I Don't Want to Wait

"I Don't Want to Wait" is a song written, recorded and produced by American singer-songwriter Paula Cole. It was Cole's second single from her album This Fire and later served as the opening theme for the TV series Dawson's Creek. Cole wrote the song and recorded a demo in April 1991 but did not record it for release until 1996. The single release was successful, reaching No. 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]

"I Don't Want to Wait"
U.S. CD single
Single by Paula Cole
from the album This Fire
B-side"Hitler's Brothers" (album version)
ReleasedOctober 14, 1997
Recorded1996
GenrePop
Length
  • 5:19 (album version)
  • 4:07 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Paula Cole
Producer(s)Paula Cole
Paula Cole singles chronology
"Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"
(1997)		 "I Don't Want to Wait"
(1997)		 "Me"
(1998)
Music video
"I Don't Want to Wait" on YouTube

Composition

Cole wrote "I Don't Want to Wait" at her spinet piano in her apartment in New York City during the summer of 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]

"I Don't Want to Wait" is in common time with a moderate beat rate of 87 beats per minute. It is written in the key of F-sharp major. Cole's vocal range spans from the note of F♯3 to the note of D♯5.

Cole composed "I Don't Want to Wait" in the key of F-sharp major. However, when the songbook for the album was prepared, the song was eventually notated in G major. According to Cole, "most sales [...] are to beginners and intermediate musicians", so the publishers opted against the original key.[4]

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 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[5]

A. "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit) – 4:07
B. "Hitler's Brothers" (album version) – 3:35

European and Australian CD single[6]

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

German CD single[7]

  1. "I Don't Want to Wait" (edit)
  2. "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 RPM Top Singles chart, and it also reached No. 27 in Australia and No. 43 in the United Kingdom.

Screenwriter Kevin Willamson became a fan of Cole's and used "I Don't Want to Wait" as a theme song to Dawson's Creek, an American teen drama television series.[3] Initially the show was going to use Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" but they could not secure the license for the series.[21] At the time the idea of using an already existing song was somewhat novel for TV as they usually used specifically created songs.[3]

The song has been referenced throughout popular culture. An episode of Family Guy, "Peterotica", involved a parody of Dawson's Creek titled Quahog Creek.[22] The song was also used in a Bud Light TV commercial titled Jukebox.[23]

In 2015, the song was used as the ringtone for a man's smartphone in a Burger King commercial for Buffalo Chicken Fries.[24]

The song is featured in a plot-critical backstory in the 2019 animated film The Angry Birds Movie 2.

References
  1. "Top 100 Songs of the '90s". VH1 Blog. Viacom International Inc. December 13, 2007. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  2. Michelson, Noah (April 12, 2018). "Paula Cole Reveals The Secret (And Dark) History Of The 'Dawson's Creek' Theme Song". HuffPost. Verizon Media. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  3. Wiser, Carl. "Songwriter Interview". Songfacts. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  4. Small, Mark; Taylor, Andrew (1999). Masters of Music: Conversations with Berklee Greats. Berklee Press Publications. p. 276. ISBN 0634006428. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  5. I Don't Want to Wait (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. 1996. 7-17318.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. I Don't Want to Wait (European & Australian CD single liner notes). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records. 1997. WO422CD, 9362-43940-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. I Don't Want to Wait (German CD single liner notes). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records. 1997. 5439-17286-9.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "Australian-charts.com – Paula Cole – I Don't Want to Wait". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  9. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3376." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  10. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3363." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  11. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  13. "Paula Cole Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  14. "Paula Cole Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  15. "Paula Cole Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  16. "Paula Cole Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  17. "Paula Cole Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  18. "'97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  19. "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63 no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 20. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  20. "Billboard Top 100 – 1998". Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  21. Goldberg, Lesley (January 19, 2018). "'Dawson's Creek' Turns 20: Kevin Williamson Reveals the Teen Drama's Deepest Secrets". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  22. Family Guy - Quahog Creek
  23. Bud Light - Jukebox
  24. Burger King - NEW! Buffalo Chicken Fries
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