She's Waiting by Eric Clapton

Album: Behind The Sun (1985)

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Songfacts®:

This song is about the problems Clapton was having with his marriage. He felt his wife Pattie was waiting for someone better to come along.
Many of Clapton's songs are about Pattie, his wife from 1979-1988. He wrote "Layla" when he fell in love with her, and many of the songs on Behind The Sun are about their troubled marriage.
The keyboard player Peter Robinson wrote this song with Clapton and played synthesizer on the track. Robinson, who played on Phil Collins' first two albums, went on to become a TV and film composer, scoring the movies Cocktail and Wayne's World.
Phil Collins produced this song and played the snare drum that comes in at the end. Other musicians on the track are:

Chris Stainton - Hammond organ, synthesizer
Donald "Duck" Dunn - bass
Jamie Oldaker - drums
Ray Cooper - percussion
This song features female backup vocals by Marcy Levy. She joined Clapton's band in 1973 and helped him write "Lay Down Sally." In 1988, she joined Shakespear's Sister using the name Marcella Detroit.
With Phil Collins at the sessions at a time when his voice was radio gold, it was tempting for Clapton to ask him to sing on this track, but Clapton knew he had to do it himself. Clapton has always been very confident in his guitar work, but not with his vocals.
Clapton performed this on the Philadelphia stage at Live Aid in 1985. It was seen by a huge audience and was a big boost to his career. Clapton also played "White Room" and "Layla" at the show.

Comments: 8

Old Man from North CarolinaOf course it is about Patti for god sakes

It could have been written by George Harrison for all you know
Anyone from AnywhereAlmost all the love songs he wrote himself were about his obsession with pattie, read his biography that he wrote decades after their divorce.he calls her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and accepts his addictions and infidelities broke their marriage up. He names almost all the songs he wrote about her. last one he mentions being, old love. So yes she was layla and every lover he calls out to in his songs.
Karen from Manchester, NhIncidentally, I've read both Clapton's and Boyd's autobiographies; Julie, Sherry and DK, you don't have a single clue as to what you're talking about. Anyway, re: this specific song...my 10-year-old daughter discovered Clapton (actually because of my reading the biographies; she saw the books and asked, "who're they?" I told her, loaned her my CD, and she was hooked) and this is her particular #1 favorite. She also likes "Rock'n'Roll Heart", but that's because it's her daddy's favorite. She'll take Clapton over Bieber any day of the week!
Paige from Dumont, NjWhat are you people talking about?

Layla was writen BEFORE he got with Pattie and it was to sway her to leave George and go with him. He has said in interviews it was abou Pattie. So he didnt have to make it up because she was married to someone else at the time.

In an interview he says of Layla: "That's the art of writing love songs," he said. "I was desperately obsessed with Pattie, but creating a song is just putting a stamp on a feeling."

As was Wonderful tonight, which he also said in interviews that it was about Pattie, he wrote it while waiting on her to finish getting ready for Paul M. " Buddy Holly" party.

These were not the only 2 songs he wrote for her.

As for him beating her and throwing her in a ditch.. I've NEVER heard that before. He did ask her to go to Conners Funeral with him and they were apart then. It speaks volumes.
Julie from Nashville, TnNo this don't have anything to do with Pattie he threw her out the door why should he write her a song... The only song he wrote for her was Bell Bottom Blues. He didn't write Layla and Wonderful Tonight was actually wrote for a girl that he said was the most beautiful girl he ever saw. EC had to take Pattie back and let her claim Layla was about her in order to stop her from destroying him. She was a drug addict and violently jealous. He had beat her up and threw her out the car into a ditch. Now tell us he wrote that ole gal all them songs...He only married her to shut her up and to have a connection to marrying a Beatle wife. I don't care what he tells in interviews, this is the facts but him and Pattie had certain agreements, like don't say that and I'll say this, etc. Having said that this is one heck of a good rythem number..
Sherry from Ghost Town, MiI feel sure that this song had nothing to do with Patty. When this came out EC and one of his girls was taking turns beating her up...
D. K. from Not Listed, MoThis is another song that he didn't write or credit the writer with (his girlfriend) I don't think he wrote anything for his wife, if he did he never said it yet. What he needs to do is fess up on the truth behind Layla, because she was a real person and all the media knew her by her stage name. When these songs were coming out people assume it was all about his then wife and she seemed to be saying that, so the media was saying it but Eric was biting his tongue in guilt. Whats a man to do, tell his wife his songs are for a lover?
Tonya from Mobile, AlOne of my favorite Eric Clapton songs. I love drums at the end.

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