When You're Gone

Album: To The Faithful Departed (1996)
Charted: 22
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan wrote this song after her grandfather died. Over the years, it took on different meanings for her. "Later on, on tour, when I'd be on the road, I might think about my kids when I was singing it or I might think about my father who passed away," she said in a Songfacts interview. "So, when you're singing a song about loss and then if you're going through bereavement it can take on a new meaning and you think about what you're going through at that particular time with that song."
  • The group recorded this with a doo-wop feel, complete with "Doo-be-da" vocals and finger snaps.
  • The video was directed by Jake Scott, son of Ridley Scott of Alien fame.
  • "When You're Gone" plays in the 2025 season 2 series Bad Sisters in episode 5, where it's used in a scene where the sisters sing it using a home karaoke machine. One of the sisters uses the opportunity to break some major news (we won't spoil it) before returning to the song. The show is set in Ireland, where The Cranberries formed and the song is very popular.

Comments: 1

  • Kinga from UkAccording to other sources it was directed by Kren Bellone
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."