When I'm Gone
°¢Ä·EMINEM Lyrics

Yo, it's my life, my own words I guess
This is my story, and I'll tell it in my own way

Have you ever loved someone so much
Have you ever been in a situation where you love someone with all your heart?

You'd give an arm for
You'd do anything for them, even if it meant sacrificing an arm

Not the expression, no
Not just a figure of speech, but for real

Literally give an arm for
Actually give up a limb for them

When they know they're your heart
When they know they're the most important person to you

And you know you are their armor
And you know you need to protect them from any harm

And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm her
And you're willing to do whatever it takes to protect them

But what happens when karma
But what happens when the consequences of your actions come back to haunt you?

Turns right around and bites you
And those consequences come back and hurt you instead

And everything you stand for turns on you to spite you
And everything you believe in seems to be against you

What happens when you become the main source of her pain
What happens when you're the one causing the person you love the most pain?

"Daddy look what I made"
A child is excited to show her father something she made

"Dad's gotta go catch a plane"
But the father has to leave for a trip

"Daddy where's mommy?
The child is looking for her mother

I can't find mommy, where is she?"
She's worried because she can't find her mother

"I don't know, go play, Hailie baby, your daddy's busy
The father brushes off the child and tells her to go play

Daddy's writing a song, this song ain't gon write itself"
The father is focused on writing a song

I give you one underdog, and you gotta swing by yourself
The father gives his daughter advice to be strong and fight against adversity

Then turn right around in that song and tell her you love her
Then in the song, tell his daughter how much he loves her

And put hands on her mother who's the spittin' image of her
And hurt her mother who looks just like her daughter

That's Slim Shady, yeah baby Slim Shady's crazy
That's the artist Slim Shady, known for his dark and crazy lyrics

Shady made me
That's the persona he takes on when he performs

But tonight, Shady's rock-a-bye baby
But tonight, he feels vulnerable and needs to be comforted

And when I'm gone just carry on don't mourn,
When he's not around anymore, don't be sad

Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice, just know that,
Be happy when you hear my music, and know that I'm watching over you

I'm lookin' down on you smilin'
I'm watching over you with a smile on my face

And I didn't feel a thing so baby, don't feel no pain, just smile back
And I didn't feel any pain when I passed away, so don't be sad, just smile back

I keep havin' this dream,
I keep having this recurring dream

I'm pushin' Hailie on a swing, she keeps screamin', she don't want me to sing
I'm pushing my daughter on a swing, but she doesn't want me to sing my songs to her

"You're makin' mommy cry, why, why is mommy cryin'"
The daughter is upset because her mother is crying

"Baby, daddy ain't leavin' no more, Daddy you're lyin'
The father promises his daughter he won't leave again

You always say that, you always say this is the last time
The daughter doesn't believe him because he's broken that promise before

But you ain't leavin' no more daddy, you're mine"
The daughter is happy because she has her father back for good

She's pilin' boxes in front of the door tryin' to block it
The daughter is trying to stop her father from leaving by piling boxes in front of the door

"Daddy please, daddy, don't leave, daddy, no, stop it"
The daughter begs her father to stay

Goes in her pocket, pulls out a tiny necklace locket
The daughter gives her father a necklace to keep him safe

It's got a picture, "This will keep you safe daddy, take it with ya"
The necklace has a picture inside and the daughter hopes it will protect her father

I look up, it's just me standin' in the mirror
The father looks in the mirror and sees only himself

These fuckin' walls must be talkin', 'cause man I can hear 'em
The father is paranoid and imagines the walls talking to him

They're sayin', "you got one more chance to do right
He imagines the walls telling him he has one more chance to fix things

And it's tonight, now go out and show em that you love 'em before it's too late"
He needs to show his loved ones how much he cares before it's too late

And just as I go to walk out of my bedroom door
The father is about to leave

It turns to a stage, they're gone and the spotlight is on and I'm singin'
But suddenly, the room turns into a stage and he's performing in a spotlight

Sixty thousand people all jumpin' out their seat
He imagines a large crowd of people cheering him on

The curtain closes, they're throwin' roses at my feet
The performance ends and the audience members show their appreciation by throwing roses

I take a bow, and thank you all for comin out
He thanks the audience for coming to his performance

They're screamin' so loud, I take one last look at the crowd
The audience cheers so loudly, he looks back at them one last time

I glance down, I don't believe what I'm seein'
He looks down and is shocked at what he sees

"Daddy, its me, help mommy, her wrists are bleedin'"
His daughter appears and tells him that her mother is hurt

But baby we're in Sweden
He tells his daughter that they're in a different country

How did you get to Sweden?
He's surprised that his daughter was able to follow him to another country

"I followed you daddy
She followed him without him knowing

You told me that you weren't leavin'
He promised his daughter he wouldn't leave

You lied to me dad, and now you made mommy sad
She's upset because he broke his promise and it hurt her mother

And I bought you this coin, it says number one dad
She gives him a gift, a coin that says he's the best dad

That's all I wanted, I just want to give you this coin"
She just wanted to give him a gift to show him how much she loves him

"I get the point, fine, me and mommy are goin'"
He finally realizes the importance of his family and decides to stay with them

"But baby wait, it's too late dad, you made your choice
His daughter tells him that he had his chance and now it's too late

Now go out there and show em that you love em more than us
She tells him to show the world how much he loves them more than his family

That's what they want
The audience only cares about his music and entertainment

They want you, Marshall
They want him, the famous rapper Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem)

They keep screamin' your name
The audience keeps calling out his name

It's no wonder you can't go to sleep
It's no surprise that he has trouble sleeping with all the pressure on him

Just take another pill, yeah I bet you you will!
His daughter assumes that he'll just take drugs to cope with the stress

You rap about it, yeah word, kid keep it real"
She reminds him that he sings about his struggles and he should be true to himself

I hear a applause, all this time I couldn't see
He hears applause but is still conflicted with his feelings

How could it be, that the curtain is closin' on me
He questions how he can be so successful but still have personal problems

I turn around, find a gun on the ground
In his imagination, he finds a gun on the ground

Cock it, put it to my brain, scream Die Shady! And pop it
He imagines shooting himself (as his alter ego Slim Shady)

The sky darkens, my life flashes
He imagines his life flashing before his eyes

The plane that I was supposed to be on, crashes, and burns to ashes
He imagines himself dying in a plane crash

That's when I wake up
He wakes up from his dream

Alarm clock's ringing, there's birds singin'
He wakes up to his alarm and the sounds of birds

It's spring and Hailie's outside swingin'
It's springtime and his daughter is outside on the swing

I walk right up to Kim and kiss her tell her I miss her
He goes up to his wife and kisses her, telling her he misses her

Hailie just smiles and winks at her little sister almost as if to say
His daughter Hailie smiles at her little sister as if to say that everything will be okay now