WAITING WELL

Artist: Aly Aleigha

Genre: Holiday, Christmas, Folk, Modern Folk, Folk-Pop

Themes: Christmas, Love Song, Romantic, Hopeful, Christian

Sounds like: Stephen Sanchez, Alex Warren, Old Sea Brigade, Noah Kahan

DOWNLOAD "WAITING WELL .WAV” + Media kit

Lyrics

Verse 1:
If I wake tomorrow morning without a fresh fall of snow
No lights, no decorations, no Yuletide blaze aglow
If everything were lost and all that I had left was you…
I’d have everything I ever wanted for Christmas

Chorus:
You’re worth the wait
You’re the sweetest gift that I anticipate
Mmmm
Every time I look your way
The clouds break open with a thousand choirs of angels
And I’m learning what it means to be…
Waiting well

Verse 2:
Always in a hurry, but I have nowhere to go
Overwhelm and worry steal my peace
But when I think of the gift that I hope for the most
It’s only to be close to you this Christmas

Chorus:
You’re worth the wait
You’re the sweetest gift that I anticipate
Mmmm
Every time I look your way
The clouds break open with a thousand choirs of angels
And I’m learning what it means to be…
Waiting well

Bridge 1:
Guided by your starlight
The light shines in the dark
And every shadow is cast away

In my heart and in my soul
You’re the treasure that I hold
With you in this moment I’ll stay

Bridge 2:
And I’ll wait
For whatever the future brings
I know we’ll be okay
Because you’re here with me

Chorus:
You’re worth the wait
You’re the sweetest gift that I anticipate
Mmmm
Every time I look your way
The clouds break open with a thousand choirs of angels

Chorus:
You’re worth the wait
You’re the sweetest gift that I anticipate
Mmmm
Every time I look your way
The clouds break open with a thousand choirs of angels
And I’m learning what it means to be…
Waiting well

About the Song

“Waiting Well” by Aly Aleigha is a reflection on what matters most in life, gratitude for those we love and the blessings of being together for Christmas, and not letting the anxieties and overwhelm of life deter us from our internal peace.

EPK for "Waiting Well" Version 2 with Fr. Mike Schmitz

The song came about as a commission for an Advent series by Fr. Mike Schmitz & Ascension Press. Fr. Mike Schmitz and Aly Aleigha have been working together for years, Aly often providing music for retreats and events for the Diocese of Duluth and UMD Newman Center. At the summer camp in 2024, Fr. Mike approached Aly asking if she would consider writing a song to go along with the Advent series he would be doing with Ascension. Aly said she’d give it a shot; Fr. Mike told her about the series and sent example recordings, and Aly began praying with it until the song “Face To Face” was born. The following year, Fr. Mike asked Aly to compose another song for Ascension’s 2025 Advent series. This time, the result is Aly’s first original Christmas song, “Waiting Well.” Aly is releasing two versions of the song as lead singles to her future Christmas album: one featuring Fr. Mike Schmitz’ voice, and one without.

The timeline for the songwriting and production was very fast, but Aly & her team poured their hearts and souls into the creation process to bring this song to life. It was truly remarkable how it all came together so seamlessly.

Cellist Julia Jurkiewicz had connected with Aly offering her services in a future recording so when Aly reached out with a rush project, she was ready to jump in. While working together, Julia mentioned her sister Alicia Mentzer is a very proficient violinist. Aly invited Alicia to track violin on this project as well, and Alicia was able to book a studio session and learn the parts within a couple of days. Both Julia & Alicia contributed their gorgeous strings to the song.

Meanwhile, Aly had big ambitions about a choral arrangement to the song, inspired by modern pop artist Alex Warren and others. Given the rushed timeline, she was not convinced this would be a possibility; however, Aly Aleigha’s manager (and mother) Laura swiftly sent out invitations to local singers in the community, asking them to sing in the choir for this song. Aly then traveled to her hometown to record the choir. The violinist Alicia was

One especially noteworthy person deserving of special appreciation is Aly Aleigha’s producer Brett Winters. Aly and Brett had been working together since January 2025 to create a full album of Aly Aleigha’s Re-Imagined Christmas favorites, music which will first be performed live during the Aly Aleigha Band’s mini Christmas tour this year and released on all streaming platforms Christmas 2026. When Aly received the commission to record “Waiting Well,” Brett worked countless hours (including a few all-nighters) to meet the project deadline. Brett not only worked with Aly to achieve her vision for the song, but he also tracked many instruments himself, arranged a voice lead for each choir part (creating the choir lines with midi and then putting together a lead sheet so the choir could learn their parts), talked Aly through remotely recording the choir, and pulled all-nighters getting the mix just right.

In the end, “Waiting Well” was truly a song worth waiting for. Stream it everywhere Nov. 7, 2025 (or join Aly Aleigha’s Patreon community for pre-releases of this song and more).