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
Mouth On Fire
Duncan Sheik Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And there the soul is soul
And there the gods do weep
When the angels fall
But here the thoughts won't keep
And here the blood runs cold
And here the grave is deep
Brought my heart to feed, but my mouth was fire
Brought the earth my seed, but it would not flower
Where the jeweled stream? Where the eased desire?
In some fool's dream? In the ending hour?
Brought my voice, just noise to poor old Silence
A clanging toy, a clanging toy
Empty, strident
Brought my eyes, in utter ruin, sightless
The tears I cried, the tears I cried
Still so frightened
Brought my heart to feed, but my mouth was fire
Brought the earth my seed, but it would not flower
Where the jeweled stream? Where the eased desire?
In some fool's dream? In the ending hour?
Where the silver streets? Where the blossoming?
Where sounds so sweet?
Where songs of spring?
Where words for things?
Where golden memories?
Where quiet seas?
Where certainty?
Where all might cease, the talk, the want, the posturing?
Brought my heart to feed, but my mouth was fire
Brought the earth my seed, but it would not flower
Where the jeweled stream? Where the eased desire?
In some fool's dream? In the ending hour?
Where poetry?
Where mystic harmonies?
Where love that frees?
Where security?
Where sympathy?
Where tranquility?
Where rest in peace?
In the dream? Or in the fire?
Mouth on fire
Mouth on fire
In Duncan Sheik’s song Mouth on Fire, the lyrics are imbued with a sense of longing, desperation, and confusion. The first stanza is particularly haunting as it speaks of the sleep of bones, the sadness of gods when angels fall, and the deepness of the grave. The mood shifts in the second stanza as the singer expresses frustration and despair because his thoughts won’t stay, his blood is cold, and the devil calls. The third stanza brings forth imagery of a shattered version of the self, where the singer’s heart cannot nourish because his mouth is fire and hopes haven’t flowered.
The fourth stanza reaffirms the notions of confusion and desperation as the singer asks where sounds, words, and memories of love, peace, and security can be found. He also questions whether it is in the dream or in the fire. The repetition of “mouth on fire” at the end of the song underscores the character’s state of distress and mental anguish. The lyrics of Mouth on Fire are a potent reflection of the human experience, where hope and despair, confusion and longing, are in constant flux, and sometimes, it seems futile to search for answers.
Line by Line Meaning
And there, the bones do sleep
In death, the body rests
And there the soul is soul
The soul exists in the afterlife
And there the gods do weep
Even the divine are affected by tragedy and loss
When the angels fall
Even the most perfect beings can stumble and fail
But here the thoughts won't keep
In the present, it's hard to focus on anything for long
And here the blood runs cold
Life can be emotionally draining and terrifying in the moment
And here the grave is deep
The fear of death looms large
And the devil calls
Temptation and evil are always present
Brought my heart to feed, but my mouth was fire
Tried to express love and compassion, but it came out harsh and hurtful
Brought the earth my seed, but it would not flower
Attempted to create something beautiful, but it didn't bear fruit
Where the jeweled stream? Where the eased desire?
Yearning for paradise, serenity, and pleasure
In some fool's dream? In the ending hour?
Is this just a foolish fantasy? Is all hope lost?
Brought my voice, just noise to poor old Silence
Made a lot of noise while trying to be quiet/meditative
A clanging toy, a clanging toy
Sounded like a child's irritating plaything
Empty, strident
Lacking in substance, but loud and unpleasant
Brought my eyes, in utter ruin, sightless
Even sight couldn't cut through the bleakness
The tears I cried, the tears I cried, still so frightened
The pain lingers, the fear remains
Where the silver streets? Where the blossoming?
Asking where the beauty and prosperity is
Where sounds so sweet? Where songs of spring?
Asking where the pleasantness and hope is
Where words for things? Where golden memories?
Asking where the comfort and meaning is
Where quiet seas? Where certainty?
Asking where the calm and stability is
Where all might cease, the talk, the want, the posturing?
Asking if it's possible to shut out the noise and live in peace
Where poetry? Where mystic harmonies?
Asking where the beauty and magic is
Where love that frees? Where security?
Asking where the freedom and safety is
Where sympathy? Where tranquility?
Asking where the compassion and peace is
Where rest in peace?
Asking if it's possible to find genuine rest and solace
In the dream? Or in the fire?
Uncertainty about whether true peace can be found in life or death
Mouth on fire
The turmoil of the artist's inner self is negatively affecting their communication and relationships
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: STEVEN SATER, DUNCAN SHEIK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind