ToC Critic’s Pick: Lindsay Ell, ‘Waiting on You’ [Listen]
Lindsay Ell has found her lane. "Waiting on You" is a blues-soaked country original that sacrifices no art for radio airplay.
Everything about this song is looser, more honest and much more compelling than anything Ell had released previously. It's like someone took her by the shoulders and shook loose all the tensions of being a new artist. That actually did happen in a way — Kristian Bush gave her very peculiar marching orders prior to recording "Waiting on You."
The power and depth of Ell's voice comes through on this new single. She works scales like her fingers work a fretboard, with equal parts intuition and mastery. It's as close to a live recording as you'll come across.
As a song, "Waiting on You" has some bite. Don't dismiss it as just another love song, because in the tradition of the blues, it's a warning to some guy that he'd better get his act together. Brad Paisley is lucky to have her on tour with him this summer.
Did You Know?: Kristian Bush of Sugarland produced "Waiting on You" and Ell's new Worth the Wait EP.
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Lindsay Ell's "Waiting on You" Lyrics:
What's not to like about this new love thing / Midnight kisses, slow dances in the rain / But you got my heart beating fast, yeah / Where this is going baby, I can't say / Every time you leave me I just want you to stay / But I gotta know where you stand.
Chorus:
Like the dry ground / Waiting for the rain to fall down / I'm the July sky, you're a bottle rocket I'm waiting on you / Like a sailboat wishing for the wind to blow / Like a fast car looking for the green to go / I'm right here baby, don't keep me waiting on you.
I'm not talking 'bout no diamond rings / White picket fences, those forever things / But you gotta make your move.
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