When I'm Gone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the the 3 Doors Down single, please see "When I'm Gone (3 Doors Down song)",
| "When I'm Gone" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Eminem | ||
| from the album Curtain Call: The Hits | ||
| Released | 2005 | |
| Format | CD | |
| Genre | Hip hop | |
| Length | 4 min 41 s | |
| Label | Shady/Aftermath/Interscope | |
| Producer(s) | Eminem | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Eminem singles chronology | ||
| "Ass Like That" (2005) |
"When I'm Gone" (2005) |
"Shake That" (2005) |
"When I'm Gone" is a song from Eminem's 2005 Curtain Call: The Hits greatest hits album , and one of the most critically acclaimed songs of his to-date . The song is about Eminem's career's effect on his relationship with his wife Kim. It talks about him not being there for his daughter, Hailie, and (in a sort of metaphoric "dream") Hailie confronts him at a concert in Sweden and demands to know why he was so cruel towards Kim (his ex-wife). She ends the confrontation by telling Eminem that he loves his fame, career, and fans more than his own family. After she leaves, Eminem turns around and sees a gun. He picks it up, screams "Die Shady!" and shoots his Slim Shady alter-ego. After that, he wakes up, realizing that it was only a dream. It's spring, Hailie's playing in the yard, and he kisses Kim.
Furthermore, this is a continuation of Marshall's difficulty coping with fame and his dark alter ego, Slim Shady ("When I'm gone just carry on, don't mourn"). "When I'm Gone" is a progression of this dilemma: where does Marshall end, and Shady begin? Who is the dominant alter ego and how does this figure into Eminem the artist and family man? The end of Eminem's dream where Shady shoots himself is similar to the ending of the song Encore/Curtains Down off of his album Encore, in which Shady leaves the stage but then comes back, shoots the crowd and then sticks the gun in his mouth and shoots himself (in the Clean version the song fades out before the shooting part ends).
The single was released officially in the United States on the 6 December 2005. It was released in Australia on January, 2006.
Tarick Salmaci, (from the TV show, The Contender) makes an appearance in the video with his wife.
Whitney Scott is Kim Mathers's daughter by another man, from the period in which she and Eminem were divorced. She appears in the video to the song.
[edit] Track listing
- "When I'm Gone (Album Version) (Explicit)"
- "Business (Album Version) (Explicit)"
- "When I'm Gone (Instrumental)"
- "When I'm Gone (Trl Final Version) (Video)"
| Preceded by "Run It!" by Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana |
ARIA (Australia) number one single January 29, 2006 |
Succeeded by "Run It!" by Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana |
