About The Song
“Right Here Waiting” is a song by American singer and songwriter Richard Marx. It was released on June 29, 1989, as the second single from his second album, Repeat Offender (1989). The song was a global hit, topping charts in many countries around the world, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States where it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The same year, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was the UK’s most streamed love song on Spotify ahead of Valentine’s Day in 2013 and has since been covered by many artists, including R&B singer Monica.
Marx wrote this song on the road as a love letter to his wife, actress Cynthia Rhodes. In a 2010 interview, Marx told the Indian newspaper The Indian Express the story behind the song: “I wrote the song for my wife Cynthia who was in South Africa shooting for a film. We were not married then and I wanted to meet her because I had not seen her for a few months. But my visa application was rejected and when I came back I wrote this song which was more of a letter from me to her.
It was the fastest song I wrote, in barely 20 minutes. And this was the time when there was no Skype and Social networking so I had to ship the track to her. The song was very personal and was not intended to go public. But my friends pursued me to record it.”
Marx originally pitched the song to Barbra Streisand. But she had a few issues with his lyrics. “She called and said, ‘I love this music, this melody is gorgeous, but if I’m going to record it, I’m going to need you to rewrite the lyrics because I’m not going to be right here waiting for anybody,'” Marx recalled to CBS in a 2013 interview.
The video for this song was directed by Jim Yukich, and produced by Paul Flattery. It appears to be filmed on the road during Marx’s 1989 Repeat Offender Tour, but was all shot in Los Angeles. It features various black-and-white tour footage interspersed with color scenes of Marx playing the song to an empty auditorium with a grand piano at a (staged) soundcheck. Due to Marx’s hectic touring schedule, very little time was available to produce a video for this single, so other tour footage was compiled to make an official video for the track.
Video
Lyrics
Oceans apart, day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice on the line
But it doesn’t stop the pain
If I see you next to never
Then how can we say forever?
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I took for granted, all the times
That I thought would last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can’t get near you now
Oh, can’t you see it, baby?
You’ve got me going crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I wonder how we can survive
This romance
But in the end if I’m with you
I’ll take the chance
Oh, can’t you see it, baby?
You’ve got me going crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
Waiting for you