"I Am Waiting" is a song recorded by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. It was written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and released on the band's 1966 studio album ''

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an America ...

''.

Lyrics and music

"I Am Waiting" was recorded between 6 and 9 March 1966 at RCA Studios in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. The song's lyrics are obscure. They have the singer "waiting for someone to come out of somewhere" but don't provide any details of the circumstances. According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

, this is not a problem since "enhancing the general mysterious atmosphere is more important than providing an answer." Music critic

Bill Janovitz Bill Janovitz (born June 3, 1966) is an American musician and writer. He is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom, and has also released three solo albums. Janovitz has written extensively for Allmusic, author ...

suggests that the first verse sounds like singer Jagger is "tiptoeing as if in a game of

hide and seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...

." Janovitz suggests that the first refrain begins to suggest that the singer may not just be waiting for an actual person, but rather it suggests "a deepening perception...that promises to offset the paranoia in the lyrics" with the words "It happens all the time/It's censored from our minds." Rolling Stones biographer Martin Elliot interprets the message of the lyrics as "don't fear the reaper." The music of the song is one of several Rolling Stones songs from this period that shows Appalachian and English folk influences. As he does on " Lady Jane," another song from ''Aftermath'', Rolling Stones guitarist

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

plays a

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

on "I Am Waiting."

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

plays harpsichord. Bill Wyman's slow and "eerie" bassline and the acoustic guitars add to the effect. In the song's unusual structure, the refrains are louder and rock harder than the slow verses. In Janovitz's interpretation, the harder refrains permit Jagger to "vent the frustration" that has been built up through the verses. Author James Hector remarks that this allows the song to " lowhot and cold with remarkable subtlety" and Rolling Stones biographer Steve Appleford states that the eruptions in the refrains produce a "fine melodramatic effect" and allows the

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

of the verses to "explode into moments of yearning."

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: The Rolling Stones *

vocals *

acoustic guitars *

; . * Bill Wyman bass * Charlie Watts drums Additional musician *

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Reception

Unterberger calls "I Am Waiting" a "very strange but musically attractive effort" that is a "highlight" among early Rolling Stones album tracks. Janovitz praises how the song combines Eastern thought that was popular in music during the mid-1960s with "broadening sonics and higher fidelity." He states that Jagger "is singing with authority about fear, paranoia and a part of our minds closed from wider perception." Hector calls the song "one of the band's most extra-ordinary mid-sixties compositions." Author Jim Beviglia rates it as the Rolling Stones' #32 all-time greatest song, calling it a "wistful, wonderful track." In 2012 the editors of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' rated it the band's #67 all-time greatest song. On the other hand, Elliott does not regard it as being particularly strong, but states that it reflects the band's attitude at the time of "art for art's sake."

Other versions

"I Am Waiting" was used in

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

's 1998 film '' Rushmore''. The band performed the song live on an episode of ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

'' in a performance that ''

'' described as "an image of the band maturing in real time."

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1966 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Andrew Loog Oldham