“There is a Time” was written by Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne and performed by their group, The Dillards, also known as The Darling Family, back in the early 1960s on The Andy Griffith Show. The most memorable performance was probably when Charlene Darling (Maggie Peterson) sang it. The Dillards’ version is straight-up bluegrass, but in one episode Andy Griffith played it and sang one verse in a very slow “folksie” style, which I really liked since it really highlighted the beautiful lyrics.
It’s become somewhat of a bluegrass standard and has been recorded by Alan Jackson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others.
My version lands somewhere in between The Dillards and Andy Griffith as I played it clawhammer ukulele style at a medium speed. I’m posting two tablatures on my site — one basic and another more advanced. Neither is “exactly” what I played but the more advanced version is close to what I played. I actually recorded the song first then created the tablature afterwards, trying to emulate on tab what I was playing, but not being too exact about it since I probably didn’t play it exactly the same way each time. I played the break four times on my recording, and if you happen to hear a sour note during the second break it’s because I flubbed it up but didn’t want to have to record it again. I figure if I played everything perfectly I’d probably be rich and famous, but I don’t and I’m not so there ya go.
If you’re not familiar with the clawhammer stye and want to learn it, check out my free clawhammer uke tutorial here…