2006Released
4:24

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about It's Been Awhile. By Songfacts®.

In this song, lead singer Aaron Lewis is beating himself up because he lost the one woman who could cure his addictions, temper his nerves, and get him on his feet. He sees himself repeating the same self-destructive cycle over and over, and now realizes it's been awhile since he was whole. Listening to the lyric, you'd never guess that Lewis was in one of the most healthy and stable relationships in rock. He started dating Vanessa in 1997, before the band hit it big. They were married a year later, and when Staind made their ascent, Vanessa was a steadfast source of support for Lewis. The couple eventually had three children together. Why is he so glum in this song? Lewis always veered toward the dark side in his lyrics for Staind (not so much in his later country material), which are expressions of his pain, but only one aspect of his personality. These head-on depictions of anguish hit home for many listeners.

The first single from Break The Cycle, "It's Been Awhile" is by far the biggest hit for Staind, and the one that put them on the map. The album was their second for Elektra Records; by this time, they had paid their dues in the studio and on the road. Elektra set up many interviews and promotional appearances for the band, which endeared them to radio stations around the country. Their sound fit the post-grunge motif of bands like Linkin Park and Papa Roach, but was more mellow, giving the lyrics a more visceral feel. Break The Cycle went to #1 in America and sold over 5 million copies there. Staind's next two albums dropped off in sales, but still hit #1. For Aaron Lewis, there was a significant downside to the success: Many Staind fans had serious problems, and Lewis felt the weight of his words. A particularly painful incident took place in 2001 when a fan killed himself while listening to a recording of his own voice singing the Staind song "Outside."

In the video, the woman Aaron Lewis sings to is actually his wife, Vanessa, who used her new digital video camera to record portions of every Staind concert, getting shots of both the band and the crowd. The band would sometimes watch the footage after the show. The video was directed by Staind mentor and lead singer of Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst.

Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of It's Been Awhile.
F♯Key
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
117BPM

Album

The album It's Been Awhile is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released It's Been Awhile.
Flip/Atlantic
2006 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
2006 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.

See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.

Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.

5.8MArtists
73.6MSongs
12.3MAlbums
6.3KGenres
2.5MLabels
493KPlaylists