Escrita e produzida por Willie Nelson, foi gravada em janeiro de 1975 e lançada em maio de 1975 no disco Red Headed Stranger, o décimo oitavo da carreira do artista. O disco é uma sequencia de músicas que contam uma história e The time of the preacher é a música que abre essa história. Nessa canção, o pastor evoca seu amor pela sua esposa, que ele suspeita que está sendo infiel. No meio da música, a infidelidade se aprensenta real.
A letra:
It
was the time of the preacher
When the story began
Of the choice
of a lady
And the love of a man
How he loved her so dearly
He went
out of his mind
When she left him for someone
That she'd left
behind
And he cried like a baby
He screamed
like a panther
In the middle of the night
And he saddled his
pony
And he went for a ride
It was the time of the preacher
In
the year of '01
Now the preaching is over
And the lesson's
begun
But he could not forgive her
Though
he tried and he tried and he tried
The halls of his memory
Still
echo her lies
He cried like a baby
He screamed
like a panther
In the middle of the night
And he saddled his
pony
And he went for a ride
It was the time of the preacher
In
the year of '01
Now the lesson is over
And the killing's begun
It was the time of the preacher
In
the year of '01
When you think it's all over
It's only begun.
A versão de Willie Nelson:
A versão de Sam Lewis:
A versão de Tyler Childers:
