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
Now or Never
Duncan Sheik Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Could I make you see there's more than holding on
Could you ever let your heart believe again
So this is where we are
And this is all that life has got to give
Or maybe all that's left is just to live
I didn't want to tell a lie
But I saw forever, there in your eyes
So what you're trying to say
Do you really think it's worth just walking away
Well is it fair to tell me I'm to blame
Well you know you gotta choose
And you know that you're afraid of what you'll lose
How can you believe what just ain't true
Caught up in when or whether
I didn't want to tell a lie
But I saw forever, there in your eyes
I know it's now or never
How could you ever say goodbye
When you see forever here in my eyes
And baby forgive me, 'cause I got nothing left to hide
And don't ever leave me, 'cause there'll be nothing left inside
Could I change the way you feel
Could I make you see there's more then holding on
Could you ever let your heart believe again
Caught up in when or whether
I didn't want to tell a lie
But I saw forever, there in your eyes
I know it's now or never
How could you ever say goodbye
When you see forever here in my eyes
The lyrics of Duncan Sheik's song "Now or Never" express the desperation of a person trying to convince their partner to not give up on their relationship yet. The song starts with the singer asking if they could change their partner's mind about ending the relationship and getting them to see that there's more to life than just holding on. They ask if it's possible to make their partner believe in love again.
Next comes a sense of resigned acceptance from the singer that this is where they are and that maybe all that's left is to live. They don't want to lie to their partner, but they can see forever in their eyes and know that they must choose whether to stay or leave. The singer pleads with their partner to not walk away or blame them for the situation that they're in. They want their partner to see that they are afraid of what they'll lose if they choose to leave.
The chorus is a call to action where the singer realizes that it's now or never. They plead with their partner to not say goodbye when they can see forever in their eyes. They lay themselves bare, asking for forgiveness and promising to not hide anything else. The song ends with the same refrain, the singer still caught up in when or whether, but hoping that their partner will choose to stay.
Line by Line Meaning
Could I change the way you feel
Asking if they can influence the other person's emotions or perspective
Could I make you see there's more than holding on
Asking if they can show the other person that there are other ways to move forward
Could you ever let your heart believe again
Asking if the other person is willing to open their heart and trust again
So this is where we are
Acknowledging where they currently stand in their relationship
And this is all that life has got to give
Reflecting on the limitations of life and what it can offer
Or maybe all that's left is just to live
Suggesting that living in the present moment is all that they have left
Caught up in when or whether
Feeling trapped or torn between different options or possibilities
I didn't want to tell a lie
Not wanting to deceive or mislead the other person
But I saw forever, there in your eyes
Seeing a future with the other person and wanting to pursue it
So what you're trying to say
Asking the other person to clarify their intentions or message
Do you really think it's worth just walking away
Questioning whether ending the relationship is the best decision
Well is it fair to tell me I'm to blame
Arguing that assigning blame is not productive or helpful
Well you know you gotta choose
Asserting that the other person has a decision to make
And you know that you're afraid of what you'll lose
Acknowledging that the other person is hesitant because they have something to lose
How can you believe what just ain't true
Questioning the validity of the other person's doubts or reservations
I know it's now or never
Realizing that there may not be another chance to pursue the relationship
How could you ever say goodbye
Expressing disbelief or shock at the idea of ending the relationship
When you see forever here in my eyes
Believing that they have a future with the other person
And baby forgive me, 'cause I got nothing left to hide
Asking for forgiveness and confessing that they have been honest
And don't ever leave me, 'cause there'll be nothing left inside
Pleading with the other person to stay because without them, they will feel empty
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SYBIL LYNCH, MICHAEL J. O'HARA, DENISE RICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind