August 18, 2023

Peter Gabriel has been releasing new music for every full moon this year. Most of it has been excellent, but one song in particular has stood out to me: “Playing for Time.” Like other songs on the album, it’s concerned with time, mortality, and what constitutes a meaningful life—all themes that resonate with me as I get older. The song is a masterpiece: it starts slow and easy—a languishing adagio. By the end, the whole band has joined and the tempo has become more urgent. There is an inevitability to the song, an acceptance that time always wins and an insecurity about what we do in the face of that fact. If we could just have more time, the song seems to say, but in the game of life, time always holds the winning hand.

Playing for Time
By: Peter Gabriel (2023)

Far, far away Out amongst the stars There’s a planet spinning slowly We call it ours Any time, any day 5 Any moment that we bring to life Will never fade away Oh, oh the moments come and go While the memories ebb and flow Play again, play again 10 Oh, there’s a hill that we must climb Climb toward the mist of time It’s all in here what we’ve been through Down, I’m getting it down Sorting it out 15 So everything I care about Is held in here All of those I love inside Everybody’s playing for time You and I still playing for time 20 Thеre goes the sun Back from whеre it came The young move to the center The mom and dad, the frame Any space, any time 25 Any moment that we bring to life Ridiculous, sublime Oh, oh the moments come and go While the memories ebb and flow Play again, play again 30 Oh, there’s a hill that we must climb Climb toward these mists of time It’s all in here what we’ve been through Down, getting it down Sorting it out 35 So everything I care about Is held in here All of those I love inside The future shines a sunny day Unpacked memories stored away 40 All the while, the clock keeps ticking You and I still playing for time One by one the voices silenced For they know that time will tell It’s time that wears the crown 45 And time that rings the bell All cards on the table All hands are down Everybody’s playing for time Everyone’s still playing for time 50 Looking for a flicker in the face of the clock Hidden in the mountain, in the body of the rock No one seems to notice or to feel the aftershock They’re all too busy playing for time Everybody’s playing for time 55 You and I still playing for time