California Waiting (3:28)

“California Waiting” is the third single taken from the Youth and Young Manhood album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. An alternate version of the song appears on their debut release, the Holy Roller Novocaine EP. This version was recorded in a rush to finish the record. The band didn’t like the outcome, so they recorded a new version, which is found on Youth and Young Manhood. According to the band, they prefer the version on the Holy Roller Novocaine EP over the album version because they don’t feel the punkier verson on the album works as well.

They wrote this song about the pressures of playing perfect when they went to California. It was written about their manager, Ken Levitan.