Waiting in Vain
original song written and composed by Bob Marley
"Waiting in Vain" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for their 1977 album Exodus. Released as a single, it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
The single was one of only a few of Marley's Island singles to feature a non-album B-side, this being the song "Roots", an outtake from the Rastaman Vibration sessions. This later appeared on the compilation Rebel Music and on Exodus (Deluxe Edition). The 1981 reissue of Waiting in Vain featured a megamix called Marley Mix Up Medley instead.
A rare 19-minute long acoustic version is available on YouTube.
Musicians
Bob Marley: lead and backing vocals, guitars
Junior Marvin: electric guitars
Aston Barrett: basses
Carlton Barrett: drums
Tyrone Downie: synthesizer, electric piano, organ and backing vocals
Alvin "Seeco" Patterson: percussions
Charts
Certifications
Lee Ritenour version
In 1993, American Jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour recorded his version of the song featuring British reggae artist Maxi Priest. It was also included on his 21st album Wes Bound. The single peaked at number 54 in the US R&B chart.
Charts
Annie Lennox version
"Waiting in Vain" was recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox for her second studio album Medusa in 1995, 18 years after Marley recorded it.
“Waiting in Vain” enters the record as original song written and composed by Bob Marley. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Waiting, Vain and original can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Waiting in Vain” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Waiting, Vain and original provides the most credible route into that argument.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2008630. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1977, 1981, 1993 and 1995.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Waiting in Vain” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.