FOREIGNER - WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU

Publicació: 2 d'octubre de 1981 (EUA) 4 de desembre de 1981 (Regne Unit)

Llistes: Regne Unit: #8    EUA: #2

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" és una balada de 1981 de la banda de rock britànica-nord-americana Foreigner publicada com a segon senzill de l'àlbum "4" de 1981 i va ser coescrita pel cantant Lou Gramm i el guitarrista Mick Jones. El sintetitzador va ser interpretat pel llavors poc conegut Thomas Dolby.

Aquest pot ser el single de més èxit de la història de les llistes dels Estats Units que mai va arribar al número 1. Va estar 10 setmanes al número 2, però va tenir la desgràcia d'assolir el màxim al mateix temps que l'èxit encara més massiu d'Olivia Newton-John "Physical", que va estar 10 setmanes al primer lloc. Però fins i tot quan "Physical" finalment va caure del número 1, "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" de Daryl Hall i John Oates va passar per davant de la cançó de Foreigner al lloc més alt de la llista. La setmana després d'això, "Centerfold" de la J. Geils Band va fer caure la cançó de Hall i Oates al número 2 i "Waiting for a Girl Like You" al número 3. L'any 2002, "Work It" de Missy Elliott va igualar la dubtosa gesta d'aquesta cançó, mantenint-se també al número 2 durant 10 setmanes sense arribar al número 1. Tot i que "Waiting for a Girl Like You" mai va arribar al número 1, l'àlbum "4" ho va fer, encapçalant el Billboard 200 durant deu setmanes.

Mick Jones, que va escriure la cançó amb el cantant principal Lou Gramm, va dir: "Hi ha una cançó anomenada 'Waiting For A Girl Like You', sobre la qual literalment no tenia cap control, va sortir sola. No tenia ni idea del que volia dir, i va arribar al punt que de vegades ni tan sols podia estar a l'estudi quan l'enregistràvem, em va deixar una impressió molt profunda. Però va acabar sent una cançó que va triomfar i va agradar a molta gent. Aquests dies he escoltat que és una cançó que molta gent la posa als seus casaments. És el tipus de cançó que s’escriu sola, i ni tan sols saps d'on et ve. Però sento que són coses que et passen a vegades i les has d'aprofitar, és una mena d’inspiració que hi ha a l'aire, i només has d'estar prou despert per agafar-la i deixar que flueixi a través teu. Hi ha una mica de mística en la forma que provenen aquestes idees. A vegades tens una idea sobre una cançó, o tens un títol en què bases la resta de la cançó, però a vegades prové literalment d'una àrea desconeguda. Estàs pensant en una cosa completament diferent i, de sobte et ve aquesta inspiració. Normalment sé quan està passant, i només deixo que flueixi i intento no interferir-hi, només intento transmetre el que signifiquen aquell pensament, i aquests sentiments."

A la seva autobiografia, Lou Gramm parla d'una dona preciosa i misteriosa que va aparèixer a la sala de control quan estava gravant la seva veu, i li va donar la inspiració per oferir l'emocionant presa que va ser la millor del que mai havia cantat per a la cançó, i la que es va utilitzar finalment. Escriu que aquesta bellesa efímera va desaparèixer i mai no ha sabut la seva identitat.

FOREIGNER - WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU

Released : October 2, 1981 (US)  December 4, 1981 (UK) 

Charted:  UK: #8    US: #2 

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the 1981 album “4” and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-little-known Thomas Dolby.

This may be the biggest hit single in US chart history that never made it to #1. It spent an astounding 10 weeks at #2, but had the misfortune of peaking at the same time as Olivia Newton-John's even more massive hit "Physical," which spent 10 weeks at the top spot. But even when "Physical" finally fell out of #1, "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by Daryl Hall and John Oates leapfrogged ahead of Foreigner’s song into the #1 spot. The week after that, "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band knocked the Hall and Oates song to #2 and "Waiting for a Girl Like You" to #3. In 2002, "Work It" by Missy Elliott matched this song's dubious chart feat, also staying at #2 for 10 weeks without hitting #1. Whilst this song never made it to #1, the “4” album did, topping the Billboard 200 for ten weeks.

Mick Jones, who wrote the song with lead singer Lou Gramm, said: "There's a song called 'Waiting For A Girl Like You,' which I literally had no control over, it just came out. I had no idea what it meant, but it got to the point where I couldn't even be in the studio when we were recording it sometimes, it left such a deep impression on me. But it ended up being a song that brought a lot of people together. I hear these days that it's a song that a lot of people play at their weddings. It's the kind of song that the pen does the writing, and you don't even know where it came from. But I feel that it's stuff that's floating around at times and you have to grasp it - it's kind of flying around in the air, and you just have to be open enough to let that flow through you. Sometimes it's sort of mystical where these ideas come from. Sometimes you have an idea about a song, or you have a title that you base the rest of the song on, but sometimes it comes just literally from an unknown area. You'll be thinking about something completely different, and suddenly you get that inspiration. I usually know when it's happening, and I just let it flow and try not to interfere with it - just try and deliver what that thought, those feelings, mean."

In his autobiography, Lou Gramm tells of a beautiful, mysterious woman who appeared in the control room when he was recording his vocal and gave him the inspiration to deliver the stirring take that was better than he has ever sung the song. He writes that this ephemeral beauty vanished, and he has never discerned her identity.