I Don't Want to Wait explained

I Don't Want to Wait
Cover:Paula Cole I Don't Want to Wait US CD cover.jpg
Caption:U.S. CD single
Type:single
Artist:Paula Cole
Album:This Fire
B-Side:
  • "Hitler's Brothers"
  • "Bethlehem"
Studio:Magic Shop, New York City
Length:
  • 5:19 (album version)
  • 4:07 (radio edit)
Label:
Producer:Paula Cole
Prev Title:Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?
Prev Year:1997
Next Title:Me
Next Year:1998

"I Don't Want to Wait" is a song written, recorded, and produced by American singer-songwriter Paula Cole. 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.[1] The song later served as the opening theme for the American teen drama television series Dawson's Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003.

Composition

Paula Cole wrote "I Don't Want to Wait" at her spinet piano in her apartment in New York City during mid-1996.[2] 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".[3] 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?"[3]

Sheet music for "I Don't Want to Wait" shows the key of G major in common time with a moderate tempo of 87 beats per minute.[4] Cole originally composed the song in F major, 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.[5]

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Mark Seliger and Fred Woodward. It was one of Cole's first videos and is based on the concept of a woman who is immortal and had lovers in different time periods, all of whom having 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[6]

A. "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit) – 4:07

B. "Hitler's Brothers" (album version) – 3:35

UK, Australian, and Japanese CD single[7] [8]

  1. "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit)
  2. "Bethlehem"
  3. "Hitler's Brothers"

UK cassette single and German CD single[9] [10]

  1. "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit)
  2. "Bethlehem"

Credits

Credits are lifted from the This Fire liner notes.[11]

Studios

Personnel

Chart performance

On the US Billboard Hot 100, "I Don't Want to Wait" spent 56 weeks within the top 100, peaking at no. 11 in January 1998. 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 RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, and it also reached no. 27 in Australia and no. 43 in the United Kingdom.

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 29
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[13] 18
US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[14] 42
US Triple-A (Billboard)[15] 20
Chart (1998)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] 75
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 10
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[18] 7
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[19] 12
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[20] 45
US Triple-A (Billboard)[21] 42

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United StatesOctober 14, 1997[22] [23]
JapanApril 5, 1998CD[24]
United KingdomJuly 20, 1998Warner Bros.[25]
Japan (re-release)March 25, 1999CD[26]

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 Dawson's Creek[3] after being unable to secure the licensing for Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket".[27] At the time the use of a pre-existing work for a TV show theme, rather than the commissioning of a new song, was novel.[3] 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,[28] the "Peterotica" episode of Family Guy,[29] and the "" series premiere of Clone High on its original airing (replaced with "Standard Lines" by Dashboard Confessional in all subsequent airings and the DVD release).[30] [31] Knuckles Episode 2 “Don’t Ever Say I Wasn't There For You.”

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Top 100 Songs of the '90s . VH1 Blog . Viacom International Inc. . May 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120214035830/http://blog.vh1.com/2007-12-13/top-100-songs-of-the-90s . February 14, 2012 . December 13, 2007.
  2. Web site: Michelson . Noah . Paula Cole Reveals The Secret (And Dark) History Of The 'Dawson's Creek' Theme Song . HuffPost . Verizon Media . May 31, 2020 . April 12, 2018.
  3. Web site: Wiser . Carl . Songwriter Interview . Songfacts . June 13, 2020.
  4. Web site: I Don't Want to Wait by Paula Cole – Digital Sheet Music. August 7, 2001. Musicnotes. MN0040094. 19 October 2021.
  5. Book: Small . Mark . Taylor . Andrew . 1999 . Masters of Music: Conversations with Berklee Greats . Berklee Press Publications . 276 . 0634006428 . May 31, 2020.
  6. I Don't Want to Wait. Paula Cole. 1996. US 7-inch single vinyl disc. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. 7-17318.
  7. I Don't Want to Wait. Paula Cole. 1997. UK & Australian CD single liner notes. Warner Bros. Records. WO422CD, 9362-43940-2.
  8. Japanese releases:
    • I Don't Want to Wait. Paula Cole. 1998. Japanese CD single liner notes. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. WPCR-1859.
    • I Don't Want to Wait. Paula Cole. 1999. Japanese CD single liner notes. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. WPCR-10286.
  9. I Don't Want to Wait. Paula Cole. 1997. UK cassette single sleeve. Warner Bros. Records. WO422MC, 5439 17286 4.
  10. I Don't Want to Wait. Paula Cole. 1997. German CD single liner notes. Warner Bros. Records. 5439-17286-9.
  11. This Fire. This Fire (album). Paula Cole. 1996. US CD album liner notes. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. 9 46424-2.
  12. '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 16, 2018.
  13. The Year in Music 1997: Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks. Billboard. 109. 52. YE-83. December 27, 1997.
  14. Best of '97: Top 40/Mainstream Singles. Airplay Monitor. 5. 52. 38. December 26, 1997.
  15. Best of '97: Triple A Tracks. Airplay Monitor. 5. 52. 28. December 26, 1997.
  16. RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98. RPM. 63. 12. 20. December 14, 1998. March 23, 2019.
  17. Web site: Billboard Top 100 – 1998. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090309202636/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1998. March 9, 2009. August 28, 2010.
  18. The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks. Billboard. 110. 52. YE-95. December 26, 1998. January 20, 2024.
  19. The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks. Billboard. 110. 52. YE-96. December 26, 1998. January 20, 2024.
  20. Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1998. Airplay Monitor. 6. 52. 45. December 25, 1998.
  21. Best of '98: Most Played Triple-A Songs. Airplay Monitor. 6. 52. 35. December 25, 1998.
  22. Web site: I Don't Want to Wait / Hitler's Brothers. Amazon. July 23, 2021.
  23. Web site: I Don't Want to Wait. Amazon. July 23, 2021.
  24. Web site: アイ・ドント・ウォント・トゥ・ウェイト ポーラ・コール. I Don't Want to Wait Paula Cole. Oricon. ja. August 31, 2023.
  25. Reviews – For Singles Out on 20 July 1998. Music Week. 7. July 11, 1998. July 23, 2021.
  26. Web site: アイ・ドント・ウォント・トゥ・ウェイト ポーラ・コール. I Don't Want to Wait Paula Cole. Oricon. ja. August 31, 2023.
  27. Web site: Goldberg . Lesley . 'Dawson's Creek' Turns 20: Kevin Williamson Reveals the Teen Drama's Deepest Secrets . The Hollywood Reporter . May 31, 2020 . January 19, 2018.
  28. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Web site: Dawson in Scary Movie . YouTube.
  29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4cPNsXfZEE Family Guy - Quahog Creek
  30. DailyCloneHigh. 1654982190822748162. The original airing of "Escape to Beer Mountain: A Rope of Sand" featured "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole (the original theme to Dawson's Creek). It was replaced with "Standard Lines" by Dashboard Confessional in future airings and on the DVD release. 17 DAYS.
  31. Web site: January 20, 2003. Clone High [2002], "Escape to Beer Mountain: A Rope of Sand"]. January 20, 2003. What Song?.