I'm Wasting Your Time And You're Wasting Mine
Porter Wagoner · Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca (w Dolly Parton) (R [1970]
There's nothing left to tie us to each other anymore
The love we knew is gone and that's a fact we can't ignore
There's nothing left to loose ends on all the ties that bind
I'm wasting your time and you're wasting mine.
There's no use in wasting the good years that we have left
When we might find happiness with somebody else
There's no chance for us we can see it we're not blind
I'm wasting your time and you're wasting mine.
The blame belongs to both of us I guess we didn't try
Love is like a garden without care we let it die
The flower of love can't bloom if the sun don't ever shine
I'm wasting your time and you're wasting mine.
--- Instrumental ---
The blame belongs to both of us I guess we didn't try
Love is like a garden without care we let it die
The flower of love can't bloom if the sun don't ever shine
I'm wasting your time and you're wasting mine.
Though it hurts we know we must leave it all behind
I'm wasting your time and you're wasting mine.
You're wasting mine you're wasting mine...
I'm Wasting Your Time And You're Wasting Mine
Porter Wagoner's 1970 duet with Dolly Parton, 'I'm Wasting Your Time And You're Wasting Mine,' stands as a defining moment in country music history. Recorded for their collaborative album, the track captures the raw tension and eventual reconciliation of a failing marriage through a narrative of mutual exhaustion and regret. The song's acoustic-driven arrangement highlights the duo's signature vocal interplay, blending Wagoner's gritty delivery with Parton's melodic clarity to create a timeless portrait of domestic strife. Released during the height of the outlaw country movement, the recording exemplifies the genre's focus on personal drama and authentic storytelling, cementing the partnership's legacy as one of the most significant in the genre's catalog.