Wait

"Wait" by Maroon 5 is a poignant exploration of regret, desperation, and the longing for reconciliation at the end of a failing relationship. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a man, voiced by Adam Levine, who confronts his ex-partner at a significant event, possibly her moving on or even a wedding, to which he was not invited. He is there to make a last-ditch effort to save their connection, acknowledging his past mistakes and the pain he has caused. The opening lines, "Dirty looks from your mother / Never seen you in a dress that color, no," immediately establish the tension and his status as an outsider.

The central theme is a plea for a second chance. The narrator is fully aware of his wrongdoings, stating, "You say I'm just another bad guy / You say I've done a lot of things I can't undo." Despite this, he is not ready to let go. The repetition of the word "Wait" in the chorus is a powerful and direct expression of his desperation. He is literally asking her to pause her life and her decision to leave him behind to hear him out one more time. The song captures that critical moment in a breakup where one person realizes the finality of the situation and is willing to do anything to reverse it. It's a narrative of a flawed boyfriend who, despite his faults, still holds onto the love he feels and begs for an opportunity to "make up for all those times."

The song's narrative unfolds from the perspective of a man who finds himself at a significant, yet tense, event involving his former lover. He immediately notes the disapproval from her mother and observes her in an unfamiliar colored dress, indicating a special occasion to which he wasn't invited but chose to attend anyway. This sets a scene of alienation and regret. He is there to plead for forgiveness, expressing a desperate desire to make amends for all his past mistakes. The core of his plea is that he doesn't want to lose her love and is reduced to begging her to stay and hear him out.

The chorus is a direct and repetitive entreaty, encapsulated by the single word, "Wait." He asks her to turn around, to pause her departure, and to give them a chance to work things out. His ultimate, simple desire is to be with her, a sentiment he repeats to emphasize his sincerity. He acknowledges her perception of him as "just another bad guy" and admits to actions that are now irreversible. He's making a final appeal before she says her definitive goodbye, hoping for a moment of reconsideration.

In the second verse, the narrator asks for a moment to talk, revealing that he is overwhelmed by feelings he can no longer contain. He confesses that his presence and emotional state are fueled by more than just a few drinks, suggesting he needed liquid courage to confront the situation and express his true feelings. This admission of vulnerability is followed by another round of apologies and promises to compensate for his past wrongdoings. The emotional desperation crescendos again into the chorus, the repeated pleas of "wait" and "can we work this out?" becoming a mantra of his regret and longing. The song essentially captures a single, poignant, and desperate moment of a man on the brink of losing someone he loves, fully admitting his faults and begging for one last chance to salvage their connection.

"Wait" is a song by the American band Maroon 5, featured on their sixth studio album, Red Pill Blues, which was released in 2017. The song was written by frontman Adam Levine in collaboration with prolific songwriters John Ryan, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, and Ammar Malik. John Ryan was also the producer for the track, handling keyboards, piano, and synthesizer parts. The song was recorded in 2017 at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California.

It was initially released as a promotional single on October 31, 2017, before being officially released to contemporary hit radio as the album's fourth single on January 16, 2018. The album itself, Red Pill Blues, was announced in October 2017 and released on November 3, 2017, with its title being a reference to the 1999 film The Matrix. The creation of the album involved a collaborative and modern approach to songwriting and production, with files often being sent between band members who would add their parts remotely, a process Adam Levine mentioned had become common in the industry. The album also saw a marketing partnership with Snapchat, which included custom lenses and filters that were viewed billions of times, showcasing a modern promotional strategy.

"Wait" is structured with a consistent rhythm that drives its electropop feel, set in a 4/4 time signature with what's described as a slow, groovy tempo. The drum programming by Matt Flynn provides a steady, danceable beat that contrasts with the melancholic and pleading nature of the lyrics, creating a compelling emotional tension.

The rhyme scheme in the verses is relatively straightforward, often following an AABB or ABCB pattern. For instance, in the first verse, "mother" (A) and "color" (A) create a perfect rhyme, as do "occasion" (B) and "made it" (C), which is more of a slant rhyme. The pre-chorus tightens this with a clear couplet: "lose" and "you."

The lyrical rhythm is conversational and syncopated, with Levine's phrasing often playing against the main beat. The repetition in the chorus—”Wait, can you turn around, can you turn around? / Just wait, can we work this out, can we work this out?”—creates a rhythmic insistence that mirrors the lyrical begging. The interplay between the steady musical rhythm and the more frantic, pleading vocal rhythm effectively conveys the song's core feeling of urgent desperation.

Musically, "Wait" is an electropop and R&B track characterized by its moody yet upbeat tempo. The production, handled by John Ryan, is built around a prominent synthesizer line, groovy drum beat, and layered vocal harmonies. The song is composed in the key of A♭ Major with a 4/4 time signature. Adam Levine's vocal performance is a key stylistic element. He employs his signature high tenor voice, utilizing a mixed voice that blends chest and head tones, especially noticeable in the melismatic vocal runs in the chorus. These runs often utilize the pentatonic scale, adding a soulful, pleading quality to the melody.

Lyrically, the song uses direct address and a narrative structure. The use of rhetorical questions like "can you turn around?" and "can we work this out?" enhances the pleading tone. The repetition of the word "Wait" serves as a powerful lyrical hook and a central motif, drilling the song's core message of desperation into the listener's mind. The Dave Meyers-directed music video adds another layer of stylistic depth, using surreal, high-concept visuals and extensive VFX to create a non-linear, metaphorical representation of the song's emotional landscape, a common technique in Meyers' work.

Upon its release as a single from the album Red Pill Blues, "Wait" achieved notable success and contributed to Maroon 5's continued presence in mainstream pop music. The song climbed the charts, peaking at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the Top 5 at pop radio. It has accumulated significant streams, with over 79 million on Spotify within a month of its release.

The song was accompanied by two distinct music videos. The first was a creatively simple Snapchat-filter-themed video directed by Travis Schneider, featuring Adam Levine and a cameo from his wife, Behati Prinsloo. The main, official video was a high-budget, surrealist production directed by Dave Meyers and starring actress Alexandra Daddario. This video garnered considerable attention for its cinematic quality and bizarre, symbolic narrative. The album Red Pill Blues itself debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, continuing the band's streak of successful album releases. While perhaps not as culturally impactful as some of the band's biggest hits like "Moves Like Jagger" or "Girls Like You," "Wait" stands as a solid entry in Maroon 5's discography of the late 2010s, showcasing their evolution towards a more electropop and R&B-influenced sound.

The official music video for "Wait," directed by the acclaimed Dave Meyers, employs a rich tapestry of surreal and symbolic imagery to visualize the song's themes of a toxic, chaotic, and ultimately dead relationship. The video stars actress Alexandra Daddario as Adam Levine's ex-lover and takes the viewer on a hallucinatory journey through the couple's turmoil.

One of the most striking metaphors is the funeral at the beginning. Levine appears at his ex-girlfriend's funeral, implying their relationship is deceased. He resurrects her with a scorpion's sting, a potent symbol of poison and danger. This act suggests an attempt to revive their toxic connection, bringing it back to life with the very venom that killed it. This surreal event can be interpreted as the narrator's desperate, and perhaps misguided, attempt to rekindle a romance that is fundamentally unhealthy.

Throughout the video, the visuals represent the destructive nature of their arguments and fights. Scenes of the house being painted over, objects flying, apocalyptic landscapes with fire raining from the sky, and Levine being physically assaulted by the woman and her friends all serve as metaphors for the emotional violence and chaos that defined their time together. The final scenes, showing Levine's fading presence and the emptiness of their shared home, symbolize his worthlessness and loss of identity without her, visually representing the emotional void left in the wake of the breakup.

The most significant recurring lyrical motif in "Wait" is the titular word itself, "Wait." It acts as the song's central plea and is repeated insistently throughout the chorus, functioning as both a hook and the emotional anchor of the track. Its repetition emphasizes the narrator's desperation and his desire to halt the inevitable end of the relationship.

This is immediately followed by the repeated questions, "can you turn around?" and "can we work this out?" These phrases reinforce the theme of seeking reconciliation and a second chance. They are not just questions but desperate appeals for engagement and an opportunity to fix what has been broken.

Another recurring phrase is found in the pre-chorus: "I'll make up, make up, make up, make up for all those times." The frantic repetition of "make up" mirrors a rambling, heartfelt apology, highlighting the narrator's eagerness to atone for his past mistakes. Similarly, "I'm beggin', beggin', beggin', beggin', I'm begging you" uses repetition to convey the depth of his pleading. These recurring elements make the song's narrative of regret and desperation incredibly memorable and emotionally resonant.