“Gone Away” by The Offspring

The track “Gone Away” by American rock band The Offspring is one of their most popular hits. Lead singer Dexter Holland wrote the song after his then-girlfriend (the song was released in 1997) died in a car accident. It’s an emotionally powerful tune, and the lyrics should resonate deeply with anybody who has lost a loved one.

The first stanza makes it pretty clear what the song’s about within the first minute.

Maybe in another life

I could find you there

Pulled away before your time

I can’t deal, it’s so unfair

Holland begins “Gone Away” by stating something countless people have wondered following the death of a loved one. The idea of “seeing you again” in another/afterlife is very common among people who are grieving. It’s so difficult to believe that the person is really gone, so we try to imagine that we’ll see them again someday. If not in this life, then hopefully another.

Of course, it’s difficult when anyone we love dies. However, the line “Pulled away before your time” is a particularly brutal one. When someone we love dies as a young person, it adds another level of devastation. Accidental deaths, in particular, blindside us so tragically that we tend to be at a loss for words.

Songwriter Dexter Holland
Credit: ocregister.com

Thoughts of regret can also arise when a young loved one dies unexpectedly. Things we wish we had said, maybe missed chances to say “I love you,” or tell them how much they meant to us, tend to linger in our heads for a while afterward. “It’s so unfair,” Holland sings.

The chorus of “Gone Away” by The Offspring follows the first stanza:

And it feels

And it feels like

Heaven’s so far away

And it feels

Yeah it feels like

The world has grown cold

Now that you’ve gone away

The singer’s loved one has died unexpectedly, and now it feels like his paradise is lost. As mentioned earlier, the song was written after Holland’s girlfriend at the time had died. We aren’t sure if they had plans to marry or not, but regardless, Holland clearly loved her. And it must have just been a horrible experience for him. He clearly felt a strong connection with her, and now his world is freezing.

The second and third stanzas portray some beautiful ideas, as Holland expresses numerous thoughts in these lines.

Leaving flowers on your grave

Show that I still care

Black roses and Hail Marys

Can’t bring back what’s taken from me

A fairly-typical scene emerges here in”Gone Away.” A young man returns to the grave of his lover who has died. He leaves a bouquet of flowers on her grave, perhaps kissing the ground above. However symbolic that may be, he knows that flowers and prayers will not bring her back. She’s been taken, and she won’t return.

I reach to the sky

And call out your name

And if I could trade

I would

Credit: orlandoweekly.com

Clearly this man is devastated. He reaches and looks upwards, beckoning his lover to come back to him, yelling out her name. He so-longingly wishes to hold her again, that he can’t help but scream.

It’s hard to completely decipher, but the line “And if I could trade” seems to imply that if he could trade his life for her to be back on earth, he would. This is quite morose, but one that is a very common feeling for people who are grieving.

“Gone Away” by The Offspring is certainly an alternative-rock song. It’s not heavy metal by any means, but may not be of a style that everyone loves. Regardless, its themes are universal for people who have experienced the death of a loved one.

The song is very popular among the band’s fans, and a quick online search or looking through comments on videos will yield many examples of fans explaining how important this song is to them. It has clearly helped a lot of people (particularly young people) deal and come to terms with their emotions after the death of a loved one, and that should be the ultimate reward for any artist.

You can watch a live version of “The Offspring” performing “Gone Away” below.