Gonna Miss You When You're Gone

Album: American Kid (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Patty Griffin's father died in 2009, and many of the tracks on American Kid find the singer dealing with his tragic illness and passing. On this song the Maine native is speaking directly to her dad, addressing the deep mark he made upon her life and her impending loss. "It was just one of those moments you think about when you think you have some time from it and you don't know exactly how the hell you're gonna get through that," Griffin mused to Country Weekly. "So I just wrote about it, while I was going through it, while he was getting ready to go, so I was getting ready to let him go."
  • Griffin dedicated the American kid album to her father. The slow and melancholy tone of this song contrasts with the album opener "Go Wherever You Wanna Go," which takes an optimistic view of death and the afterlife.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Grunge Bands Quiz

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?