This track deals with the stress and anger brought about by poverty and the… Read Full Bio ↴This track deals with the stress and anger brought about by poverty and the struggles of raising a little girl under those conditions.

Em’s sources of depression were revealed in Rolling Stone’s 1999 article on him:

"It didn’t help that days before his daughter’s first birthday, Eminem got fired from his cooking job at Gilbert’s Lodge. “That was the worst time ever, dog,” he says. “It was, like, five days before Christmas, which is Hailie’s birthday. I had, like, $40 to get her something. I wrote ‘Rock Bottom’ right after that.”

Thus, “Rock Bottom” was written during a depressed point in Eminem’s life, around December 20, 1996. Furthermore, we find out from the book Eminem: The Stories Behind Every Song by David Stubbs that Eminem actually overdosed on pills while recording this song in Autumn of 1997.

This is one of only two tracks on The Slim Shady LP—the other being “If I Had"—that is not from his Slim Shady persona perspective, but rather from Marshall Mathers himself.

RockBottom
Eminem Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ayo, this song is dedicated to all the happy people
All the happy people who have real nice lives
And have no idea what it's like to be broke as fuck

I feel like I'm walkin' a tight rope without a circus net
Poppin' Percocet, I'm a nervous wreck
I deserve respect but I work a sweat for this worthless check
I'm about to burst this Tec at somebody to reverse this debt

Minimum wage got my adrenaline caged
Full of venom and rage, especially when I'm engaged
And my daughter's down to her last diaper, it's got my ass hyper
I pray that God answers, maybe I'll ask nicer
Watchin' ballers while they're flossin' in their Pathfinders
These overnight stars becomin' autograph-signers
We all long to blow up and leave the past behind us
Along with the small fries and average half-pinters
But player-haters turnin' bitch like they have vaginas
Cause we see them dollar signs and let the cash blind us
Money'll brainwash you and leave your ass mindless
When snakes slither in the grass spineless

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal
That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal
That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear

My life is full of empty promises and broken dreams
I'm hopin' things look up, but there ain't no job openings
I feel discouraged, hungry and malnourished
Livin' in this house with no furnace, unfurnished
And I'm sick of workin' dead-end jobs with lame pay
And I'm tired of being hired and fired the same day
But fuck it, if you know the rules to the game, play
Cause when we die we know we all goin' the same way
Cause it's cool to be player, but it sucks to be the fan
When all you need is bucks to be the man, plus a luxury sedan
I'm comfortable and roomy in a 6
But they threw me in the mix with all these gloomy lunatics
Who walk around depressed and smoke a pound of cess a day
And yesterday went by so quick it seems like it was just today
My daughter wants to throw the ball but I'm too stressed to play
Live half a life and throw the rest away

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal
That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal
That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear

There's people that love me and people that hate me
But it's the evil that made me this backstabbin', deceitful and shady
I want the money, the women, the fortune and fame
If it means I end up burnin' in hell, scorchin' in flames
If it means I'm stealin' your checkbook and forgin' your name
This lifetime bliss for eternal torture and pain
Cause right now, I feel like just hit the rock bottom
I've got problems, now everybody on my block's got em
I'm screaming like them two cops when 2Pac shot em
Holding 2 Glocks, hope your doors got new locks on em
My daughter's feet ain't got no shoes or socks on em
And them rings you wearin' look like they got a few rocks on em
And while you flaunt em I could be takin' em to shops to pawn em
I got a couple of rings and a brand-new watch, you want em?
Cause I ain't never went gold off one song
I'm runnin' up on someone's lawn with guns drawn

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal
That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal

That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear

Overall Meaning

The song is about Eminem's struggles with poverty and the desperation it causes. He talks about feeling like he's walking on a tight rope without a safety net, and how he's popping pills to deal with the anxiety. He's frustrated with his life, working hard for a minimum wage and feeling trapped. The situation is putting a strain on his relationship with his daughter, as he struggles to provide for her basic needs. He sees people with money and fame and wishes he could have those things too, but money has blinded them and turned them into "player-haters".

Eminem's lyrics are painfully honest and raw, showing the dark side of poverty and the desperation it can cause. He talks about his hopes and dreams for a better life, but feels like he's hit rock bottom. The chorus repeats the message that when you feel that desperate, it's like you're at rock bottom.

Line by Line Meaning

Ayo, this song is dedicated to all the happy people
This song is meant for the people who have never experienced the hardships of life

All the happy people who have real nice lives
The people who are blissfully unaware of the pain and struggles faced by those who are less fortunate

And have no idea what it's like to be broke as fuck
These happy people are oblivious to the hardships of those who live in poverty

I feel like I'm walkin' a tight rope without a circus net
I feel like I'm in a precarious situation with no safety net or support system

Poppin' Percocet, I'm a nervous wreck
I'm taking Percocet to cope with my anxiety

I deserve respect but I work a sweat for this worthless check
I work tirelessly for a paycheck that barely covers my basic needs

I'm about to burst this Tec at somebody to reverse this debt
I'm so desperate that I'm considering using my gun to rob someone and pay off my debts

Minimum wage got my adrenaline caged
The low wages that I earn is like being trapped in a cage and has me constantly stressed

Full of venom and rage, especially when I'm engaged
I'm filled with anger and bitterness, particularly when I see others enjoying their lives

And my daughter's down to her last diaper, it's got my ass hyper
The fact that I can't provide basic needs for my child is causing me immense stress

I pray that God answers, maybe I'll ask nicer
I'm so desperate that I'm turning to religion and hoping that things will get better if I pray harder

Watchin' ballers while they're flossin' in their Pathfinders
I watch people with money showing off their expensive cars while I can barely afford to put food on the table

These overnight stars becomin' autograph-signers
People who became famous overnight are now signing autographs and living a luxurious life

We all long to blow up and leave the past behind us
Everyone aspires to become successful and leave behind their difficult past

Along with the small fries and average half-pinters
People who are average or below-average in talent or skill will be left behind in the pursuit of success

But player-haters turnin' bitch like they have vaginas
People who hate on others, especially those who are successful, are acting cowardly and weak

Cause we see them dollar signs and let the cash blind us
We become blinded to what's important in life by the prospect of money

Money'll brainwash you and leave your ass mindless
Money has the power to change a person and make them lose their sense of self

When snakes slither in the grass spineless
People who are deceitful and manipulative will take advantage of those who are vulnerable

That's rock bottom, when this life makes you mad enough to kill
Rock bottom is when the hardships of life push you to the point of wanting to commit a violent act

That's rock bottom, when you want something bad enough to steal
Rock bottom is when you become so desperate for something that you are willing to resort to theft

That's rock bottom, when you feel like you've had it up to here
Rock bottom is when you can no longer tolerate the difficulties of life

Cause you mad enough to scream but you're sad enough to tear
You are so frustrated that you want to scream, but are so sad that you can only cry

My life is full of empty promises and broken dreams
My life is a series of unfulfilled promises and shattered hopes

I'm hopin' things look up, but there ain't no job openings
I'm hoping for a better future, but there are no job opportunities available

I feel discouraged, hungry and malnourished
I'm feeling low, hungry, and malnourished

Livin' in this house with no furnace, unfurnished
I'm living in a house with no heating and no furniture

And I'm sick of workin' dead-end jobs with lame pay
I'm tired of working low-paying jobs with no opportunity for advancement

And I'm tired of being hired and fired the same day
I'm fed up with being let go from jobs after only one day of work

But fuck it, if you know the rules to the game, play
Even though the system is rigged, if you understand how it works, you can still succeed

Cause when we die we know we all goin' the same way
In the end, we will all die and face the same fate

Cause it's cool to be player, but it sucks to be the fan
Being successful and in control is desirable, but being on the losing side is not

When all you need is bucks to be the man, plus a luxury sedan
In our society, money and material possessions are what define success and power

I'm comfortable and roomy in a 6
I'm driving a comfortable and spacious luxury car

But they threw me in the mix with all these gloomy lunatics
Even though I'm comfortable, I'm surrounded by unhappy and unstable people

Who walk around depressed and smoke a pound of cess a day
These people are so miserable that they smoke a pound of marijuana every day

And yesterday went by so quick it seems like it was just today
Time passes by so quickly that it's hard to differentiate between days

My daughter wants to throw the ball but I'm too stressed to play
My daughter wants to play with me, but my stress is preventing me from doing so

Live half a life and throw the rest away
I'm only able to live half of my life, and the other half is wasted or thrown away

There's people that love me and people that hate me
I have both supporters and detractors in my life

But it's the evil that made me this backstabbin', deceitful and shady
My negative experiences in life have made me a deceitful and malicious person

I want the money, the women, the fortune and fame
I desire wealth, women, and fame above all else

If it means I end up burnin' in hell, scorchin' in flames
If the cost of achieving my goals is eternal damnation, I'm willing to pay it

If it means I'm stealin' your checkbook and forgin' your name
If stealing from others is what it takes to achieve my goals, I'm prepared to do it

This lifetime bliss for eternal torture and pain
If my current life of wealth and success leads to a lifetime of punishment, I'm willing to accept that trade-off

Cause right now, I feel like just hit the rock bottom
At this moment, I feel like I have reached the lowest point of my life

I've got problems, now everybody on my block's got em
My problems are affecting everyone around me

I'm screaming like them two cops when 2Pac shot em
I'm shouting in agony, much like the police officers who witnessed Tupac Shakur being shot

Holding 2 Glocks, hope your doors got new locks on em
I'm armed with two guns and I hope that you have secure locks on your doors

My daughter's feet ain't got no shoes or socks on em
My daughter doesn't have any shoes or socks to wear

And them rings you wearin' look like they got a few rocks on em
Your jewelry appears to be expensive and adorned with diamonds

And while you flaunt em I could be takin' em to shops to pawn em
While you show off your wealth, I'm considering stealing your possessions and selling them for cash

I got a couple of rings and a brand-new watch, you want em?
I have some items of value that I'm willing to sell if anyone is interested

Cause I ain't never went gold off one song
I've never achieved commercial success through my music

I'm runnin' up on someone's lawn with guns drawn
I'm willing to resort to violence and robbery to solve my financial problems

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF BASS, MARK BASS, MARSHALL MATHERS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Honour

on The Real Slim Shady

May I have your attention, please?
May I have your attention, please?
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
I repeat, will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
We're gonna have a problem here

Y'all act like you never seen a white person before
Jaws all on the floor like Pam like Tommy just burst in the door
And started whoopin' her ass worse than before
They first were divorced, throwing' her over furniture (ah)
It's the return of the "ah, wait, no way, you're kidding
He didn't just say what I think he did, did he?"
And Dr. Dre said, nothing, you idiots
Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement (ha ha)
Feminist women love Eminem
"Chicka, chicka, chicka, Slim Shady, I'm sick of him
Look at him, walkin' around, grabbing' his you-know-what
Flippin' the you-know-who"
"Yeah, but he's so cute though"
Yeah, I probably got a couple of screws up in my head loose
But no worse than what s going' on in your parents' bedrooms
Sometimes I wanna get on TV and just let loose
But can't, but it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose
"My bum is on your lips, my bum is on your lips"
And if I'm lucky, you might just give it a little kiss
And that's the message that we deliver to little kids
And expect them not to know what a woman's clitoris is
Of course they're gonna know what intercourse is
By the time they hit fourth grade
They've got the Discovery Channel, don't they?
We ain't nothin' but mammals, well, some of us, cannibals
Who cut other people open like cantaloupes
But if we can hump dead animals and antelopes
Then there's no reason that a man and another man can't elope
But if you feel like I feel, I got the antidote
Women, wave your pantyhose, sing the chorus, and it goes

I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?

Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records
Well, I do, so fuck him and fuck you too
You think I give a damn about a Grammy?
Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me
"But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be weird?"
Why, so you guys could just lie to get me here?
So you can sit me here next to Britney Spears?
Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst
And hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
Little bitch put me on blast on MTV
"Yeah, he's cute, but I think he's married to Kim, hee-hee"
I should download her audio on MP3
And show the whole world how you gave Eminem VD (ah)
I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups
All you do is annoy me, so I have been sent here to destroy you
And there's a million of us just like me
Who cuss like me, who just don't give a fuck like me
Who dress like me, walk, talk and act like me
And just might be the next best thing, but not quite me

'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?

I'm like a headtrip to listen to, 'cause I'm only giving' you
Things you joke about with your friends inside your living' room
The only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all
And I don't gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all
I just get on the mic and spit it
And whether you like to admit it, I just shit it
Better than ninety percent of you rappers out can
Then you wonder, "how can
Kids eat up these albums like Valiums?"
It's funny, 'cause at the rate I'm going, when I'm thirty
I'll be the only person in the nursing home flirting
Pinching nurses asses when I'm jacking off with Jergens
And I'm jerking, but this whole bag of Viagra isn't working
And every single person is a Slim Shady lurking
He could be working at Burger King, spitting' on your onion rings
Or in the parking lot, circling, screaming, "I don't give a fuck"
With his windows down and his system up
So will the real Shady please stand up
And put one of those fingers on each hand up?
And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control
And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?

I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?

Ha ha, I guess there's a Slim Shady in all of us
Fuck it, let's all stand up

Noah

on Remember Me?

12w

Remember me? S executions
Remember me? I have no remorse
Remember me? I'm high-powered
Remember me? I drop bombs like Hiroshima

For this one, they scream "X, you retarded?!"
'Cause I grab the mic and get down like syndrome
Hide and roam into the masses
Without boundaries, which qualifies me
For the term "universal" without no rehearsal
I leak words that's controversial
Like I'm not the one you wanna contest, see
'Cause I'll hit your ass like the train did that bitch
That got banned from TV, heavyweight getup
Hit you, watch your whole head split up
Loco is the motion, we comin' through
Hollow-tips is the lead the .45 threw

Remember me? Throw your guns in the air
Remember me? Slam, slam
Remember me? Nigga, back the fuck up
Remember me? Chka-chka-Onyx

Niggas that take no for an answer get told no
Yeah, I been told no, but it was more like "No! No! No!"
Life a bitch, met her, fuck you if you let her
Better come better than better to be a competitor
This vet is ahead of the shit, it's all redder, you deader and deader
A medic instead of the cheddars and credda
Settle vendetta with metal Beretta from ghetto to ghetto
Evidence, nope, never leave a shred of
I got the soul of every rapper in me, love me or hate me
My moms got raped by the industry and made me
I'm the illest nigga ever, I told you
I get more pussy than them dyke bitches Total
Want beef, nigga? Pfft, you better dead that shit
My name should be Can't-Believe-That-Nigga-Said-That-Shit
Probably sayin' he ain't a killer, but I'm killin' myself
Smoke death, fuck bitches raw on the kitchen floor
So think what I'ma do to you, have done to you
Got niggas in my hood who'd do that shit for a blunt or two
What you wanna do? Cocksuckers, we Glock busters
'Til the cops cuff us, gon' start ruckus and drop blockbusters
Round the clock hustlers, you cannot touch us
I'm gettin' wires, niggas wantin' me dead
Wantin' my head, you think it could be somethin' I said?

Remember me? I just don't give a fuck
Remember me? Yeah, fuck you too
Remember me? I'm low down and I'm shifty
Remember me? I'm Shady

When I go out, I'ma go out shootin'
I don't mean when I die, I mean when I go out to the club, stupid
I'm tryin' to clean up my fuckin' image
So I promised the fuckin' critics
I wouldn't say "fuckin'" for six minutes
(Six minutes, Slim Shady, you're on)
My baby's mom, bitch made me an angry blonde
So I made me a song, killed her and put Hailie on
I may be wrong, I keep thinkin' these crazy thoughts
In my cranium, but I'm stuck with a crazy mom
(Is she really on as much dope as you say she's on?)
Came home and somebody must've broke in the back window
And stole two loaded machine guns and both of my trench coats
Six sick dreams of picnic scenes
Two kids, sixteen, with M-16s and ten clips each
And them shits reach through six kids each
And Slim gets blamed in Bill Clint's speech to fix these streets?!
Fuck that! Pfft, you faggots can vanish to volcanic ash
And reappear in hell with a can of gas and a match
Aftermath, Dre, grab the gat, show 'em where it's at
(What the fuck you starin' at, nigga?)

Don't you remember me?
Remember me?
Remember me?
Remember me? (Slim Shady!)