"I'm Waiting Here" is a song by the American film director and musician

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

. It is the thirteenth track and lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Lynch's third studio album '' The Big Dream'' (2013), and was released on June 3, 2013 on

Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Spellling, Blanck Mass, Crystal S ...

. Produced by Lynch, "I'm Waiting Here" features vocals by the Swedish singer-songwriter

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, model and actress. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and Electronic music, electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth ...

, who co-wrote the song with Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley. Critical response to the song was largely positive and a music video was released.

Music video

The music video for "I'm Waiting Here" was based on concepts by Lykke Li and visual artist Daniel Desure. It features cinematography by Nicholas Trikonis, and was edited by Jesse Fleming and Sadie Strangio. It was premiered on both Lynch's and Li's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channels on June 10, 2013. The video features some shots taken from the front of a car traveling a long and empty desert road and has been described by ''

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'' as "beautiful in its simplicity", "the perfect, tranquil, seductive, and meditative accompaniment for the song" and its imagery "harkening back to Lynch's affinity for the road and the vast possibility of spaces that transcend forever."

Release and reception

"I'm Waiting Here" was released as ''The Big Dream''s lead single on June 3, 2013. It was made available for digital download on

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and for stream on the online music service

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. A

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

version of "I'm Waiting Here" was included as a bonus item with LP versions of ''The Big Dream''. It features an "etching hand-inscribed by Lynch" on the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. Critical reception to "I'm Waiting Here" was largely positive.

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writer Tom Breihan said the song "isn't exactly 'low-down blues,' but you could see how it's Lynch's version of the stuff. It's a smothered torch song with a narcotized vocal from his guest" and drew comparisons between it and Lynch's "beautiful, faraway" material produced with

Julee Cruise Julee Ann Cruise (December 1, 1956 – June 9, 2022) was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released four albums beg ...

for the television series ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

''. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' reviewer Christ Martins referred to "I'm Waiting Here" as "a dreamy and noir swooner replete with slow-dance swing and bassy atmospheric swells" and ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' described the song as "a lilting, 50s-inspired number

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

harks back instantly to Lynch's pioneering work with Julee Cruise back in the late 80s, and is a return to a smoky sound many fans thought was missing on his last record." Alex Hudson of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' also described the song as "atmospheric, guitar-driven electro-

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

." Lynch himself praised Li's performance on the song, saying: "she brought her own style to this song, which has a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

sort of thing going on, but in a way it's far-removed from the 90s."

In popular culture

The song has been used as background music on-board flights for the airline Norwegian from August 2013.

Track listing

;Digital download and 7-inch single (

, sbr109) #"I'm Waiting Here" – 5:02

References

External links

* {{authority control 2012 songs 2013 singles David Lynch songs Lykke Li songs Songs written by Lykke Li