Child in Time - 1995 Remaster

Running 10:15, "Child In Time" is a protest song to the United States' war in Vietnam. The lyrics were written by lead singer Ian Gillan.

Ian Gillan said in an interview in 2002: "There are two sides to that song - the musical side and the lyrical side. On the musical side, there used to be this song 'Bombay Calling' by a band called It's A Beautiful Day. It was fresh and original, when Jon was one day playing it on his keyboard. It sounded good, and we thought we'd play around with it, change it a bit and do something new keeping that as a base. But then, I had never heard the original 'Bombay Calling.' So we created this song using the Cold War as the theme, and wrote the lines 'Sweet child in time, you'll see the line.' That's how the lyrical side came in. Then, Jon had the keyboard parts ready and Ritchie had the guitar parts ready. The song basically reflected the mood of the moment, and that's why it became so popular." (Thanks to the Deep Purple Appreciation Society)

This song and the rest of the In Rock album were recorded with the Mark II lineup of the group: Ian Gillan (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Roger Glover (Bass), Jon Lord (keyboard), and Ian Paice (drums). "Child In Time" was played during the Deep Purple Mark II reunion tour Come Hell Or Highwater in 1993. Ritchie Blackmore quit the tour after the European portion - he also ended the original Mark II by quitting because of Ian Gillan's "lack of work ethic."