Chances are, you’ve heard Sleeping At Last before—on Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, The Twilight Saga, The Vampire Diaries. A moniker for Chicago-based singer, songwriter, producer, and composer Ryan O’Neal, Sleeping At Last has shaped the stories of our lives with quiet persistence.
For years, his music has shaped the way I see the world. I’ve written books to his soundtracks, navigated anxiety with his lyrics on loop, and each year, chosen one song to speak for everything I couldn’t quite put into words. (This year, the song of my life is “Earth.”)
Because of that deep personal connection, I reached out to Ryan O’Neal—aka Sleeping At Last—for an interview. To my surprise and delight, he said yes.
Ariana Land: Where do you draw inspiration when writing songs, and what’s your favorite part of the process?
O’Neal: Inspiration is a funny thing—it can’t be forced, but it can absolutely be neglected. I can’t just decide to be inspired one day, but I’ve learned that inspiration rarely shows up unless I’m prepared to receive it. Or maybe it does, and I miss it when I’m not open. Either way, I try to prioritize “input,” not just “output,” in my creative life. Sometimes that means doing nothing but waiting. Other times, it means breaking patterns—getting outside, spending time with my kids when I “should” be working, and so on. When inspiration does come, that’s my favorite part of the process. It feels like receiving an unearned gift!
How do you know when your song is done, when it’s time to stop revising and put it out into the world? I can’t imagine it’s easy knowing when to let go.
I always have trouble letting go of a song, but over the years, I’ve developed the ability to know when a song is done. In those moments, my brain tells me to keep chipping away, but my gut knows that it’s done and that I need to let go.
Making series of music, releasing songs as singles instead of the traditional album, helps me with this, because there’s a joy and a thrill to letting go of a song and having it immediately reach listeners, instead of the long wait times of sitting on songs while waiting for an album release. There’s very little time between my completing a song and when it releases publicly and that has been a lot of fun and definitely encourages me to let go a little more easily.
Do you ever get songwriter’s block? How do you manage to push through and keep creating?
Absolutely! In fact, I’d say that the majority of the time I spend “writing” is actually just being blocked. So if a song takes a month to complete, I feel like at least 3 weeks of that time is spent banging my head against a wall, waiting for the right puzzle piece to appear.
I think the best medicine for writer’s block is just patience. Embrace the discomfort of not being able to write and remember that not writing is part of the writing process.
Last year, Earth was by far my favorite song. I carried it with me everywhere I went, and I’ve always wondered why you wrote it. What’s the story behind it?
Thank you so much! Means a lot to hear that! That song belonged to my series of songs inspired by our Solar System, so when it came time to write “Earth”, I wanted to capture the fragility of our life here on this planet. We learn to forget, and become immune to the fact of how seriously incredible it is that we get to exist right now, in spite of the endless danger and mess that make up the universe. So I wanted to capture that in the context of natural disasters, which tend to remind us how vulnerable we are.
That…is a profoundly beautiful answer. Thank you for sharing it with me. My next question is a little random, but also a source of curiousity, so forgive me, but…what is the story behind your moniker, Sleeping At Last?
“Sleeping At Last” as a name has been with me for a LONG time. As I was trying to figure out a band name for my music, I was in a bookstore with a friend and had a book of poetry in my hands and jokingly said “whatever page I turn to next will be my band name” and so page I turned to had a poem titled “Sleeping at Last” by Christina Rosetti. I thought it was interesting, but probably not a great band name, until I couldn’t get it out of my head and decided that it just makes sense for the music I want to create. So it stuck.
Another ‘enexpected gift’, but fitting! In terms of writing songs, what is the best part? The most difficult?
The best part is getting to do the thing I love with my life and that anyone is kind enough to listen. The hardest part is staying inspired and getting out of my own way.
What can you tell me of the upcoming theme “Enneagram” of Atlas Two? You mentioned it’s helped you to understand others and yourself. What’s one thing Enneagram has helped you to understand?
The Enneagram has been in my vocabulary for over 5 years now and since I was introduced to this old personality typing system, I’ve had a far greater understanding of people I love and myself. Why we do what we do.
So as I was developing the idea of my Atlas series themes, the Enneagram felt like a perfect fit, as the series essentially follows the origin story of all things. So I’m writing 9 songs from the perspective of each of the 9 Enneagram types.It’s been SO much fun already to better understand how each type operates and what drives them.
As for one thing Enneagram has helped me understand – I’d say my recognition for my own avoidance strategies is pretty huge. I’m an Enneagram 9, which Fr. Richard Rohr explains as the “Need to Avoid” – which on face value doesn’t really ring many bells, but the more I learn and observe my past, I see a staggering amount of patterns of me avoiding conflict that aren’t always very healthy. There are countless things I’m learning via the tool of the Enneagram, but that’s a sliver of one.
I’ve never heart of Enneagram before our discussion, but it sounds like an enlightening path of self-exploration. So creative to weave it into your songs! In that vein, what are you currently reading and listening to?
Listening to a lot of Violents, Other Lives, Júníus Meyvant and Bruno Mars lately. Currently reading “The Sacred Enneagram” by Chris Heuertz.
As our interview comes to a close, I have a handful of creative questions we like to ask everyone. Kind of a fun rapidfire twist! First, Three words to describe your music?
Gentle. Vulnerable, and I hope, Hopeful.
At this moment in time, what is your favorite word?
Light.
And lastly, any advice for other songwriters or writers in general?
Do it as often as you possibly can. Record ideas always.
Ryan, thank you. For answering my letter and allowing me to interview. It truly means a lot to me as someone who has loved your music for a long time.
Thank YOU so much for the wonderful questions!! So appreciate it!!
This interview with Sleeping At Last was originally published on Bookish Valhalla in 2017, when the editor (Ari Land) book blogged under the pen name Ari Augustine. When Bookish Valhalla closed, it was updated and republished to Story Alchemy on June 1, 2025.
