Released: May 5, 1981

Songwriter: Tom Petty

Producer: Jimmy Iovine Tom Petty

[Verse 1]
Oh baby, don't it feel like heaven right now?
Don't it feel like something from a dream?
Yeah, I've never known nothing quite like this
Don't it feel like tonight might never be again?
Baby, we know better than to try and pretend
Honey no one coulda ever told me 'bout this

[Refrain]
I said yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Chorus]
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

[Verse 2]
Well yeah, I might have chased a couple women around
All it ever got me was down
Then there were those that made me feel good
But never as good as I feel right now
Baby, you're the only one that's ever known how
To make me wanna live like I wanna live now

[Refrain]
I said yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Chorus]
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

[Bridge]
Oh, don't let it kill you baby, don't let it get to you
Don't let it kill you baby, don't let it get to you
I'll be your bleedin' heart, I'll be your cryin' fool
Don't let this go too far, don't let it get to you

[Refrain]
Yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Chorus]
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Yeah, the waiting is the hardest part

[Outro]
Ooh
Is the hardest part
Ooh
Is the hardest part
Ooh

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – an L.A.-based gang of sharp-dressed garage-rock refugees from Gainsville, Florida – released their debut LP in November 1976, featuring two tracks which are now part of their long list of hits, “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

Since that first LP in ‘76, the band’s style has epitomized and largely defined the American “heartland rock” movement – a vintage-guitar twang, hard lyric truth, and searing vocal attitude.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been nominated for 17 Grammy awards and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all-time.

more tracks from the album

Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)