Co-written and first recorded by Carole King (1971).
Hit version by The Carpenters (US #12/CAN #12/JPN #48 1972).
From the wiki: “‘It’s Going to Take Some Time’ is a song written by Carole King and Toni Stern for King’s 1971 album, Music. It was redone by the Carpenters in 1972 for their fourth album, A Song for You. According to Richard Carpenter, he had to choose which songs he wanted to remake, and there was a big pile of 7″ singles he had to listen to. When he encountered ‘It’s Going to Take Some Time’, he knew it would be a hit, and The Carpenters recorded it. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“King is quoted as saying that The Carpenter’s lush, string-laden cover made her own more sparse version sound ‘like a demo.'”
The Carpenters, “It’s Gonna Take Some Time” (1972):