Sara received her Bachelor of Science degree in History and English in 1994 from Evangel University, a private Christian university in Springfield, Missouri. Sara spent four years teaching high school in Rosemount, Minnesota before recording her first album, Past the Wishing, in 1998. Since then, she has released five more albums and appeared on several others (see below). Sara has been nominated for 3 Dove Awards including "New Artist of the Year" in 2002 and "Special Event Album of the Year 2003" by the Gospel Music Association. She was named one of the best Christian music artists of 2005 and the album, Add to the Beauty, was named "Album of the Year" for 2005 by CCM Magazine. In 2009 Fireflies & Songs earned enough votes from a panel of ten music critics to be named Christianity Today's Album of the Year. The magazine explained their choice: "Already known for her transparent songwriting, Sara Groves gets even more piercingly honest on this, her ninth album. Whether her relationship with God, marital tension, or a private battle with anxiety, it's poetically spilled forth in Groves' call for the church to 'live confessionally.' And paired with less poppy, stripped-down arrangements, her achingly clear vocal remains front and center. This is vintage Groves—yet more herself than ever."
I Can't Wait
Sara Groves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I can't keep up with men
I can fight all these forces
On my own and never win
I can take it from here
And have nowhere to go
I could take it for years
And have nothing to show
I can work like the devil
Build a tower to the sky
I can work for my possessions
Till they empty me of life
I can build my own house
And be building in vain
I can plant a seed
But I can't bring the rain
I'll wait for you
Now more than ever
I see it's true
Now more than ever
I’ll wait for you now
I can take my own vengeance
Make a war of all my pain
I can get my own insurance
Find a way to lay the blame
I can win the whole world
And lose my own soul
Holding on for dear life
Spinning out of control
I'll wait for you
Now more than ever
I see it's true
Now more than ever
I’ll wait for you now
I don't want to do this by myself
I know I need your help
And so I'm waiting for you
I can take it from here
And have nowhere to go
I can take it for years
And have nothing to show
I'll wait for you
Now more than ever
I see it's true
Now more than ever
I’ll wait for you
I don't want to do this by myself
I know I need your help
And so I'm waiting for you
Sara Groves's song "I'll Wait" is a contemplative piece about the limitations of human efforts and the importance of waiting on God. The song starts with the singer acknowledging her inadequacy to keep up with men and the forces that seem to work against her. She senses that she is fighting a losing battle all by herself, with little to show for her hard work. She is aware that she can put in all the effort, work diligently and meticulously, but still end up with nothing at all.
The second verse of the song highlights some of the worldly ambitions that can easily control one's life, such as the craving for material possessions, the need for insurance, and the desire for revenge. However, she realizes that even if she were to win the whole world with her efforts, she would still lose her soul.
In the chorus of the song, the singer acknowledges her dependency on God and how much she needs his help. She says, "I'll wait for you, now more than ever I see it's true. I don't want to do this by myself, I know I need your help, and so I'm waiting for you." The song is a reminder that in spite of our hard work, success is not always guaranteed, and sometimes it's best to wait on God to lead us in the right direction.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't run with the horses
I am not strong enough to keep up with others.
If I can't keep up with men
I am not capable of competing with others.
I can fight all these forces
I can deal with all the challenges I face.
On my own and never win
But I cannot win alone.
I can take it from here
I can handle things without anyone's help.
And have nowhere to go
But then I am left with nothing to accomplish.
I could take it for years
I can sustain this for a long time.
And have nothing to show
Even after all this work, I still have nothing to demonstrate.
I can work like the devil
I can work extremely hard.
Build a tower to the sky
I can build great things.
I can work for my possessions
I can work to acquire wealth and possessions.
Till they empty me of life
Until it drains me of everything I have.
I can build my own house
I can create my own home.
And be building in vain
But it may not turn out to be worthwhile in the end.
I can plant a seed
I can start something new.
But I can't bring the rain
But success ultimately depends on factors outside of my control.
I'll wait for you
So now, I choose to wait for your aid.
Now more than ever
I have realized the importance of my faith.
I see it's true
I acknowledge the truth of my need for you.
I don’t want to do this by myself
I cannot accomplish this alone.
I know I need your help
I understand that I require your support.
And so I'm waiting for you
And therefore, I patiently wait for you.
I can take my own vengeance
I could seek revenge on my own.
Make a war of all my pain
I could channel my hurt into violence.
I can get my own insurance
I could acquire my own security.
Find a way to lay the blame
I could place fault elsewhere.
I can win the whole world
I could succeed in everything.
And lose my own soul
But in doing so, I could lose everything.
Holding on for dear life
Struggling to maintain my grip.
Spinning out of control
Losing control entirely.
Lyrics © MUSIC SERVICES, INC.
Written by: SARA GROVES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matt Leitner
on Conversations
Thanks for the commentary, I think the line by line suffers a little - clearly Sara is a believer in Jesus Christ and that is what means so much to her, whereas the line by line interpretation "dumbs it down" to "my faith and religious beliefs". The line by line even mentions "my truth" which is moral relativism (see a Tim Keller sermon or talk on idolatry). Just because a believer in Christ expresses uncertainty or vulnerability does not mean that they are abandoning their faith!!!!!! In this the line by line commentary does a disservice to the song. Nevertheless I appreciated the overall meaning comments.