Frank Joseph "Frankie" Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was a… Read Full Bio ↴Frank Joseph "Frankie" Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an African-American rock and roll/R&B singer, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of a New York City-based early rock and roll group called The Teenagers. The group included five boys, all in their early to mid teens. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Frankie Lymon, Jimmy Merchant and Sherman Garnes, and two Puerto Rican members, Herman Santiago and Joe Negroni.

The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and those of the Teenagers fell into decline. Lymon eventually fell into heroin addiction, and died in 1968 at the age of twenty-five.

Waiting in School
Frankie Lymon Lyrics

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I been a-waitin' in school all day long
a-waitin' on the bell to ring so I can go home
Throw my books on the table, pick up the telephone
"Hello, baby, let's get somethin' goin'"

Headin' down to the drugstore to get a soda pop
Throw a nickel in the jukebox, then we start to rock
My school gal baby, gonna tell ya some news

You sure look good in them baby-doll shoes

Well, it's a-one, two, a-pull off my shoes
Three, four, get out on the floor

Five, six, come get your kicks
Down on the corner of Lincoln and a-forty-six SPOKEN: Yeah!

Overall Meaning

The song "Waitin'" by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers is a classic rock and roll song from the late 1950s. The song tells the story of a schoolboy who has been waiting all day for the bell to ring so he can go home and do something fun. As soon as he gets home, he picks up the phone and calls his girlfriend to arrange to meet up. They head down to the drugstore, put a nickel in the jukebox, and start dancing. The boy compliments his girlfriend on how good she looks in her baby-doll shoes, and they continue to dance the night away.

On a deeper level, the song captures the excitement, energy, and restlessness of the teenage years. The singer is eager to break free from the constraints of school and authority and engage in activities that are fun and liberating. The song also reflects the changing social and cultural mores of the time, as teenagers began to assert their independence and experiment with new forms of music, fashion, and lifestyle.

Waiting in SchoolFrankie Lymon Lyrics

Waiting in School
Frankie Lymon Lyrics