Songfacts®:

• This song by Duncan Sheik describes a relationship where the girl is too cautious and assumes she will suffer the same fate she has in the past if she trusts the singer enough to let it happen. He wants to believe it was her indecisiveness that tore them apart because it would be painful to know that she was really that cold and calculating about leading him on. The first chorus really opens up with how he feels. The first line is, "I don't want to feel this way," meaning he didn't choose his feelings, they simply happened. It could also mean that he feels almost victimized by the way he is treated since he doesn't treat her the way that made her so cautious in the past. The next lines in the chorus: "I don't want to say I'm just a friend, I don't want to wait around here, 'cause you don't want to feel no pain again" are in response to her telling him that she doesn't want to be in a relationship yet, having probably imposed some kind of time period on staying single. He calmly expresses his dissatisfaction with the holding pattern he's been placed in. It isn't his impatience, more his fear that this is just a nice way of being rejected. He at least wants the closure if that's what she is doing.
  
  The last lines in the chorus repeat throughout the song: "We just lie about it, as we become shadows of ourselves." Here, he expresses his frustration in being told to sweep his feelings under the rug and thus they become shadows of who they really are. Later he questions if she really ever saw this working out, or if she was needlessly leading him on. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Steve - Houston, TX
• "In The Absence Of The Sun" is part of Duncan Sheik's self-titled debut album, the one with his big hit, "Barely Breathing." It was produced by Rupert Hine, known for his work with Tina Turner. Sheik never landed another hit but became a top composer for musical theater. His credits include Spring Awakening and Noir.