"I Don't Want to Wait" is a song written, recorded, and produced by American singer-songwriter

Paula Cole Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, ''Harbinger'', which suffered from a la ...

. Cole wrote the song in mid-1996 and released it as second single from her second studio album, '' This Fire'' (1996), on October 14, 1997. The single release was successful, reaching 11 in the United States and No. 5 in Canada. VH1 ranked "I Don't Want to Wait" as one of the 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s at No. 81. The song later served as the opening theme for the American

teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

television series ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

''.

Composition

Cole wrote "I Don't Want to Wait" at her spinet piano in her apartment in New York City during mid-1996. Described by Cole as "a very personal song" she wrote the song when she realized that her grandfather was near the end of his life. The song is about him and his wife, and specifically the relationship between their life and Cole's who realized "I don't want to make some of these mistakes. I really hope I don't" Cole has described the central question of the chorus as "Do you say yes to life? Do you embrace the things that give you joy? Or do you cower back in fear or by culture's machinations keeping you small?" "I Don't Want to Wait" is in common time with a moderate beat rate of 87

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

, written in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

. Cole originally composed the song in

F-sharp major F-sharp major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps. The F-sharp major scale is: : Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically ...

, but when the songbook for the album was prepared, the song was notated in G major. According to Cole, "most sales ..are to beginners and intermediate musicians", so the publishers opted against the original key.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by

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and Fred Woodward. It was one of Cole's first videos, and was based on the concept of a woman who was immortal and had lovers in different time periods, all of whom died. The cut of the video was originally in chronological order, but for unknown reasons, a cut that was out of order was more frequently aired which led to the directors taking their name off the video, replacing it with the common moniker Alan Smithee.

Track listings

US 7-inch single :A. "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit) – 4:07 :B. "Hitler's Brothers" (album version) – 3:35 UK and Australian CD single # "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit) # "Bethlehem" # "Hitler's Brothers" UK cassette single and German CD single # "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit) # "Bethlehem"

Chart performance

On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "I Don't Want to Wait" spent the most consecutive weeks in the top 50 without cracking the top 10, peaking at No. 11. The single ranked at No. 10 on the Hot 100 year-end chart for 1998. In Canada, it is Cole's highest-charting single, peaking at No. 5 on the ''

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'' Top Singles chart, and it also reached No. 27 in Australia and No. 43 in the United Kingdom.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

In popular culture

Screenwriter Kevin Willamson became a fan of Cole's and used "I Don't Want to Wait" as a theme song to his teen drama series ''

'' after being unable to secure the licensing for Alanis Morissette's " Hand in My Pocket". At the time the idea of using an already existing song was somewhat novel for TV as they usually used specifically created songs. The song became sufficiently identified with ''Dawson's Creek'' that it was used in parodies of the show, as featured in the film ''

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American slasher parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Anna Fari ...

'' and the " Peterotica" episode of '' Family Guy''.Family Guy - Quahog Creek
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References

{{Authority control 1996 songs 1997 singles Dawson's Creek Imago Records singles Paula Cole songs Television drama theme songs Warner Records singles