Born in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1969, Duncan Sheik grew up in South Carolina but spent many of his early years staying with his grandparents in New Jersey. Inspired to play the piano while there, he later switched to electric guitar and performed in bands throughout high school. A fan of musical theater from a young age, he also acted in school plays and attended the occasional Broadway show with his mother. While studying at Brown University, he played in a band with Lisa Loeb but began shopping his own demo tape soon after graduation. After moving to Los Angeles, he appeared with His Boy Elroy on a 1993 album for Epic, and spent several years writing songs before he signed a solo deal with Atlantic.
Atlantic released his debut album, the Rupert Hine-produced Duncan Sheik, in mid-1996, with the single "Barely Breathing" following later in the year. The song reached number 16 on the Hot 100, and after another single, "Reasons for Living," appeared on the soundtrack to the hit TV show ER in late 1996, the debut peaked at number 83 on the Billboard 200. Also produced with Hine, the follow-up, Humming, arrived on Atlantic in 1998 and reached number 163.
Nonesuch issued 2001's self-produced Phantom Moon, a more orchestral collaboration between Sheik and poet/playwright/lyricist Steven Sater, who provided its lyrics. It featured appearances by the London Session Orchestra and guitarist Bill Frisell. Though it failed to reach the Billboard 200, Sheik returned to the chart with his fourth album, 2002's Daylight, which reached number 110. It would be his final release with Atlantic. In 2002, Sheik also composed music for a New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Twelfth Night.
Continuing to split his focus between songwriting and composition, Sheik wrote the film score for the 2004 romantic drama A Home at the End of the World as well as music for the 2005 documentary Through the Fire. He offered up his fifth studio LP, While Limousine, on the Zoë label in 2006. Its insightful lyrics didn't shy away from sociopolitical territory. In the meantime, he had collaborated with Sater on a rock musical based on the 19th century German play Spring Awakening, a story concerned with teenaged sexuality. With a book and lyrics by Sater and music by Sheik, Spring Awakening opened off-Broadway in May 2006 before moving to Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre in December of that year. The show ran for over two years and took home eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. The Decca-issued cast album won a Grammy for Sheik and Sater.
Sheik composed the scores for projects including the Mary Stuart Masterson-directed film The Cake Eaters (2007) and the animated TV movie Little Spirit: Christmas in New York (2008) before presenting his next pop album, 2009's Whisper House. Featuring several duets with Holly Brook (Skylar Grey), the RCA Victor release spent a week at the number 181 spot on the Billboard 200. He scored the movie dramas Dare (2009) and Harvest (2010), then returned in 2011 with the covers album Covers 80s, which included backing vocals by Rachael Yamagata and Brook. Covers 80s Remixed appeared in 2012.
Next up for Sheik was a musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho featuring a book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and music, lyrics, and orchestrations all by Sheik. It opened in London in 2013. He released another solo album, a song cycle titled Legerdemain (2015), and premiered the musical thriller Noir (2015) at Vassar College before American Psycho had its Broadway premiere in March 2016. The original London cast recording arrived on Concord Records the same month. Based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, another Sheik-Sater musical collaboration, Alice by Heart, opened off-Broadway in early 2019. The original cast recording was released by Ghostlight later in the year. 2019 also saw the off-Broadway opening of the musical The Secret Life of Bees, featuring music by Sheik and lyrics by Tony nominee Susan Birkenhead (Working, Jelly's Last Jam).
His first concert album, Live at the Cafe Carlyle, followed on Sneaky Studios/Missing Piece in late 2020. Compiled from a week of shows in October 2017, its set list spanned "Barely Breathing," songs from Spring Awakening, and previously unreleased covers of Radiohead and Tom Petty. An HBO documentary about the 15th anniversary concert of the hit musical, Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, premiered in May 2022 and was followed in June by Claptrap, Sheik's first solo studio album in seven years. It arrived on the New York-based Antifragile Music label.
Biography by Marcy Donelson
In Between
Duncan Sheik Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get underneath my skin
I feel a little undefined
But I want to let you in
And I listen to the messages
The endless train of thought
But now it feels like I'm returning
Most everything I've bought
Some say, it's all coming to an end
Some fool themselves with thoughts of new beginnings
It makes me wonder what they believe
Cause we're in between
Sometimes it's just better to get on with it
Sometimes lord knows you gotta get off
There's no use holding on to what I mean
Cause I'm in between, no use wondering what I mean
Saints and sinners, losers, winners
Masters and their slaves
The more you hide one or the other
The earlier your grave
The triumph and the tragedy
The endless bright parade
I know that most of us are innocent
But some should be afraid
'Cause they say we're all coming to an end
They fool themselves with thoughts of new beginnings
Well I don't buy it, it's just too clean
Cause we're in between
Sometimes it's just better to get on with it
Sometimes lord knows you gotta get off
No use holding on to what I mean
Cause I'm in between
No use wondering what I mean
Cause I'm in between
Are you still wondering what I mean
Hold the light up to me, get underneath my skin
Humming like the wind
I feel a little undefined, I'm sorry if I seem,
So in between
It's so much better when you run your fingers through my hair
Humming like the air
I wish that I could hold you, I'm sorry if I seem
So in between
The song "In Between" by Duncan Sheik explores the idea of uncertainty and ambiguity in life. Sheik talks about feeling "undefined" and being "in between" two different states or phases of life. He wants to let someone "in" but seems hesitant and unsure about the future.
He acknowledges that some people believe that everything is coming to an end, while others believe in new beginnings. Sheik, however, is skeptical of either of these notions and thinks that they're too simplistic. He thinks that life is more complicated than that and that there are many shades of grey between what we think of as "beginning" and "end."
Sheik also touches upon the idea that we're all "saints and sinners, losers, winners, masters, and their slaves." He seems to suggest that it's impossible to completely separate the good from the bad in life and that we all have the potential to embody each of these roles at different times. Ultimately, Sheik seems to be saying that life is a complicated journey that can be difficult to navigate, but it's worth embracing and living fully.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold the light up to me
Examine me closely, shine a light on me
Get underneath my skin
Connect with me on a deeper level
I feel a little undefined
I'm not sure who I am or where I'm going
But I want to let you in
I'm willing to open up to you
And I listen to the messages
I hear the constant chatter in my mind
The endless train of thought
The non-stop flow of ideas and worries
But now it feels like I'm returning
I'm starting to come back to reality
Most everything I've bought
Most of what I thought was important
Some say, it's all coming to an end
Some people think the world is ending
Some fool themselves with thoughts of new beginnings
Others believe things will get better soon
It makes me wonder what they believe
I question their beliefs
Cause we're in between
We're in a state of uncertainty
Sometimes it's just better to get on with it
Sometimes it's best to move forward
Sometimes lord knows you gotta get off
Sometimes you need to let go
There's no use holding on to what I mean
There's no point in trying to understand me fully
Cause I'm in between, no use wondering what I mean
I'm in a state of flux, don't bother trying to decipher me
Saints and sinners, losers, winners
People of all kinds
Masters and their slaves
Those who hold power and those who don't
The more you hide one or the other
The more you try to conceal your true nature
The earlier your grave
The more likely you are to suffer for it
The triumph and the tragedy
The highs and lows of life
The endless bright parade
The constant stream of people and events in life
I know that most of us are innocent
Most people mean well
But some should be afraid
But there are some who are dangerous
Cause they say we're all coming to an end
Some believe the world is ending soon
They fool themselves with thoughts of new beginnings
Others think things will improve
Well I don't buy it, it's just too clean
I don't believe it, it sounds too optimistic
Sometimes it's just better to get on with it
Sometimes it's best to move forward
Sometimes lord knows you gotta get off
Sometimes you need to let go
No use holding on to what I mean
Don't waste your time trying to understand me fully
Cause I'm in between
I'm in a state of flux
Are you still wondering what I mean
Are you still trying to understand me?
Humming like the wind
Making soft sounds
I'm sorry if I seem, so in between
I apologize for being uncertain
It's so much better when you run your fingers through my hair
It feels nice when you touch me
Humming like the air
Making soft sounds
I wish that I could hold you, I'm sorry if I seem so in between
I want to be close to you, even though I'm uncertain
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DUNCAN SHEIK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind