"Got the Time" is a song written and performed by the British new wave musician Joe Jackson, appearing as the closing track on his 1979 debut album, Look Sharp!.
Jackson explained in his memoir A Cure for Gravity:[1] "'Got the Time'... gave Dave a lot of trouble.
[1]In a live performance at Rock Goes to College, Jackson dedicated the song to "anyone out there who leads a hectic life".
[2] In the lyrics of the song, Jackson sings of a frantic lifestyle where he is constantly being encountered by new obligations and duties.
For the version that appeared on Live Music - Europe 2010, Jackson rearranged the song to not include guitar, since his touring band consisted of only Graham Maby and Dave Houghton.
The band's version was cited by AllMusic writer Steve Huey as the "standout track" from Persistence of Time.
In the June 1991 issue of Q magazine, Jackson remarked: "I think it sounds kind of clumsy compared to the way we did it on the Live album.