Analysis of Lyrics to Jack Johnson's "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"

Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing 
You believed in superstitions 
Then maybe you'd see the signs 
     The opening lines of the song set the theme of 'waiting, wishing'. We assume the 'you' is a reference to a lady (male singing) and the basic story is that she doesn't love him and is ignoring him. 'The signs' could be seen as a reference to his own actions. This gives the listener the idea that he has been dropping clues to her that he is not happy with the way he is being treated. 
     The rhyming pattern of the verses are the first two lines rhyming and the last not. It has a regular beat in 4/4 timing with a line to each bar, this is a usual layout for popular songs as it means that the song is easy to listen to and has a fluid motion as it is easy to predict due to the simple layout.

The Lord knows that this world is cruel 
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool 
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you 
      These lines emphasize the desperate feeling of the last resort. It is clear that the singer has had enough and references 'The Lord'. A god is generally turned to in a time of need, further emphasizing the desperation of the singer to get attention from the lady.
      The use of 'fool' as a term referring to himself was an inspiration for the central character of the video being a mime as they are typically associated with foolery and clowning. This also makes the character laughable and lighthearted, which coincides with the light feel of the song.

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you 
Must I always be playing, playing your fool 
     The chorus has the feel of begging due to the use of 'must i always'. It is a direct plea to the lady but almost seems to speak to the listener. **
I sang your songs, I danced your dance 
I gave your friends all a chance 
     This part shows the effort the artist has put into this love of his. He seems to have tried his hardest to fit in to certain aspects of her life, even if they don't fit in with his own life.
But putting up with them 
Wasn't worth never having you 
      This show that he is feeling let down and angry because obviously after giving her friends a chance it turns out they are not pleasent to him, This will obviously hurt.

Maybe you've been through this before 
But it's my first time so please ignore 
The next few lines cause they're directed at you 
       This shows that he is naive to the chance that this love may not work, because he's never felt like this before, so it may just be an infatuation. This links to the part in our video when the mime sits down with the artist, who eventually shows him the mime girl whom he falls in love with.

I can't always be waiting, waiting on you 
I can't always be playing, playing your fool 
        **

I keep playing your part 
But it's not my scene 
Want this plot to twist 
I've had enough mystery 
Keep building it up 
Then shooting me down 
But I'm already down
       This part shows us that he's finally getting fed up and not losing interest exactly, but starting to realise that this may not go his way in the end. Also the link to "plot" and "scene" is very theatrical and links directly to the mime and also "Les  Enfants du Paradis" where the mime is on stage with the beautiful woman, whom the mime is madly in love with, and rejects him. breaking his heart.

Just wait a minute 
Just sitting, waiting 
Just wait a minute 
Just sitting, waiting 
     Another link to begging for attention "just wait a minute" makes it seem like he's asking the girl to stop and listen for once instead of ignoring all his moves.

Well, if I was in your position 
I'd put down all my ammunition 
I'd wonder why'd it taken me so long 
        This the final point in the song where he  realises that this is not right and loses his naivete. He realizes that this girl is not the person she though she is and as he says in the next verse, that she is "cruel" for playing him like this.

But Lord knows that I'm not you 
And if I was, I wouldn't be so cruel 
Cause waitin' on love aint so easy to do 

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you 
Must I always be playing, playing your fool 
       **

No, I can't I always be waiting, waiting on you 
I can't always be playing, playing your fool
      This is where he denounces himself from following this "cruel" girl about. This links to the point in our video where he holds hand with the mime girl, the person our mime should be in love with, someone who shares the same interests who has also been mucked about.