California Waiting

Album: Youth And Young Manhood (2003)
Charted: 61
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Kings of Leon originally recorded this song for their debut EP Holy Roller Novocaine. However, they felt it was recorded in a rush to finish the record, so the band recorded a new version for Youth and Young Manhood.

    It appears they prefer the first version. During Kings of Leon's VH1 Storytellers performance, Caleb Followill admitted before playing this song: "We kind of sabotaged it on our album, and tried to play it really punk rock. It was better on the EP I think."
  • In 2002 the Followill brothers got a shot performing for RCA Records' A&R exec Steve Ralbovsky in his office. "Angelo plugged into a little amp, and Caleb and Nathan were headdown, slapping their thighs, singing," Ralbovsky recalled to Rolling Stone.

    He added that after Kings of Leon sang some country tunes, "the real zinger moment was the first chorus of 'California Waiting.'"
  • This raw and rugged track finds a vulnerable Caleb Followill wishing he could "get back my lonely life." He told NME in 2016: "I've never considered [suicide], but I've always written it very well. 'California Waiting' and songs like that, they're all about the moment when someone just gives in and says, 'That's it for me, I'm out.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."