HarryNorrisMusicVideoBlog

December 2005 – ‘when I’m gone’ –
Aftermath/Interscope/Shady

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 points the gun at his brain and shoots himself (in the clean version the song fades out before the shooting segment begins).