"Playing for Time" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in March 2023 as the third single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O.

[8] During introductions of the song, Gabriel would elaborate on this rationale by telling the audience that "the journey and the search can be as interesting as the destination or the arrival.

The song later went through various iterations, including a version recorded in September 2021 with a rhythm loop, Manu Katché on drums, Tom Cawley on piano, David Rhodes on guitar, Levin on bass, and Gabriel contributing vocals and synth chimes.

However, Gabriel felt that the third version of the song he worked on, which featured a largely acoustic arrangement, aligned more closely with his initial intentions.

He said that the ballad "slowly moves to a dramatic climax" and compared the song's lyrical content of climbing hills to Gabriel's debut single with the added subtext of being "lost in memories and the thought of time’s passing.

"[12] James McNair of Mojo characterised "Playing for Time" as "an extremely eloquent, piano-led meditation on life's autumn creeping to winter.