21 Songs About Waiting (2023)

Waiting is a part of our lives. It’s something that we do everyday. If we need to go somewhere, we wait for our ride. When we go out to eat in a resto, we need to wait for our food to be served. We wait for babies to come out from the mother’s womb. We wait for our success to unfold after doing our best to achieve them. We patiently wait for our love to be reciprocated–well, good for you if you haven’t experienced this. There are a lot of things that we wait for.

These songs about waiting on our list all deal with waiting. Listen to them and see if you can wait.

21. The Waiting – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

We all have dreams, and many of us pursue to reach our dreams even if we are not sure if we can achieve our dreams–this is the message of The Waiting. This is the lead single in the fourth album of the American rock band Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers titled Hard Promises (Reissue Remastered) which was released on May 1, 1981 under Universal UMC.

20. Wait For It – Leslie Odom Jr.

Leslie Odom Jr. played the villain character Aaron Burr in the sung-and-rapped musical Hamilton in 2015. He performed Wait For It, the thirteenth song from Act 1, as a soliloquy that explores his determination in the face of Hamilton’s rise to power. Leslie Odom Jr. is a part of the original cast of Hamilton where he won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

19. Just Friends – Ally Baron

Just Friends from the very young American singer-songwriter Ally Barron is a part of her Just Friends Album which was released in 2017. This song makes me feel sad because of its storyline. The female persona in the song narrates how she feels toward her male friend. Unfortunately, her friend already has a girlfriend. So she says that she will just wait until the moment becomes right for them.

18. In The Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett

In the Midnight Hour is the lead single of Wilson Pickett’s album with the same title as the song. This song tells that the persona is going to wait for midnight for him to show his love. I don’t know why he needs to wait for the midnight hour, though. Wilson Pickett is an American singer-songwriter who has a great influence in the development of soul-R&B music.

17. Wait – August Alsina

Sometimes we need to prove ourselves for others to accept us. This song is about someone who is not yet “enough” for the girl she likes. He said that he is not asking the girl to wait for him until he becomes what she wants him to be, but he is hoping that girl would wait. Wait by American singer August Alsina is a part of his Wait Album released in 2017.

16. I Will Wait – Mumford and Sons

I Will Wait by the British folk rock band Mumford and Sons is from their second studio album Babel. This song has some religious background. It is based on Psalm 130 because the persona in the song kneels down, raises his hand and bows his head as if praying to the Almighty. Just like when we pray, we don’t get answers right away, we need to believe and wait for God to respond to us.

15. Wait For Me – Theory of a Deadman

People who are working in a faraway place from their loved-ones can relate to this song. Canadian rock band Theory of a Deadman’s Front man Tyler Connolly wrote this song which he dedicates to his wife, actress Christine Danielle, who stays at home for the kids when Tyler is away. Wait for Me is a track in the band’s third album titled Scars and Souvenirs.

14. I’m Waiting For The Man – Velvet Underground

I’m Waiting for the Man was written by Lou Reed, Velvet Underground’s guitarist, singer and main songwriter. This song is actually a controversial song, together with the band’s other songs: Heroine and Venus in Furs, because it deals with illegal drugs.These songs made them lose their contract with their first recording studio, Atlantic Records. They signed up with MGM Records, instead.

13. I’ll Wait For You – Joe Nichols

This is a heartbreaking story of love. In the song, the wife waits for her husband to arrive on several occasions until the husband arrives in the hospital and he is told that his wife is already in a better place. But still, the wife told him in her letter that she will wait for him in the gates of heaven. I’ll Wait For You by Joe Nichols is a part of his fourth album titled III released on October 25, 2005.

12. You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

You Belong With Me is also a song where the persona is in the friend-zone with the man she loves. The persona is a martyr bestfriend who is always there whenever her best friend who fought with his girlfriend needs her. She hopefully waits until her best friend notices her. This song is a pat of Taylors Swift’s Fearless Album released in 2008.

11. Waiting For Tonight – Jennifer Lopez

Waiting for tonight is a part of J. Lo’s debut album On the 6 which was released in 1999. This song is about a woman who eagerly waits for her man to arrive at her place. But since the album was released in 1999, they connected it to the coming of the millennium as part of their marketing strategy. J. Lo. also performed this song while pole dancing during the Super Bowl 2020 half time.

10. Come Home – OneRepublic

This one’s another song about someone waiting for his/ her loved-one. Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic Frontman, wrote this song for his friend who is serving in the military and his fiancee. It was a part of their 2007 debut album Dreaming Out Loud, but was recorded in 2009 by Sara Bareilles in the remastered version, released as the fifth single from the set. It was also performed by Faith Hill in the CMA Awards in 2011.

9. I’ll Be Waiting – Adele

I’ll be waiting is the most optimistic song from the album 21 by English singer-songwriter Adele. Most of the songs in the said album are about hurt from break ups and revenge. Though I’ll Be Waiting still deals with breaking up, the persona is humble to ask for forgiveness and more hopeful that her beloved will give her one more chance.

8. Teardrops On My Guitar – Taylor Swift

Well, most of our songs in our list are about unrequited love. This is the sad truth about a one-sided love affair. Teardrops On My Guitar is based on a personal experience of Taylor Swift–this is her second song in our list, by the way. She was just 17 when this song was released in her self-titled debut album which was released in 2006 and gained her an MTV Music Award for Best New Artist nomination.

7. A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

Are you a fan of the Twilight Saga? Well, singer-songwriter Christina Perri is a die-hard fan. She said she was lucky enough to have been chosen as one of the singers for the movie soundtracks. A Thousand Years is a song about everlasting love (not only meant for the vampires in the movie). It was released in the album The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

6. Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys

Wouldn’t It Be Nice is the lead track of the American rock band The Beach Boys in their eleventh studio album Pet Sounds which was released on May 16, 1966. This song is about the two young lovers who are so much in love with each other that they already want to rush the time so they can be together all the time or live together as a couple.

5. Waiting in Vain – Bob Marley

What are you waiting in vain for? Bob Marley and The Wailers did not wait in vain for this song to be released in their Exodus Album in 1977. Waiting in Vain is a reggae song that talks about unrequited love. The woman doesn’t seem to love the man and it looks like she is just playing with the man’s feelings, so the man doesn’t want to wait for something that is not sure to happen.

4. Right Here Waiting – Richard Marx

This song was originally written as a letter by Richard Marx to his wife, actress Cynthia Rhodes. He doesn’t have the intention of making his letter into a song because for him it is personal, but his friends were able to persuade him. Now here it is, a chart topper and inspirational song to many. Part of his Repeat Offender Album, it was released on June 29, 1989.

3. The Man Who Can’t Be Moved – The Script

The Man Who Can’t Be Moved is a story about a man who was left by his lover and is still expecting that his lover would come back, so he is adamant to stay at the place that they would meet. This song is included in the Irish pop rock trio, The Script’s debut album which was released in the Republic of Ireland on August 8, 2008, and later on in the other parts of the world.

2. Patience – Guns N’ Roses

Patience is always connected to waiting. This song by the American rock band Guns N’ Roses talks about patiently waiting for the persona’s loved one. There are those who say that the song is actually about the relationship of the lead singer, Axl Rose and his wife, in that time. It is a part of their album G N’ R Lies which was released on November 29, 1988, but the song was released as a single in April of 1989.

1. Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers

If you have watched the movie Ghost starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, you are familiar with Unchained Melody. But don’t you know that this song was originally written as a part of a score for a prison movie in 1955? The movie is entitled Unchained where the song actually got its title. It was performed by Todd Duncan in the movie and then later on The Righteous Brothers had their own version of the song in their 1965 album Just Once in My Life.

They say, it is not about how long you have waited, but how you behaved while waiting. Always be patient and humble in waiting, anyway all of us wait and it’s a part of our lives.