Duncan Sheik, "Barely Breathing"

It was one of those “I haven’t heard this song in a long ass time” moments.

I was eating lunch with my mom and uncle at The Vine on the Coralville Strip last Tuesday — enjoying a Sourdough Jo with garden burger substitution (delicious!) — when it started playing on the restaurant sound system. The easy acoustic melody and harmony of background instruments took me back to relaxed Friday evenings in the fall when I was in junior high. I thought falling leaves, a crisp breeze, baby blue skies, Bates Field, and two days of unbound freedom from the prison that was Southeast.

Great tune. But what’s it called? I thought. I know this song, but can’t remember who sang it.

“I haven’t heard this song in forever,” I announced, just for the hell of it; I knew neither my mom nor uncle could help me with the title and artist.

Case in point: my mom asked, “What is it?”

“I can’t remember.”

I looked over my shoulder to the bar, searching for our waitress. I wanted to see if she could quickly check the dash of the satellite system and get the current track information for me. But she was nowhere to be seen.

The song stuck with me after it ended; I had the rhythm and a few key lyrics in my head, so I knew I could look it up online later. “Later” ended up being a half hour ago. For the last four days I’ve been able to recall what I remember on cue. It proved to be a great, although incomplete, soundtrack for the airport in Minneapolis as I waited for my plane to Orange County, watching traffic pass beneath the long pedestrian passageway linking the major terminals. The weather on Thursday didn’t match the personal climate the song evoked — it was overcast, but rays of sun and patches of blue sky poked through — but it fit the mood somehow. (Ironically, too, I was returning to a place I now consider a prison.)

Anyway, I plugged in the lyrics I remembered on YouTube and finally got a hit: some dude playing a rendition of “Barely Breathing.” Bam! Song title! I searched for it and got hits for Duncan Sheik. Jackpot. (At the time the song came out — 1996 (in June!?), according to Wikipedia — I remember thinking Duncan Sheik was a band name, like Steely Dan. But, in fact, it’s the name of the singer.)

I was unable to find an official music video, but this live version is still great. Enjoy!

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