It's the first of the new year. Happy New Year, by the way.

At such a point in the year, time becomes all important: from the administrative inconvenience of forgetting to date letters, cheques and forms with the right year through to the existential crisis of watching a new year full of possibilities blossom.

As with us mere mortals, musicians' thoughts often turn to time too – whether it's the alarm clock cacophony that opens Pink Floyd's philosophical treatise 'Time' to the blue collar anthem that is Dolly Parton's 'Nine To Five'.

We set the Shout4Music writers the task of coming up with great songs about time – against the clock. And here's what they said.

Think we've missed a fantastic time piece? Before you clock off, spend a minute or two telling us about it at the bottom of the page.

David Bowie – 'Changes'

Studying A Level Music was an unusual way of introducing yourself to all kinds of music – and not all of it Classical. Every now and then, between the Bach, the Beethoven and the Brahms, you'd be treated to a pop classic to dissect until the cows came home. And so it was that one day we were invited to lend our ears to David Bowie's song 'Changes'.

It was something of a Damascene moment for a 16 year old largely brought up on swing orchestras and fairground organs. 'Changes' treads ground familiar to many (the frustrations of trying and seeming to fail – against an ever present deadline) over a deliciously imaginative tune. Get it here. (Stephen Morris)

Billy Bragg – 'Which Side Are You On?'

I've somehow managed to resist the temptation to regurgitate my limited knowledge of entropy here and instead, thought it more appropriate to select a song that reminds us all that, politically, time stands still. Get it here. (Christopher Moffatt)

Jeffrey Lewis – 'Life'

Sounds like Lou Reed singing a teaching song to Bert and Ernie, and is therefore mint. Get it here. (Alaster Kirk)

Magnetic Fields — 'It's Only Time'

How about this for an opening/closing lyric? “Why would I stop loving you, a hundred years from now? It's only time.” A rousing love song sung in Stephin Merritt's usual heartsick croon, with swelling violins, pianos, the whole caboodle, building to a beautiful crescendo. Perfick. Get it here. (Mark Nicholls)

Pink Floyd – 'Time'

Obviously. (Stephen Morris)

Elliott Smith – 'High Times'

Elliott Smith is one of my favourite musicians of all time and he has been for quite some time. There's a certain painful melancholy in every song he wrote, even the songs that seem perfectly innocent and upbeat.  'High Times' definitely has some depressing undertones and also the idea of not belonging in a certain time or space. Get it here. (Arusa Qureshi)

Tom Waits – 'Time'

Tom Waits is well known for being clattery and rambunctious, but it's his tender, more heartfelt side that's on display here.  Of course, his masterful skill as a story-teller is also in evidence, and that serves to make 'Time' all the more moving. Get it here. (Alan Ashton-Smith)