After signing a contract with the Atlantic Records label Lava Records in 1994, his first major-label album, Honor Among Thieves, was issued in 1995. His second album, Misguided Roses, spawned I'll Be, a major single in 1998. Two more albums (Messenger and Far from Over) followed, but at the end of 2001, he split from Lava. In 2003 he released a collection of acoustic versions of songs both old and new called The Austin Sessions via ATC Records, a Nashville-based independent record label (at which McCain was the first artist signed following its creation in 2001). Mid-2004 saw the arrival of his first studio album in three years, entitled Scream & Whisper, which was released on another indie label, DRT Entertainment.
He has released two DVDs to date. The first was through ATC records in late 2002, called Mile Marker: Songs and Stories from the Acoustic Highway, and it consisted of interviews, live performances, and other material. The other was in late 2004, Tinsel & Tap Shoes. It was his first live concert DVD, recorded at The House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
A new CD was released in April, 2006 titled, Lost in America. Edwin recently signed a contract with Vanguard Records. This album (#8) is said to be a true "rock 'n roll" collection.
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I Don't Know How I Got By
Edwin McCain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before that moment I saw your face
Where was I before your touch
No where is where I was, without you
Without you in it
My life was just a lie
Before you I don't know how I got by
Before I held you in the night
I don't know how I survived
Before I found you
Before you made everything right
I was half alive
I wasn't really living till you came into my life
I got through baby
But I don't know how I got by
How did I get through those nights
Before that moment I held you tight
And where was I before your kiss
And how did I exist without you
Life had no meaning
No reason and no rhyme
And before you I don't know how I got by
Before I met you
Before I held you in the night
I don't know how I survived
Before I found you
Before you made everything right
I was half alive
I wasn't really living till you came into my life
I got through baby
But I don't know how I got by
I thank God when I wake each day
Awaking next to you
Don't know what I was living for
Before you, before you ohhhhh
Before I met you
Before I held you in the night
I don't know how I survived
Before I found you
Before you made everything right
I was half alive
I wasn't really living till you came into my life
I got through baby
But I don't know how I got by
Before I met you
I don't know how I got by
The song "I Don't Know How I Got By" by Edwin McCain is a tribute to the transformative power of love. The song expresses the sentiments of the singer, who is bewildered by how they survived before they met their significant other. The singer wonders how they could have been living before they held their partner, experienced their love, and appreciated its sense of meaning and purpose. The chorus repeatedly emphasizes this sentiment, expressing the singer's deep gratitude for the gift of love and recognizing that their life before meeting their partner was a lie.
The song's verses portray the singer's sense of emptiness and confusion before they found love. They describe how their existence was incomplete and how nothing made sense before they became part of a loving relationship. The repeated refrain "before you I don't know how I got by" emphasizes how the singer is struggling to comprehend their previous life without their partner. In the final verse, the singer acknowledges that they wake up each day with gratitude, knowing that they have someone special in their life.
Overall, this song is a passionate declaration of love, a reflection of the transformational nature of love, and an acknowledgment of how love can give life purpose and meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
How did I wake up each day
I am amazed at how I used to be able to start each day without you before I met you
Before that moment I saw your face
Before the moment when I saw your face I was lost, but everything changed after that moment
Where was I before your touch
Before you touched my life, I was lost and didn't know how to live
No where is where I was, without you
Without you I was nowhere and had no purpose in life
Without you in it
You complete me and without you, my life is incomplete
My life was just a lie
My life had no meaning or purpose before I met you
Before you I don't know how I got by
Before you, I do not understand how I was able to live or cope with life's difficulties
I don't know how I survived
I don't know how I was able to keep going before I met you and found love
Before you made everything right
I did not have anything right in my life before you fixed everything
I was half alive
Without your love, I was only partially living and did not have a complete life
I thank God when I wake each day
Every day, I am grateful for the gift of waking up next to you
Awaking next to you
Being able to wake up next to you is the best thing that could happen to me
Don't know what I was living for
Before I met you, I didn't know what purpose my life served
Before you, before you ohhhhh
Before I met you, I was nothing and had no direction in life
Before I met you
My life was a blur and without direction before I met you and found love
I don't know how I got by
I am amazed that I survived without your love and guidance in my life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Realsongs
Written by: DIANE EVE WARREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind