Call Me When You're Sober

2006 song by Evanescence

"Call Me When You're Sober" is a song by American rock band Evanescence from their second studio album, The Open Door. It was released as the album's lead single on September 4, 2006. The track was written by Amy Lee and guitarist Terry Balsamo, and produced by Dave Fortman. A musical fusion of alternative metal, symphonic rock, and electropop, the song was inspired by the end of Lee's relationship with singer Shaun Morgan as well as Lee's other experiences at the time. "Call Me When You're Sober" peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Alternative Songs chart, and entered the top ten of several Billboard component charts. It also peaked within the top ten on multiple international charts, including the UK, Australia, Italy, Canada, and New Zealand. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The song received generally positive reception from music critics. Its music video was directed by Marc Webb, and depicts a metaphorical visual, drawing inspiration from the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood".

"Call Me When You're Sober" was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo, with production by Dave Fortman. Lee and Balsamo started working on the song during their writing session in Florida; Lee played the music she was working on for the song in her room and Balsamo was working on a very different "heavy riff". Upon hearing his guitar, Lee proposed that they mix both pieces together which led to the conception of "Call Me When You're Sober". When Lee began writing the song's melody she initially thought that the song wasn't for Evanescence, but she expressed what she wanted to say, felt it was "fresh" for her and Balsamo wrote a "badass" riff to it. When the song was first released, it was speculated by the media that it referenced Lee's ex boyfriend, Seether's singer Shaun Morgan. She stated: "I think it's impossible to hide how obvious it is. The day that our single hit the airwaves, my ex boyfriend said he was going into rehab and canceled their tour. [The difficulties and breakup] happened sort of after I was out of the spotlight for a while and writing." Writing the song helped Lee in the process of healing from a "painful ending to a relationship". She explained, "That whole thing wasn't a bad relationship, but it was a very bad break up it went on forever. All the while there was a lot of bad business stuff going on And what I chose to do was to hide and cower, rather than to stand up for myself. And finally it became too much for me. I was writing at the time, and I had a look at myself and thought, 'This is it, this is what I do every time. I just wallow in sorrow and music and get all weird'. So I decided for once to do something for me as a person, to jump off the cliff and get myself out of this situation. So I ended the relationship, packed some stuff, left Los Angeles and rented a house in Florida. And 'Call Me When You're Sober' spilled straight out of me. It was very cathartic. After that I moved to New York." Lee added that she felt "brave" writing the straight forward lyrics as she was "sick of hiding behind metaphors" in everything she had written before, and "so much of the record was about the turmoil I was going through". She was letting herself "be run down", and in the end, "had to choose happiness and health" for herself. "Sober" was also inspired by other events in her life, including people who she was working with that were "holding me down and manipulating me and betraying me", eventually leading her to make the decision to "put my foot down and walk out the door". In 2007, after finishing his rehabilitation, Morgan said the song had "haunted" him around and negatively affected his reputation, adding that it was not pleasant to hear a song describing him as a "bad guy" that "millions of people have heard", he doesn't think it's "right to say and do those things when people break up, and she obviously felt the need to go out there and make me sound like a complete a hole". At the time, Seether's album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces was to be released soon and it was speculated that it would contain an answer song to "Call Me When You're Sober", with "Breakdown" initially considered one. She said she supports Morgan in his rehabilitation and is "really happy for him." In retrospect, Lee mentioned in 2016, "I love this song because it has this fun spirit that was new for us as a band. You can still be heavy with a smile on your face." Music journalists identified various genres in "Call Me When You're Sober", including symphonic rock, soul, electropop, piano balladry, nu metal, hard rock, and R&B. refn|

Lyrically, "Call Me When You're Sober" depicts the difficult situation of a female protagonist dealing with the behavior of a lover with substance addiction; she eventually decides to move away from this dysfunctional relationship. Andree Farias from Christianity Today said the song was "self explanatory". Blender characterized it as a "sassy, almost flirtatious kiss off to a manipulative lover." The Courier Mails Jason Nahrung felt that the song was the album's most radio friendly track, featuring "heavy bass and drums, spotless and lavish production and Lee's unmistakable vocals". Kerrang! described it as "an unusually transparent, autobiographical dissection of [Lee's] abortive relationship" and a "tough love song insistent that she won't be brought down by anyone else's addictions". The recording was made available for digital download on September 4, 2006, and a physical release as a single followed on September 25.

The song received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Ed Thompson of IGN picked the song as one of the album's highlights. A writer from The Boston Globe deemed the song the album's "hard charging opening salvo". AllMusics Stephen Thomas Erlewine regarded it as one of the album's three highlights, saying that it has structure, hooks and momentum. In his review of The Open Door for the Hartford Courant, Eric R. Danton observed that Lee was more certain and in charge of the whole album, which he found to be exemplified on the "terse rocker" with an "acerbic message" that is "Call Me When You're Sober". Nicholas Fonseca of Entertainment Weekly called "Call Me When You're Sober" an "angry goth anthem". Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said Lee's "big bodice ripping voice" is over the top on the song, which suits it. A Billboard writer deemed the song an "anthemic grinder" in which "Lee's vocal is other worldly and the song's overall impact is strong, however, there's really nothing new going on". Metal Edge wrote of the track, "fans might be surprised by the R&B flavoured vocal melody and piano chords that introduce [the song]. But it’s not really a stretch once those crunchy guitars kick in, and the soulful chorus breaks new ground for the band without straying from its signature style." The New York Times Kelefa Sanneh praised Lee's vocal performance calling it "terrific", adding that the song "crashes through different styles while remaining diabolically hummable". In his review, Don Kaye of Blabbermouth. net called it a "blunt emotional assessment" and a "huge, dramatic, sweeping number, complete with massive hooks and a powerful, fearless performance from Lee". Bryan Reesman of Metal Hammer said the song highlights Lee's songwriting talents. Kerrang!s Sam Law deemed the song a "watershed of confidence and catharsis, with the genre mashing emphasising a talent finally unbound", and complimented the "rich backing vocals to an already luxuriant mix." Conversely, it was included in a list of The Most Annoying Songs of 2006 compiled by ABC News. The track was nominated in the category for Favorite Rock Song at the 33rd People's Choice Awards. In 2011, Loudwire journalist Mary Ouellette, placed the song at number two on her list of 10 Best Evanescence Songs. She called it a "perfectly crafted ode to an ex boyfriend" with an "undeniably addictive melody", and thematically relatable to "anyone who's ever been in a dicey relationship". In 2016, Brittany Porter from AXS listed it at number four on her list of the band's 10 best songs.

On the week ending September 2, 2006, "Call Me When You're Sober" debuted at number 25 and 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs charts, respectively. The following week, it moved to its peak position of number 10 on the Hot 100, becoming the greatest sell gainer for that chart issue, and Evanescence's third top ten single on the chart. It remained on the Hot 100 for a total of 22 weeks, last seen at number 35. Furthermore, the single peaked in the top ten of several other Billboard charts in the US; on the Adult Pop Songs chart it attained the position of six for the week ending of November 11, 2006, and on the Mainstream Top 40 it peaked at number seven for the week ending November 25, 2006. The single ranked at number 77 on the Hot 100 year end chart for 2006. The following week, it moved to number four, its peak position on the chart; with this feat, the song became the band's fourth top ten and second top five single in the UK. The song ranked at number 139 on the country's year end chart. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awarded the single with a gold certification in 2006 for shipment of 35,000 copies in that country. According to footage from the behind the scenes clip from the music video, the director also proposed to Lee to straddle her lover in the video, but she, opposed to selling sex, refused, jokingly saying: "You can't blame a guy for trying." The clip premiered on MTV in the United States on August 7, 2006. Corey Moss of MTV News concluded that the visual was "an abstract take on somewhat literal lyrics". Kelefa Saneh from The New York Times interpreted the clip as a metaphor, observing how despite being among wolves, Lee does not appear to be intimidated by them. It was nominated in the category for Best International Video by a group at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards. The clip also received a nomination in the category for Best Video at the 2007 NRJ Music Awards.

Evanescence performed "Call Me When You're Sober" during the 2011 Rock in Rio festival on October 2, 2011. On April 11, 2012, the band performed the song at the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

In June 2009, "Bring Me to Life", "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Weight of the World" were included in the video game Rock Band as downloadable songs. The following year, the song was also included on the iOS game Rock Band Reloaded. "Call Me When You're Sober" was also used in the Nintendo DS soundtrack for the game Band Hero (2009).