Phoebe Bridgers is an indie folk American singer-songwriter with the incredible talent of composing endlessly gut wrenching songs. She exhibits an extraordinary ability to conjure intimate feelings connecting with each listener. Specifically, she is known for using metaphors in specific in her music that help deliver these strong messages. ‘Waiting Room’, which Bridgers discussed with NPR in a 2020 interview, is a personal favorite.
“I have a really old song called ‘Waiting Room,’ where—yeah, I wrote it when I was, like, 16…it’s super sincere”. Bridgers then followed, “It’s so emotionally raw.”
Bridgers’ ‘Waiting Room’ can be viewed as a metaphor for an emotional state where time seems forever motionless. Her symbolization in using a place of pain- a hospital waiting room- resembles her willingness to be potentially damaged by a desire to be with a person who may never be waiting on the other side of the door for her.
If you were a teacher, I would fail your class
Take it over and over ’til you noticed me
If you were a waiting room, I would never see a doctor
I would sit there with my first aid kit and bleed
Bridgers opens with vivid scenarios for attempts to be recognized by someone who typically doesn’t bat an eye in our direction, though more specifically, someone we admire and obtain feelings for. Her metaphor’s description illustrates the control that can be brought over us by a person we love and our dependence on those we love. Bridgers describes how she would put herself through physical and emotional torment to gain the attention of someone she aspires.
Who am I to ask for more, more, more?
…
I wanna make you drive all night just because I said, “Maybe you should come over”
Wanna make you fall in love as hard as my poor parents’ teenage daughter
She’ll be the best you ever had if you let her
Who are we to ask for more? Bridgers describes a feeling of irrelevance and unworthiness in her relationship. Lacking emotional balance with her partner, she’s unable to decipher whether to hold on or let go of their toxic relationship. Being stuck in her relationship, she holds herself back from opportunities for potential happiness, rather than current contentedness. The speaker’s desire to be close to the person they love and be the antidote to their pain and difficult times is incredibly beautiful and shows how love entirely consumes humans. Waiting Room represents being stuck, helpless, and in pain while waiting for love that may never come. Its intense and description lyrics, which heavily makes use of repetition and extensive imagery, captures the intensity of unrequited love.
