Released March 20, 2001 Recorded 2001 Length 4:25 | Format CD single Genre Post-grunge Label Elektra | |
"It's Been Awhile" is a song recorded by American rock band Staind. It was released in March 2001 as the lead single from their album Break the Cycle.
Contents
The song is Staind's most successful and is their best-known song, becoming a No. 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, their only song to reach the top 10. The song spent a second-best 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (behind only "Loser" by 3 Doors Down) and a then-record 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, beaten in 2007 by Foo Fighters with "The Pretender".
Content
The narrator is someone who takes stock of his life and makes references to his previous drug addiction problem and failed relationships. The narrator mentions their father, though they believe that they only have themselves to blame for their problems. Lewis called the song, "an acknowledgement of the past."
Reception
Eric Aiese of Billboard reviewed the song favourably, saying that the group handles the ballad well and packs "a lot of punch into the cut." Aiese said that the song "may be the group's greatest splash yet."
Track listing
- "It's Been Awhile" (LP Clean Edit)
- "It's Been Awhile" (Acoustic Version)
- "Suffocate" (LP Version)
Music video
The music video begins with Aaron Lewis going through some old photographs, one of which happens to be the picture of his wife. The video then switches between him writing a letter to his wife and the band performing casually in a room full of candles. There are brief shots of Aaron alone in the streets and looking at himself in the mirror while having second thoughts. Throughout the video, Aaron is seen continuously smoking cigarettes. At the end of the video, one of those cigarettes falls onto the floor and burns down his apartment.
The video was directed by Limp Bizkit frontman, Fred Durst.