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I'll Be Waiting Lyrics

Hold me closer one more time,
Say that you love me in your last goodbye,
Please forgive me for my sins,
Yes, I swam dirty waters,
But you pushed me in,
I've seen your face under every sky,
Over every border and on every line,
You know my heart more than I do,
We were the greatest, me and you,

But we had time against us,
And miles between us,
The heavens cried,
I know I left you speechless,
But now the sky has cleared and it's blue,
And I see my future in you,

I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again,
I put my hands up,
I'll do everything different,
I'll be better to you,
I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again,
I put my hands up,
I'll be somebody different,
I'll be better to you,

Let me stay here for just one more night,
Build your world around me,
And pull me to the light,
So I can tell you that I was wrong,
I was a child then, but now I'm willing to learn,

But we had time against us,
And miles between us,
The heavens cried,
I know I left you speechless,
But now the sky has cleared and it's blue,
And I see my future in you,

I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again,
I put my hands up,
I'll do everything different,
I'll be better to you,
I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again,
I put my hands up,
I'll be somebody different,
I'll be better to you,

Time against us,
Miles between us,
Heavens cried,
I know I left you speechless,
Time against us,
Miles between us,
Heavens cried,
I know I left you speechless,
I know I left you speechless,
I'll be waiting,

I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again,
I put my hands up,
I'll do everything different,
I'll be better to you,
I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again,
I put my hands up,
I'll be somebody different,
I'll be better to you.
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6 Meanings

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Cover art for I'll Be Waiting lyrics by Adele

This is one of the bests of 21. There's something I love about a female artist who can sing songs about times when she has mistreated someone in a relationship. It's such a breath of fresh air because you often only hear the other side, and it doesn't always happen that way.

Cover art for I'll Be Waiting lyrics by Adele

I think the meaning of this song is pretty straight-forward. I heard it and loved it. I admire her willingness to put her pride aside and try, for love. On top of that, putting aside things in the past that seemed to have ruined this relationship shes writing about.

'Yes, I swam dirty waters, But you pushed me in'

She is saying sorry but also tells us that he played a part in their previous demise.

'You know my heart more than I do'

In my opinion, this line leaves her defenseless towards him. Very scary position to be in, especially if shes unsure if he still feels anything for her. But shes willing to try, hard, no matter how much shes been hurt, shes putting him first now.

'I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll do everything different'

BECAUSE...

'...now the sky has cleared and it's blue, And I see my future in you'

I wonder if this was written before 'Rolling in The Deep?' Just Kidding. I hope it wasnt and I hope she was finally given the opportunity to put her hands down and wrap them around this man.

Cover art for I'll Be Waiting lyrics by Adele

I think this one is pretty clear. I think basically they broke up and moved away from each other. Now that she has thought things over and seen more of the world, so to speak, and she knows that he was the right guy for her. Now she is ready to be back together if he will give her a chance. She is more grown-up and ready to be a better girlfriend.

My Interpretation
Cover art for I'll Be Waiting lyrics by Adele

this song seems so hopeful to me.like she knows she screwed up but knows the potential is boundless.and you get the impression it will happen. Adele=Amazing

Cover art for I'll Be Waiting lyrics by Adele

On first view this song seems pretty straight, but i think the true meaning is a bit more hidden. To my mind it is about a person (in the following "her") who is about to die the next days and who has neglected her her relationship to God an is now hoping to renew this relationship. She hopes that God still loves her and she can gain entrance to heaven after her death.

Hold me closer one more time, -> Hoping for new attention from "above" Say that you love me in your last goodbye, -> "last goodbye" shows that she's going to die Please forgive me for my sins, -> biblic phrase Yes, I swam dirty waters, But you pushed me in, -> "you created the world an challenges that i had to face during my life" I've seen your face under every sky, | Over every border and on every line, | You know my heart more than I do, |
We were the greatest, me and you, |-> God is where I am / God is everywhere and God knows all of his sheeps better than they know themselves

But we had time against us, And miles between us, -> she has negelcted the relationship
The heavens cried, I know I left you speechless, But now the sky has cleared and it's blue, -> a nature-mataphor. sky <=> heaven And I see my future in you -> i hope God will welcome me in heaven.

I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, -> to the sky/ to where you are, hoping you see me... I'll do everything different, I'll be better to you, -> promise: I'll never neglect my belief again... I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll be somebody different, I'll be better to you,

Let me stay here for just one more night, -> let me live for only a little longer Build your world around me, -> first focus on the rest of the world and come back to me later And pull me to the light, -> fetch me here and bring me to heaven/ thing you see when you're dying So I can tell you that I was wrong, I was a child then, but now I'm willing to learn, -> she admits her faults.

She's saying, "I know I left you speechless," to GOD? That would be one hell of an ego.

I completely agree with your interpretation. Even if it just so happen not to be Adele's intended meaning (a subliminal spiritual message) it is certainly the meaning for me (personally ) when I listen to the song.

Cover art for I'll Be Waiting lyrics by Adele

I think in the first verse she's admitting her mistakes...she's either cheated and she didn't realize how much she needed her partner or she didn't realize how good she had it until she messed up.....and she's just now realizing what she's done and what she's messed up a perfectly good thing. The chorus that maybe she was young and naive as she mentioned there was time between us and miles against us and the heavens cried and that meant she knew they were meant to be together and plenty of excuses to do what she wanted to do and now she's realized that somehow, she's waiting for that second chance to come around, whenever that may be. Just my two cents.