waiting room
waiting room by phoebe bridgers is a heart wrenching song that she wrote when she was sixteen, she states that shes now embarrassed of what she wrote even if its a fan favourite for its raw description of desesperation and sincerity
in the song bridgers talks about the unhealthy lengths shed go in a relationship and how shed let someone treat her badly because at least be treated by that person.
this being the first line could very easily mean a big power misbalance in the relationship, something bridgers sings about a lot, like in “letter to an old poet” a song from the band that she’s in.
this could symbolize that this person hurts her but she loves this person so much that she refuses to heal so she just copes with it (first aid kit)
even if it’s not what they need. since if you are already sad, sad songs won’t make you feel better but they are comforting and so she wants to be their source of comfort even if ultimately it is not beneficial for either of them.
a power ballad is a romantic song where the singer describes their feelings. bridgers wants to deeply affect this person, so she can feel cared for. hold someone down could mean that she wants this person to settle down for her, she want to be the most important thing in their life.
the broken love song is feeding the other person’s misery she is stating that she wants to be what they want and yearn for,
she knows that shes pinning senselessly and it doesnt matter what she does they couldn’t love her
broken bodies could mean death, shes feels guilty for being upset when people are dying
this lyric also adds to her self-deprecation
this line could mean a secret relationship, breathing in someones mouth because you think you’ve heard a noise, phoebe and this person aren’t dating but they do see each other.
she knows that this relationship will affect her badly but shes resigned to go through that for this person
phoebe wishes this person would want to go out of their way to be with her, because she would do that for them. she wishes they were willing to go to the same lengths as she would
and then she goes on to repeat “i know its for the better” 37 times. shes trying to convince herself desperately that this person will only hurt her and that this is the right thing.
as the song goes on it sounds like shes saying “no, its for the better” like she has to physically restrain herself from this person to accept that life will go on.
