Wait Until Tomorrow

 When considering a good song that has been covered well, one song comes to mind. That song is Wait Until Tomorrow by Jimi Hendrix, which has been covered by John Mayer. Though it is the same song, each version bears its own unique qualities and offers a different musical perspective.

The lyrics of the song tell the story of a couple who is in love and plans to run away together. However, when the boy comes to meet the girl, the girl changes her mind, saying “I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow.” This angers the boy, causing him to question the girl's reasoning, saying that he is “hearing strange words stutter from the mixed up mind” of her and that she's “so unsure of [herself] leaning from [her] unsure window pane” In the end, however, the girl's dad shoots the boy, turning the story to the tragic side and ending the young love prematurely.

I feel that not only is this song quite catchy, but it's lyrics are meaningful as well. It tells a classic love story of a couple of young lovers who want to spend the rest of their lives together and are willing, seemingly at first, do anything to do so. However, the girl cannot seem to make her mind up and is not sure that she wants to enter a commitment at the present time. In the end, however, her indecisiveness brings about the death of the one that she may have loved. From this, we can learn several things. First, although it is always good to fall in love, we must be careful and make sure that we really are in love before we commit to anything more permanent such as marriage. Second, you cannot be wishy-washy when it comes to love. You are either in love or you are not, and the sooner you figure out which it is, the better. Similarly, the longer you wait, the more chance there is that you will miss out on love, and it could have turned out to be the one true love you have been looking for.

Although both versions of this classic song are good, they are each unique in their use of speed and intensity. Jimi Hendrix's version is much slower and has much less intensity than John Mayer's version. Hendrix uses the steady beat of the bass guitar to set the pace for the song. This gives the listener more of the feeling of someone telling a story from their life experience, while at the same time acknowledging the tragic element in the song. John Mayer's version, on the other had, has a much faster tempo and uses intense lead guitar solos and backing to present the listener with a different image. This version suggests that the events described in the lyrics are simply chaotic and hints that the perhaps narrator is shocked at what has happened. This version indicates that the couple's love went from calm and happy to confused and then tragic in one night and that it happened so fast that it was hard to believe.

I think that both versions of this song are worth listening to, but I favor John Mayer's version. Though Jimi Hendrix was the original artist, his version is not as interesting as Mayer's. His version gives me a psychedelic feeling and has that rather weird dreamy aspect to it. Each time I listen to it, I can't help but wonder if Jimi Hendrix was on something (more than usual) when he recorded his version. John Mayer's version, however, has a much more upbeat feel to it and simply makes me want to dance (or just play the guitar, depending on what kind of day it is). John Mayer's version stands out as being more rememberable.