I'll Be Waiting (song)

“I'll Be Waiting”
Song by Adele from the album 21
Released	January 19, 2011
Recorded	Eastcote Studios (London)
Genre	Soul, pop
Length	4:01
Label	XL Recordings
Writer(s)	Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth
Producer(s)	Paul Epworth
21 track listing
← Previous	Next →
"Take It All"	"One and Only"
Audio

"I'll Be Waiting" is the eighth track off of Adele's second studio album, 21. The song was co-written and produced by Paul Epworth; he later won Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards for his work on this track and "Rolling in the Deep," the lead single from the album.

In the summer of 2012, "I'll Be Waiting" (along with the album's European single "Turning Tables") began receiving a tremendous amount of radio airplay, specifically on Triple A radio stations, sparking rumors that the song would be released as an official single. Representatives from Columbia Records denied the songs being released as singles stating that they thought it would be too much for Adele, with her pregnancy also occurring at the same time.

"I'll Be Waiting" was almost cut from the album, as it was not included in the original track listing for 21, along with "Set Fire to the Rain," "He Won't Go," and "Lovesong." Ultimately, all four tracks made the final cut; four other songs from the original track listing were cut instead.

Background and composition

The upbeat eighth track discusses the singer's resilience and the rekindling of a lost love. Adele has stated that this song is kind of like "the soundtrack of my life", and it's the type of song where if you listen to it, it's almost like you're walking down the street, very happy and full of joy. She also stated that every time they added another part to the song, everyone was very happy. Adele described the song as "fun" and compared it to the album's ninth track, "One and Only," in that it was more optimistic than the majority of the album. Adele also revealed that musically, Dusty Springfield was a major influence for "I'll Be Waiting."

Adele told The Sun: "That's quite a happy song actually, it's me admitting my faults." Adele later told Spin magazine as the months wore on, she had begun to reconsider following her breakup with her ex-boyfriend, who inspired 21:

“

I started to realise I'm not as great as I thought as a girlfriend. I felt quite bad about writing a record that's all 'fuck you.'

”

According to the song's sheet music, it was written in the key of D Major.

Live performances

"I'll Be Waiting" was included in the setlist of the Adele Live tour. A live performance of the song was included on Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Although the song was not performed during the Adele Live 2016 tour, Adele rehearsed the song on numerous occasions throughout the tour; she included it in her headlining performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2016.

Credits

Personnel

• Adele – songwriting, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Paul Epworth – songwriting, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, backing vocals
• Ben Thomas – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Leo Taylor – drums
• Neil Cowley – piano
• Ray Carless – tenor saxophone
• Noel Langley – trumpet
• Harry Brown – trombone, horn
• Mark Rankin – engineer
• Tom Elmhirst – mixer
• Dan Parry – mixing assistant

Lyrics

Hold me closer one more time, Say that you love me in your last goodbye, Please forgive me for my sins, Yes, I swam dirty waters, But you pushed me in, I've seen your face under every sky, Over every border and on every line, You know my heart more than I do, We were the greatest, me and you, But we had time against us, And miles between us, The heavens cried, I know I left you speechless, But now the sky has cleared and it's blue, And I see my future in you, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll do everything different, I'll be better to you, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll be somebody different, I'll be better to you, Let me stay here for just one more night, Build your world around me, And pull me to the light, So I can tell you that I was wrong, I was a child then, but now I'm willing to learn, But we had time against us, And miles between us, The heavens cried, I know I left you speechless, But now the sky has cleared and it's blue, And I see my future in you, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll do everything different, I'll be better to you, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll be somebody different, I'll be better to you, Time against us, Miles between us, Heavens cried, I know I left you speechless, Time against us, Miles between us, Heavens cried, I know I left you speechless, I know I left you speechless, I'll be waiting, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll do everything different, I'll be better to you, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll be somebody different, I'll be better to you.