"Wait" is a song released by the English rock bandthe Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. The song is credited to Lennon–McCartney, although in the 1997 book, Many Years from Now, McCartney recalls it as entirely his. This is supported by a 1970 interview with John Lennon by Ray Connolly, in which he could not remember writing it; "That must be one of Paul's," he said.
Origin and recording
The song was originally recorded for Help! in June 1965 but was rejected for inclusion on the album. When Rubber Soul fell one song short for a Christmas release, "Wait" was brought back. Overdubs were added to the initial recording so it would blend in better with the other, more recent songs on Rubber Soul. The lyrics, describing the singer's anxieties about his relationship with his girlfriend while he is away, are thematically similar to several other Lennon–McCartney songs, such as "When I Get Home" and "Things We Said Today", written during the period of 1964 and 1965. The vocals on the verse are shared between Lennon and McCartney, and McCartney sings the two middle eight sections. Instrumentally, George Harrison's tone pedal guitar has been considered the most memorable aspect of the song.
Reception
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic writes that the song, while not one of the best on Rubber Soul, still fits in with the album comfortably enough. He compliments the song's "sorrowful melodies," calling them one of the most sorrowful of the Lennon–McCartney library, and notes that it's one of the fewBeatles songs to be in a minor key. Unterberger ends his review by saying the most memorable feature of "Wait" is Harrison's "eerie tone-pedal guitar" at the end of the bridges and at the end of the song. In his review for the 50th anniversary of Rubber Soul, Jacob Albano of Classic Rock Review writes: ""Wait" features great choruses and a decent bridge by McCartney along with a creative percussive ensemble and pedal-effected guitars," but concludes by calling it an otherwise weak song for its parent album.
