When I'm Gone (Eminem song)
| When I'm gone | |
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| publication | December 6, 2005 |
| length | 4:41 |
| Genre (s) | Hip hop |
| text |
M. Mathers , L. Resto |
| music | Eminem |
| album | Curtain Call: The Hits |
When I'm Gone (English for. " When I'm gone ") is a song of the American rapper Eminem . The song is the first single from his best-of album Curtain Call: The Hits and was released on December 6, 2005.
content
When I'm Gone is one of Eminem's most personal songs. The track is dedicated to his daughter Hailie Jade and tells of the fact that his rap career means he can't be there for her enough. The artist raps from his point of view as well as from the perspective of his daughter.
The first verse begins with the question of whether you've ever loved someone so much that you would even give an arm for them, and not just say it, but actually do it. Eminem talks about how he has to tear himself apart between his career and worrying about his family. He's so busy writing lyrics and touring that he doesn't have enough time to look after his daughter. The chorus is about the fact that Hailie shouldn't be sad when her father is gone, because he carries her in his heart and is always with her in his thoughts. In the second verse, Eminem raps over a dream in which he has an argument with his daughter who tries to prevent him from leaving the house. Then Eminem stands in front of a mirror and tells himself that he has to use his last chance after the performance in the evening to save his family. In the third verse, the rapper appears in front of 60,000 fans in Sweden. He discovers his daughter in the audience who accuses him of lying to her and that he loves his fame and work more than she does. In addition, she ironically asks him to throw in more pills. This line of text is a reference to Eminem's addiction to sleeping pills, for which he was already in hospital. Then the curtain closes and Eminem finds a pistol, which he points at himself, pulls the trigger and shouts "Die, Shady!" He sees his life go by and awakes from the dream in shock. Eminem goes out to where Hailie is sitting on a swing. He hugs his ex-wife Kim, who is also present, and tells her that he has missed her.
Shortly after the single came out, Eminem and Kim remarried, but divorced after less than three months.
Because of the song title and especially the line of text "Die, Shady!", Rumors arose that Eminem wanted to end his career. In a conversation with MTV, however, he denied this and said that it was only the end of a section of his career and also the end of his alter ego Slim Shady. However, on his solo album Relapse , released in 2009 after his career break , he resurrected Slim Shady.
production
Eminem produced the beat of the song himself, using no samples from other songs. The track was recorded in the 54Sound studio in Detroit .
Music video
When I'm Gone video was shot by Anthony Mandler . It is based strongly on the content of the song.
Eminem is in a support group and steps forward to share his problems. Then the song kicks in and Eminem shows his right upper arm, which has a tattoo with the picture of his daughter Hailie Jade. He is then shown writing a text, his daughter comes to him and asks where her mother Kim is, but Eminem has no time to deal with her. He falls into a kind of dream and sees Hailie locking the front door with boxes to prevent him from leaving the house and going on tour. When he leaves, she gives him a souvenir necklace with her photo on it. Now you can see Eminem in a hotel room and performing in Sweden. There he discovers his daughter in the audience, who reproaches him for having divorced her parents. After the performance, Eminem stands in front of a mirror in which he sees his alter ego Slim Shady. He smashes in the mirror and shouts "Die, Shady!" Then he wakes up, it's spring and Hailie is swinging in the garden. He goes to his ex-wife Kim, who is also present, and hugs her. At the end of the video, Eminem gets applause from the support group for being open to telling his story.
Daughter and ex-wife are portrayed by actors in the video because Eminem and Kim were separated when the video was made. Kim's second daughter, who Eminem also has custody of, appears on the swing at the end of the video.
single
Cover design
The single cover shows Eminem standing on stage, his back turned to the viewer. He looks into the audience and raises a hand in thanks. Roses are scattered on the floor. The lettering Eminem in white and When I'm Gone in green are in the middle of the picture.
Chart successes
The single entered the German charts in the 1st calendar week of 2006 and reached the highest position in the 6th calendar week at number 6. Overall, the song stayed in the top 100 for 16 weeks, including four weeks in the top 10.
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Awards for music sales
In 2018, When I'm Gone was awarded a four-time platinum record for more than four million sales in the United States . In the same year it received a gold record in Germany for over 150,000 units sold .
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
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| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
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 Australia (ARIA)
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 gold
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35,000 |
 Denmark (IFPI)
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 platinum
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90,000 |
 Germany (BVMI)
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gold
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150,000 |
 Italy (FIMI)
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gold
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10,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
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gold
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7,500 |
 United States (RIAA)
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4 × platinum
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4,000,000 |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
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platinum
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600,000 |
| All in all |
4 × gold 6 × platinum |
4,892,500 |
Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards
Web links
- Lyrics with interpretations (English)
- Lyrics (German)
- Music video on YouTube.com
swell
- ↑ Lyrics in the booklet
- ↑ Kim Mathers Biography . Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013 .: “Kim Mathers also has a second daughter, Whitney Laine Scott, born on April 16, 2002; Whitney appears in the When I'm Gone video, she is the youngest girl on the swing. "
- ↑ Single cover on amazon.de
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ↑ a b c 2006 annual charts: DE AT CH UK (PDF; 317 kB) US
- ↑ US: 4x platinum
- ↑ DE: Gold
| Studio albums |
Infinite • The Slim Shady LP • The Marshall Mathers LP • The Eminem Show • Encore • Relapse • Recovery • The Marshall Mathers LP 2 • Revival • Kamikaze • Music to Be Murdered By |
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| Extended plays |
Slim Shady EP • Hell: The Sequel |
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| Soundtracks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compilation albums |
The Singles • Curtain Call: The Hits |
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| Video albums |
The Up in Smoke Tour • E • All Access Europe • Eminem Presents: The Anger Management Tour • Live from New York City |
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| Singles |
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| Featurings |
Dead Wrong • Forgot About Dre • The Watcher • Rock City • Hellbound • One Day at a Time (Em's Version) • Welcome 2 Detroit • Smack That • Drop the World • Roman's Revenge • That's All She Wrote • I Need a Doctor • Writer's Block • Throw That • My Life • C'mon Let Me Ride • Calm Down • Twerk Dat Pop That! • Best Friend • Speedom (WWC2) • The Hills Remix • Caterpillar • Homicide • Bang |
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| Splits |
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