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. 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 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] The song later served as the opening theme for the American teen drama television series Dawson's Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003.

For similarly named songs, see I Don't Wanna Wait (disambiguation).

"I Don't Want to Wait"
U.S. CD single
Single by Paula Cole
from the album This Fire
B-side
  • "Hitler's Brothers"
  • "Bethlehem"
ReleasedOctober 14, 1997 (1997-10-14)
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 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]

"I Don't Want to Wait" is in common time with a moderate beat rate of 87 beats per minute, written in the key of G major.[4] Cole originally composed the song in F-sharp 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 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[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"

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.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States October 14, 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
[25][26]
Japan April 5, 1998 CD [27]
United Kingdom July 20, 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
 Warner Bros. [28]
Japan (re-release) March 25, 1999 CD
  • Warner Bros.
  • Imago
 [29]

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".[30] 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,[31] the "Peterotica" episode of Family Guy,[32] and the "Escape to Beer Mountain: A Rope of Sand" series premiere of Clone High on its original airing (replaced with "Standard Lines" by Dashboard Confessional in all subsequent airings and the DVD release).[33][34]

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. "I Don't Want to Wait by Paula Cole – Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes. August 7, 2001. MN0040094. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  5. Small, Mark; Taylor, Andrew (1999). Masters of Music: Conversations with Berklee Greats. Berklee Press Publications. p. 276. ISBN 0634006428. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  6. I Don't Want to Wait (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. 1996. 7-17318.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. I Don't Want to Wait (UK & Australian CD single liner notes). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records. 1997. WO422CD, 9362-43940-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. Japanese releases:
    • I Don't Want to Wait (Japanese CD single liner notes). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. 1998. WPCR-1859.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
    • I Don't Want to Wait (Japanese CD single liner notes). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records, Imago Records. 1999. WPCR-10286.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. I Don't Want to Wait (UK cassette single sleeve). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records. 1997. WO422MC, 5439 17286 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. I Don't Want to Wait (German CD single liner notes). Paula Cole. Warner Bros. Records. 1997. 5439-17286-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. "Paula Cole – I Don't Want to Wait". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3376." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  13. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3363." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  16. "Paula Cole Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  17. "Paula Cole Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  18. "Paula Cole Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  19. "Paula Cole Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  20. "Paula Cole Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  21. "'97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved October 16, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  22. "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63, no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 20. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  23. "Billboard Top 100 – 1998". Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  24. "1998 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-95. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  25. "I Don't Want to Wait / Hitler's Brothers". Amazon. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  26. "I Don't Want to Wait". Amazon. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  27. "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] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  28. "Reviews – For Singles Out on 20 July 1998" (PDF). Music Week. July 11, 1998. p. 7. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  29. "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] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  30. 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.
  31. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Dawson in Scary Movie". YouTube.
  32. Family Guy - Quahog Creek
  33. @DailyCloneHigh (May 6, 2023). "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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. "Clone High [2002], "Escape to Beer Mountain: A Rope of Sand"". What Song?. January 20, 2003. Retrieved January 20, 2003.
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