A phrase usually said after listening to a song that didn’t appeal (longer for a film/book, etc), and often countered with – it would have gone anyway, you can’t stop time, or summat like that. But I want to reclaim the phrase by interpreting it a different way. Think of it not as time that’s gone forever, when it wouldn’t have done otherwise. Think of it as a chunk of time we won’t choose (or be able) to recall later, because it was unmemorable. Choosing to listen to, watch, read something, there’s a hope that it will have an impact beyond the time given to consuming it – that it will be added to the treasured vault of memories, to be drawn upon in later life, and to give comfort in dotage. Not everything make the grade, and the phrase is just a way of marking that disappointment.
Oh, and feel free to post examples of songs that disappointed, if you like.