You know that feeling when you're flipping through radio stations and a snare hit just grabs you? That snappy, acoustic-driven energy? Honestly, It's All Been Done is one of those rare tracks that feels like 1998 in a bottle, yet somehow doesn't feel like a museum piece. It’s the quintessential Barenaked Ladies (BNL) experience.
Catchy? Yes.
Cynical? Absolutely.
When Steven Page belted out those opening lines on the Stunt album, he wasn't just singing a pop song. He was basically calling out the entire creative world for being a repetitive loop. It’s meta. It’s a song about how there are no new songs, which—ironically—became one of the freshest things on the charts at the peak of the late-90s pop explosion.
People often forget how massive BNL were during this era. They weren't just "the guys who did the One Week song." They were a tight, harmonizing powerhouse that managed to sneak complex themes about reincarnation and creative exhaustion into a three-minute track that you could scream-sing in your car.
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The Reincarnation Theory Behind the Lyrics
Most people hear the chorus and think it’s just a guy complaining about a boring relationship. "It's all been done / It's all been done / It's all been done before." Simple, right? Well, not really. If you look at the verses, the song is actually exploring the concept of reincarnation and the "eternal return."
Page sings about meeting someone in another life. He mentions being together in the "1500s." This isn't just a metaphor for a long-term crush. The lyrics suggest a weary soul who has lived through every historical era, every fashion trend, and every heartbreak, only to find themselves back in a modern suburban setting, still dealing with the same old drama. It’s a heavy concept for a song that sounds like a sunshine-filled afternoon at a backyard BBQ.
The brilliance of It's All Been Done lies in that contrast. You have Ed Robertson’s bright guitar work and those signature tight harmonies, but the subtext is actually kind of dark. It’s about the exhaustion of existence. The idea that everything—art, love, war—is just a rerun.
Why the Production on Stunt Still Holds Up
The late 90s were a weird time for production. Everything was either super-slick boy band pop or muddy post-grunge. BNL found a middle ground with producer David Leonard and Susan Rogers. Rogers is a legend, by the way. She was Prince’s engineer during the Purple Rain era. You can hear that meticulous attention to detail in the way the vocals sit in the mix.
Everything is crisp.
The drums have a "thwack" that isn't over-processed.
If you listen closely to the bridge, there’s this wonderful layering of instruments that feels organic. It doesn’t sound like it was built in a computer. It sounds like five guys in a room who actually like playing with each other. This was the "Stunt" era, the peak of their commercial powers, recorded at Arbutus Garden in Vancouver. They had the budget to do whatever they wanted, and what they wanted was a classic, timeless power-pop sound.
The Music Video and the "Hotel Room" Aesthetic
Remember the video? It was directed by Doug Nichol. It’s basically the band in a cheap, slightly depressing hotel room. It’s low-budget by design.
While other bands were spending millions on CGI and futuristic sets (looking at you, Backstreet Boys), BNL went the opposite way. They leaned into the "everyman" persona. Steven Page is jumping on a bed. There’s a guy in a knight’s suit. It’s chaotic and feels like a fever dream, which fits the reincarnation theme perfectly. It’s all been done before, including the rockstar hotel room trope, so they decided to parody it while living in it.
It also highlighted the band's greatest strength: their chemistry. You can't fake the kind of camaraderie they had back then. Even as the lyrics talk about being bored with the world, the performance shows a band that was absolutely electrified by their own success.
The Impact on Pop Culture and TV
You can’t talk about this song without mentioning The Ed Sullivan Show—wait, no, that’s too far back. Let's talk about King of the Hill.
It's All Been Done became the theme song for the short-lived animated series Baby Blues, but its real cultural footprint is in the way it paved the way for "nerd rock" to become mainstream. Before Weezer’s "Green Album" or the rise of Fountains of Wayne, BNL were proving that you could be smart, funny, and musically proficient without having to look like a generic heartthrob.
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They influenced a whole generation of songwriters who realized they didn't have to write about "rock and roll all night." They could write about history books, boredom, and the feeling of having seen it all.
The Split and the Legacy of the Song
It’s impossible to listen to the track now without a bit of sadness, knowing the eventual fallout between Steven Page and the rest of the band. In 2009, Page left. It was the end of an era.
When you hear his voice on It's All Been Done today, it carries a different weight. There’s a certain irony in a song about things repeating forever, given that the band eventually had to break their own cycle and move on without their primary frontman. Ed Robertson took over most lead vocals, and while the band is still great and tours successfully, that specific "Page-Robertson" harmonic magic is a frozen moment in time.
But the song itself? It hasn't aged a day.
It’s still a staple on adult contemporary radio. It’s a go-to for cover bands because it’s impossible not to tap your foot to it. It’s a reminder that even if "it's all been done," doing it with soul and a sense of humor still counts for something.
Exploring the "Nothing New Under the Sun" Philosophy
Is the song right, though? Has it all really been done?
Ecclesiastes 1:9 famously says, "There is no new thing under the sun."
The Barenaked Ladies just gave that ancient philosophy a catchy hook.
In the digital age, this feels more true than ever. We’re constantly surrounded by reboots, remakes, and samples. We live in a "remix culture." When this song came out in 1998, we were just at the start of the internet's boom. Now, we are drowning in content. The song was prophetic. It captured that "pre-millennium tension" where society felt like it had reached the end of history.
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Despite that cynicism, the song is a celebration. It says: "Yeah, everything is a repeat, but I’m here with you, and that’s enough." It’s a love song for the jaded.
How to Appreciate "It's All Been Done" Today
If you want to dive back into this track, don't just stream the radio edit. There are a few ways to really "get" the depth of what BNL was doing during the Stunt sessions.
- Listen to the "Stunt" 20th Anniversary Edition: This version has some incredible live tracks and demos. Hearing the "naked" versions of these songs shows you just how much work went into those vocal arrangements.
- Watch the "Talk to the Hand" DVD: This captures the band at their live peak. You get to see the banter and the improvisational brilliance that made their shows legendary.
- Analyze the Chord Progression: If you’re a musician, look at how the song uses a very standard G-C-D-Em progression but makes it feel unique through rhythmic displacement. It’s a masterclass in songwriting efficiency.
Honestly, the next time this song comes on, don't just hum along. Listen to the lyrics about the 1500s. Think about the weirdness of being alive in a world that feels like it's on a loop. Then, just enjoy the fact that sometimes, even if it's all been done, it's still worth doing one more time.
Go find your old Stunt CD—or just pull up your favorite high-res streaming service—and crank the volume when that first chorus hits. You’ll find that even decades later, the "same old thing" feels surprisingly new.