Originally, the movie was set to share the title of its country music theme song, "Comes a Time" performed by Lacy J. Dalton and composed by Neil Young, a Canadian artist once part of Crosby Stills Nash and Young, but at the last minute, the title of the book was retained for the film. The film was a box office flop upon its original theatrical release, but a combination of the song winning an award and pay-TV service SelecTV picking it up 18 months later for its evening lineup, allowed the film to develop a cult following which remains to this day.