When I'm Gone

"When I'm Gone" does not necessarily mean "when I'm gone in a permanent sense." When Brad Arnold wrote this song, the subject he had in mind was unconditional love, for when you're removed from your loved one by miles, or time, or other obstacles. "It's asking a question, just please love me when I'm gone," says the lead singer. "And not just like when I'm dead and gone, but when I'm gonna come back. And that's kind of one thing it's about. But at the same time it's kind of about unconditional love. It's a lot of different statements it's asking of the person in that song. And it's like just the fulfillment of those different needs for every situation that it mentions. So I guess that song is just about needing someone really to be there for you unconditionally, and when you're gone."

An "education x-ray," explains Brad, would refer to a psychologist or therapist who doesn't actually take an x-ray of you with a machine, but rather forms a sort of mental x-ray of you by way of their educational training, and the time spent talking with you to make a diagnosis. In Brad's words: "It's when a kid's mom or dad is quick to take them to a psychologist or something, and it's like talking about their education x-ray trying to look into you. It's like, 'I'm not gonna tell you a damn thing that I couldn't tell my friends.'" (Check out our full interview with Brad Arnold)

Although the lyrics don't have anything to do with the army or war, the music video was dedicated to all the men and women serving in the United States military.