with a girl, that’s all,” he said. “The phrase kept coming up as I was working on the music , so I stuck with it for the title and chorus.” It reached #5 on US charts in early 1985, followed by “Valotte,” the album’s title song, which peaked at #9.

“Late For the Sky,” Jackson Browne, 1974

Browne, a masterful lyricist, had only a handful of hit singles, but his first seven albums (1972-1983) all reached platinum or multi-platinum status and were widely praised. His third LP had no singles but is considered by many to be his masterpiece, with tracks like “Fountain of Sorrow,” “For a Dancer” and “The Late Show.” The lyrics of the title cut (which some speculate are about his affair with Joni Mitchell) poignantly tell of a relationship that’s doomed to fail because the lover’s expectations of him are too great: “You never knew what I loved in you, I don’t know what you loved in me, /Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be…”

“It’s Too Late,” Derek and The Dominos, 1970

R&B singer/songwriter Chuck Willis wrote and recorded this song (about taking too long to tell someone you care about them) in 1956, reaching #3 on the R&B charts that year. Other legendary artists later recorded it as well, including Buddy Holly and The Crickets (1957), Roy Orbison (1960), Otis Redding (1965) and Freddie King (1969). I hadn’t heard any of these versions when Eric Clapton, then leading Derek and The Dominos, added their own take on it to the landmark 1970 double LP “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.” Clapton’s singing and guitar fills, along with Bobby Whitlock’s counterpoint vocals, made it one of my favorite tracks on the LP. The Dominos performed “It’s Too Late” on “The Johnny Cash Show” in 1971 in the group’s only TV appearance.

“Too Late to Turn Back Now,” Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, 1972

In 1970, Rose Cornelius had been touring and making TV appearances as part of a group called The Gospel Jazz Singers. When her brothers, Eddie and Carter, won a recording contract with United Artists, they convinced their sister to join their act, somewhat awkwardly titled Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose. They scored a #3 hit in the summer of 1971 with the Eddie Cornelius tune “Treat Her Like a Lady.” A year later, the follow-up single “Too Late to Turn Back Now” (also by Eddie Cornelius) made it to #2, and although they managed two more minor chart appearances in the autumn of 1972, they disbanded in 1975 when both brothers joined different religious sects.

“Little Too Late,” Pat Benatar, 1982

In the fall of 1982, Benatar released her third consecutive Top Five LP, “Get Nervous,” carried by her Grammy-winning single “Shadows of the Night.” The follow-up single, “Little Too Late,” which reached #20, was written by the underrated singer/songwriter Alex Call, who also co-wrote the Tommy Tutone hit “867-5309/Jenny” and Huey Lewis’s “Perfect World,” as well as lost classics like “Just Another Saturday Night,” “New Romeo” and “Blue Avenue.” The song’s lyrics put the cheating boyfriend in his place: “And now you come collapsin’ back, I feel the heat of your attack, /Want me to take you back, I’m givin’ you the sack, so don’t waste your time, /It’s a little too little, it’s a little too late…”

“It’s Late,” Rick Nelson, 1959

Rockabilly singer Dorsey Burnette Jr., who formed the Rock and Roll Trio with brother Johnny Burnette, wrote “It’s Late” in 1958 and recorded it that year, but it was never released until included on a compilation record in 1980. In early 1959, Nelson, then a TV celebrity on the family sitcom “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” and a burgeoning pop idol in his own right, took his version of “It’s Late” to #9 on the US charts, his eighth of 18 Top Ten singles in his career (“Poor Little Fool,” “Hello Mary Lou,” “Travelin’ Man,” “Garden Party,” among others). He once performed the song on the TV show, as he often did with his hit singles as his singing career blossomed.

“Late For Your Life,” Mary Chapin Carpenter, 2001

Carpenter emerged from the Washington D.C. area in the late ’80s and enjoyed a successful run of hit singles and Top Ten albums in the 1990s, mostly on the country music charts (“Down at the Twist and Shout,” “Passionate Kisses,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” “Shut Up and Kiss Me”). After a five-year hiatus, Carpenter returned in 2001 with her “Time*Sex*Love*” LP, which maintained her streak of Top Ten country albums despite a lack of charting singles. One that should’ve done well was “Late For Your Life,” which urges us to act before it’s too late: “A change of scene would sure be great, the thought is nice to contemplate, /But the question begs: Why would you wait? Don’t be late for your life…”

“It’s Too Late,” Wilson Pickett, 1963

Although the Chuck Willis tune “It’s Too Late” was already successful in various versions, Pickett wrote an original R&B song with the same title in 1963 that became the title track for his debut LP and his first significant exposure on radio (#7 on R&B charts, although only #49 on pop charts). The lyrics, both sung and spoken, share the same focus on the narrator regretting bad behavior that caused his girl to walk. Pickett’s own “It’s Too Late” was the first of an impressive 32 Top Twenty R&B singles (including four #1s) and a half-dozen hits on pop radio (“In the Midnight Hour,” “634-5789 (Soulsville USA),” “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally,” “Funky Broadway”).

“It’s Too Late to Love Me Now,” Dolly Parton, 1978

After more than a decade as a country singer, Parton made a conscious attempt in the late ’70s to write and record songs that might have pop chart success. She succeeded with “Here You Come Again” (a #3 pop hit in 1977) leading up to the huge #1 mainstream hit “9 to 5″ in 1980. ”It’s Too Late to Love Me Now,” a deep track from her 1978 LP, didn’t have much of an impact but was later a minor hit for Cher and Jeanne Pruett. The lyrics admonish the suitor for waiting too long and missing his chance with her:  “Don’t you know how hard I tried to hold out just for you? Lovin’ you from memory day by day, /Then someone came into my life, turned my dreams around, he’s takin’ all the love you threw away…”

“Late Again,” Stealers Wheel, 1972

Scottish school pals Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan formed a folk rock band called Stealers Wheel in 1972, and their debut LP performed well, reaching #50 in the US, thanks to the hit single, “Stuck in the Middle With You,” which reached #6 on US pop charts in early 1973. All the LP’s songs were written by either Egan or Rafferty or as a duo, including the hit and the leadoff track, “Late Again,” in which the narrator berates himself for staying out too long and disappointing his lady when he arrives home “late again.” Six years later, Rafferty would be back on top as a solo artist with a string of successful albums, and singles like “Baker Street,” “Right Down the Line” and “Get It Right Next Time.” 

“Late to the Party,” Kacey Musgraves, 2015

Josh Osbourne, one of country music’s most prolific songwriters of the past decade, co-wrote this fun, suggestive tune with Musgraves for her 2015 LP “Pageant Material,” which reached #1 on the country charts and #3 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums that year. He previously earned a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2014 for Musgraves’ single “Merry-Go-Round.” The lyrics to “Late to the Party” slyly wink about the reason why the singer and her man were late (lingering at home for a little roll in the hay). Perhaps it’s a bit self-indulgent, but I’d call it just about the best possible excuse for being tardy to the party!

“Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,” Deniece Williams and Johnny Mathis, 1978

From 1956 to 1960, Mathis charted an astounding ten consecutive Top Ten albums, offering his soothing brand of what became known as “easy listening” music, notably “Chances Are,” “The Twelfth of Never” and “Misty.” In 1978, he found himself back at the top of the charts briefly with “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,” a duet with Deniece Williams, in which the songwriting team of Nat Kipner and John Vallins hit just the right balance of affection and resignation in describing a long-time marriage that’s breaking up: “Yes, it’s over, the kids are gone, what’s the use of tryin’ to hang on? /Somewhere we lost the key, so little left for you and me, and it’s clear to see, /Too Much, Too Little, Too Late to try again with you…”

“Too Late,” The Cars, 2011

Songwriter Ric Ocasek, the clear leader of The Cars during their ten-year run (1978-1987), felt burnt out and dissolved the group at that point. In 1997, when asked about a reunion, he said, “I’m saying never and you can count on that.” Nevertheless, he reconsidered in 2010, reconvening the band members (except Benjamin Orr, who had died in 2000) and cranking out the surprisingly strong and consistent “Move Like This” LP, which one critic described this way: ”As bright, infectious, and tuneful as The Cars in their prime.” Ocasek (who died in 2019) wrote songs like “Keep on Knocking,” “Take Another Look” and especially “Too Late,” a song of remorse about an old flame.

“It’s Too Late,” Johnny Rivers, 1967

Hollywood club impresario Elmer Valentine gave Rivers a one-year contract as the opening act at the Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip, and he capitalized on that opportunity by recording a series of live albums there (1964-1968) with spirited audience participation. Some tracks became big radio hits, l.ike his cover of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis,” Willie Dixon’s “Seventh Son” and the spy novelty tune “Secret Agent Man.” A marvelous deep track from his fifth live album is “It’s Too Late,” which was actually written and first recorded by middle-of-the-road crooner Bobby Goldsboro. The live rendition Rivers cut ran circles around Goldsboro’s vanilla version.

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Honorable mention: ”It’s Late,” Queen, 1977; ”Too Late For Love,” Def Leppard, 1983; ”It’s Too Late,” Aldo Nova, 1982; ”Too Late,” Journey, 1979; ”It’s Too Late,” The Kinks, 1965; ”It’s Late,” David Gray, 2019.