I'm Gone

Album: See The Light (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In October 2006 Bo Bice underwent emergency surgery for an intestinal problem that doctors said he may have had since he was born. The surgery was, according to his doctors, neither easy nor routine, but it was successful. It was while he was home recuperating from this surgery that Bice found himself one day writing this song with his good friend and frequent co-writer Chris Tompkins. "He was one of the first people that I reached out to to write after my surgery," recalls Bice. "And I had just worked on the opening lick for that song. I remember writing it in the back lounge of a bus. And he came in and had the rhythm guitar part, started playing it, and started singing. He wrote the first line, 'I'm gonna give leavin' a brand new meanin', show you how it feels to be alone.' And from that it's kind of a song that wrote itself, so it's just two friends kind of hanging out."

    "I've experienced everything I wrote about in the song," Bice says. "But we were telling somebody else's story. And now looking back at the finished composition, I can see my story in it. But while we were writing it, it was more like two songwriters writing a song, and we got on a good hook, a good story. It's like two writers sitting down and trying to write something, a TV show or anything else. You start with 'Hello' and you end with 'Goodbye,' but what really matters is what's in between."
  • Co-writer Chris Tompkins has written songs for many recording artists, including Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," Jimmy Buffett's "Havana Breeze," and "That's How They Do It In Dixie" for Hank Williams Jr.
  • SugarMoney, the name of Bice's independent label, was originally the name of his back-up band pre-American Idol. "Chris Tompkins and I played in this little band in this old house in Muscle Shoals with Shonna Tucker and Jason Isbell from the Drive-by Truckers, and Garry Nichols." (Read more in our interview with Bo Bice.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top Proverb

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top ProverbSong Writing

How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.