I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cried
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side
[Pre-Chorus]
When you walk away
I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
[Chorus]
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missin' you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missin' too
When you're gone, the words I need to hear
To always get me through the day
And make it okay
I miss you
[Verse 2]
I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you
I love the things that you do
When you walk away
I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
[Chorus]
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missin' you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missin' too
And when you're gone, the words I need to hear
To always get me through the day
And make it okay
I miss you
[Bridge]
We were made for each other, out here forever
I know we were, yeah, yeah
And all I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I do, I give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe, I need to feel you here with me, yeah
[Chorus]
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missin' you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missin' too
When you're gone, the words I need to hear
Will always get me through the day
And make it okay
I miss you, mmm
About
Avril commented on the song’s background during an interview with PopMatters:
It was a song that we wanted to make universal, and a lot of the inspiration came having to leave someone that you love and all the little things you miss about them. The song’s gonna be the second single.
I just shot the video for it. I came up with the concept for the video: I wanted to have, like, a husband going off to war with his pregnant wife at home, and then I wanted like an old man who clearly had lost his wife and he goes to the gravestone to visit her, and then I wanted like a teenage couple who [had a] “weren’t allowed to be together” kinda thing, so like there’s all these different stories.
This video’s really pretty and it’s very personal. So it’s nice for me just talking about how I want it to make the record really fun and up-tempo. You know, I’d enjoy having a couple ballads so that I could really express my emotions and deliver emotion and just get … you know, I love to be able to sing a ballad every once in awhile—it just feels good.
“When You’re Gone” is the fifth track from Avril Lavigne’s third studio album “The Best Damn Thing”.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
This was the closest Avril has ever come to writing a love song, so much that it actually embarrassed her a little.
- 1.Girlfriend
- 3.Runaway
- 5.When You’re Gone
- 7.Hot
- 8.Innocence
- 11.Contagious
- 12.Keep Holding On
- 13.Alone
- 14.I Will Be