Wait Until Tomorrow

"Wait Until Tomorrow" is a song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience from their 1967 second album Axis: Bold as Love. Written by Jimi Hendrix, the song details the scenario of a male protagonist addressing his female love with whom he plans to leave home, only to be shot dead by her father. Despite not being released as a single, "Wait Until Tomorrow" has been recognised as one of the strongest songs on the album.^[2][3]

Background and style

"Wait Until Tomorrow" was one of the first "situation song[s]" written by Hendrix and is said to be influenced by soul artists such as the Isley Brothers (with whom Hendrix performed before forming the Experience)^[2] and stylistically similar to guitarist Steve Cropper.^[4] A "head-on boy–girl song",^[4] "Wait Until Tomorrow" was one of the final songs recorded for the album on October 26, 1967, before the album was completed with the recording of title track "Bold as Love" three days later.^[4] In an AllMusic review, Matthew Greenwald described the progression and style of the song:

A great bass and guitar duet is the core riff, and, as usual, Hendrix builds up to gentle and entertaining crescendos from there. Lyrically, the song finds Hendrix writing a situation song, creating characters in the first person. This was one of his first attempts at this, and it's fun listening to him stretch his songwriting abilities.^[2]

Reception

Reviews of Axis: Bold as Love have generally mentioned "Wait Until Tomorrow" in a positive light. Matthew Greenwald of allmusic identifies the "playful song" as "one of the low-key highlights" of the album,^[2] while Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone describes it as a "taut, funky, could've-been-hit."^[3] In reviewing the album for the BBC, Chris Jones summarised "Wait Until Tomorrow" as "a wry, funky little tale,"^[5] while Sputnikmusic reviewer "Broken Arrow" comments:

The intro is light and quick, [with a] guitar part and a real heavy bass [line] that only consists of one note but really adds to the intro. As Jimi [Hendrix]'s vocals and Mitch [Mitchell]'s drums come in the band goes into more of a groove. After a nice guitar fill that resembles the intro the extremely catchy chorus comes with some nice background vocals. The intro theme gets repeated a few times in the song before every verse. Mitch plays some very nice fills in this song and keeps a solid beat throughout [it]. 4/5^[6]

Personnel

Cover versions

American blues-rock band the John Mayer Trio have performed "Wait Until Tomorrow" a number of times, with live performances featured on their 2005 live album Try! and lead vocalist and guitarist John Mayer's 2008 live album Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles.^[7]

Brazilian musicians and social activists Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso covered "Wait Until Tomorrow" on their 1994 CD, Tropicalia 2. Gil's & Veloso's adaptation takes the song outside its original timing and puts it into Brazilian rhythm. While the lyrical spirit of the song is consistent with the original, Gil's & Veloso's history of activism in Brazil adds a social element to the personal "situation song" style that Hendrix was experimenting with in his writing at the time.

References