To treasure gold is fun
Brother, drop your bag at once
From the air to the people
A mass to take you on
From a clock to the past
A future that I own
And to find just one other
Seems to be the goal of everyone
From the search to the hurt
I believed I could take you on
We would drink, we would dance
And you would watch me whenever you want

And can you give me, everything
Everything, everything
'Cause I can't give you anything
And if you wait, if you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again
If you wait

If letters spell out words, son
You chose to put them in order, didn't you
From the meaning, the moment you tried to take me on
From the air to the room a bed that I own

And can you give me everything,
Everything, everything
'Cause I can't give you anything
And if you wait, if you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again
If you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again


Lyrics submitted by Alnervik

If You Wait Lyrics as written by Hannah Felicity May Reid

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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If You Wait song meanings
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6 Comments

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  • +3
    General Comment

    To me this song communicates longing really really well. The way she sings the words "if you wait" is so appropriately emotional. I absolutely love this song, and the entire album for that matter.

    I think it's about wanting badly to love, but not being able to. Maybe it's not the right time, not the right situation, maybe not even the right person -- or any person at all. Maybe she is singing about somebody she wants but has never met.

    Looking forward to reading other interpretations of this.

    polyreson January 11, 2014   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The song is about love, it's more precious than gold..... The most sort item on the planet. It's the searching, thinking you've found it only to find it's not there.... It's the hurt. It's one person holding gold with the other only holding nothing but what they own, the air around them, their future. It's saying you can give as much as humanly possible but still will never be enough to win the other persons heart. She knows this, she knows it isn't right at this point in time. She maybe fell in love once, but couldn't hold on to it. She knows he could be the one but can't make a commitment and is saying if he waits then maybe with passing of time it will be right....it'll never be right.

    But to treasure gold isn't fun when you don't actually own it..... To love that person, giving everything but not to ever own it is so hurtful, so sad

    honeybadgeron September 23, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Death? A person leaving this world behind. Saying goodbye to the loved one left behind. Watching him or her cope with the loss and reassuring they will meet again.

    Knooseon December 24, 2014   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    She's breaking up because of a fear of committment, but still wants her lover to wait for her, until she "finds" herself:

    "To treasure gold is fun...drop your bag at once" (Gold seems to be a metaphor for relationship, and she advises against it) "I believed I could take you on" (but in the end she couldn't) "A future that I own" (she's her own person now) "We would drink, we would dance and you would watch me whenever you want" (all in the past tense, implying that they will no longer be doing these things) "Can you give me everything? 'Cause I can't give you anything" (she expects it all from him, but she can't give back the same) "If you wait, I trust in time that we will meet again" (she has some growing to do, and once she's done she hopes that he's waited for her)

    At least, that's my two cents worth.

    redly40on March 20, 2017   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    The double edged golden sword of unrequited love - the sharp extreme of that feeling of love for the other person which of itself elates you (yet not them as they remain indifferent) juxtaposed against the blunt extreme of a longing, aching heart, body, soul and mere existence in the world, in the air around you, knowing that despite your extreme love for that other person, it not only is not returned to the same degree, it's not even extinct, it's just not there at all in the slightest.

    Such poses ethereal and questions for both parties, but essentially seeking answer to the same question: "is love, or the absence of such, real or merely a delusion within upon which we get high and low?" How one answers this determines if love is more valuable than gold, but more valuable even than air, without which we cannot exists; or is it dust, blown back and forth in the desert forming a mere worthless mirage.

    The one person in life I perhaps loved the most, to this day has not satisfied herself what love is. We are both equally adrift, equally unfulfilled, yet we endure life in search of that which eludes us. Let's hope we all reconcile, one way or the other, during our short time journeying on this planet. x

    TheCentralScrutinizeron September 08, 2017   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    To treasure gold is fun Brother, drop your bag at once. ===> material goods are fun, but you needs to stop carrying around that weight

    From the air to the people, A mass to take you on. From a clock to the past A future that I own. ===> confusing loyalties, in a long-term relationship

    And to find just one other Seems to be the goal of everyone. From the search to the hurt, I believed I could take you on. We would drink, we would dance And you would watch me whenever you want. ===> everyone is looking for love. Despite the work of the search and the hurt, I believed too, and thought I could “take you on” as a love project

    And can you give me, everything Everything, everything 'Cause I can't give you anything===> the relationship is set up so that you keep on giving to me , because you sense I cannot connect to you. You are trying to cover up for my inability to connect with you, with favors and treasures.

    And if you wait, if you wait I will trust in time that we will meet again If you wait===> the mantra of the relationship has been “it will get better”, the despair of which which she captures in the forlorn voice cracks of the line “if you wait”. The relationship is over now, but I still have a hopeless hope that we will meet and understand things later.

    If letters spell out words, son You chose to put them in order, didn't you From the meaning, the moment you tried to take me on From the air to the room a bed that I own ====> you wrote me that letter and also tried to make me your project, diving into my world and bed

    keith10902on July 11, 2019   Link

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