Music Review: Nelly Furtado "Waiting For The Night"

Nelly Furtado

Waiting For The Night

Album: The Spirit Indestructible

Year: 2012

               Nelly Furtado wants to be asked out by her crush  in the brooding “Waiting For The Night.”

          Searching synths open the single, setting an anticipating tone.  She checks her phone again. He should be calling soon. She looks out her window. He’s at his home, maybe putting dishes away or paying bills. She wishes she could be there with him. She loves him but can’t find a way to tell him. (“Baby I know you're outside/In here it's warm and dry/Got feelings that I've got to try expressing/Like a language that I share with you/Let's talk in the special way we do/Don't want to be anywhere else but here with you/Feels so good.”)

            In the chorus, she says he consistently surprises her. Sometimes she’ll find a gift on her doorstep from him  He lets her yammer on in their conversations. She thought of him as a friend at first but the romantic feelings kept creeping up on her. (“Day and night, day and night/You blow my mind, blow my mind/And I can't help, help myself at all/I can't hold back/Day and night, day and night/You blow my mind, blow my mind/And I can't help, help myself from falling/So I'm waiting for the night.”)

                   She sees herself marrying him. However, they have been building towards a relationship for about a year. He’s a bit hesistant after breaking off an engagement not too long after they met. She tells him it’ll be a risk but it will be worth it. (“Baby I know it's late/We've got decisions to make/Think of what we could create together/And with you I am never afraid/To play with the highest stakes/Nobody could break my rapture.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

             In the bridge, she lays in her bed, thinking of him next to her. She wants him to be a major part of her life. People ask her about him and she lights up. She says she knows they are right for each other. However, they need to take a chance now while they can. (“I can't control it in the night, night, night/It's when I've got you on my mind, mind, mind/Cause you're the twinkle in my eye, eye, eye/I've got to get you in my life, life, life/Can't think of nothing worse than being lonely/I think you're the right choice for one and only/We're running out of time so baby hold me/Days go by.”)

               An extended chorus is sung to end the single. (“Day and night, day and night…I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting/I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting/Waiting for the night/Yeah, I really want to see you yeah/I really want to see you tonight/Don't keep me waiting waiting, don't keep me waiting for the night.”)

              Furtado’s  compassionate vocals touch his face, letting him know it’s ok to open up to her. She uses her voice in a different way – airy and soft – which complements the arrangement. With it, her usual habits (nasal, baby voice) are gone, which is welcome.

             The ethereal “Waiting For The Night” is one of her better experiments with mixing sounds with unexpected instruments (the accordion at the end) as well successfully getting producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins out of his comfort zone.