Call Me When You're Sober

Following the commercial success of their debut studio album Fallen (2003) and its accompanying tour (2003–04), Evanescence returned to the studio to work on material for a new album. During that time, guitarist Ben Moody left the band and the group sued their previous record manager. In addition, the replacement guitarist for Moody, Terry Balsamo suffered from a stroke during the final stages of recording, which further extended the time needed to release and finalize the album. The Open Door was eventually finished and set for release in October 2006 with "Call Me When You're Sober" announced as its first single.[3] When the song was first released, it was speculated among the public that it was dedicated to lead singer Amy Lee's recent ex-boyfriend at that time, Shaun Morgan, the lead singer of the rock band Seether.[3]

Although initially reluctant to reveal where she drew inspiration from to write the song, Lee decided to disclose during an interview in August 2006 and confirm the speculations. Her decision to publicly talk about the inspiration came shortly after Morgan had been admitted to a rehabilitation center to undergo treatment for "combination of substances".[4] The singer stated that when conceiving the song, she was aware that "people would read between the lines", hence, she tried to "be completely clear". With it, she felt the need to "say exactly what I was feeling for so long" and continued to describe her process of creating music as a form of a therapy which gave her a medium to express the negative things that had happened in her life and allow her to "turn something bad into something beautiful".[5] "Call Me When You're Sober" helped her in the process of healing from a "painful ending to a relationship".[3] Lee further elaborated:

"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. I haven't ever said right out who it was about, but it's about the big relationship I was in, and the whole breakup, which was really long. The breaking up and the hard stuff in our relationship happened sort of after I was out of the spotlight for a while and writing. It wasn't in any way public. I was trying to be kind of discreet about it, and then he totally came out and said he was going to rehab. It was shocking to me. It kind of made for a more interesting story."[2]

In addition to that, Lee noted that the song was also inspired by other events in her life, including people who she was collaborating with, "holding me down and manipulating me and betraying me", eventually leading her to make the decision of "put[ting] my foot down and walk[ing] out the door".[2] During a 2011 interview with Spin magazine, Lee described "Call Me When You're Sober" as "mostly a chick anthem: 'You only want me when you're drunk. You only want me because I'm not there'" and deemed it empowering for her female audience of listeners due to the response she had received from them.[6] 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."[7]

"Call Me When You're Sober" had a limited radio release as the first single off The Open Door on July 31, 2006. This was followed by a wider release in the following week. Since the track leaked onto the Internet two days before its scheduled release to radio airplay, the band's record label Wind-up Records allowed radio stations to play the single ahead of schedule.[8] Subsequently, the recording was made available for digital download on September 4, 2006, and a physical release as a single followed on September 25.[9] Rumors began to surface that Wind-up was responsible for the track's selection as the album's first single, which Lee denied in a post on the band's then-active fansite Evboards.com: "Wind up didn't choose this single- I did, and I had to fight for it. I love this song. Also, they didn't change anything about it. This is the way we made it. We fought over the guitar part but eventually just got the mix right."[10]

Morgan's reaction

Shaun Morgan, Lee's ex-boyfriend and lead singer of the band Seether, was the song's inspiration.

During an interview in 2007, after finishing with his rehabilitation, Morgan explained how the song had "haunted" him around and badly affected his reputation. He stated that it was not pleasant to hear a song describing him as a "bad guy" which "millions of people have heard". He elaborated, "I was bummed out. I was really upset that she would say and do those things. In any relationship, I don'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 [sic]... I just refuse to lower myself to that level. But it was a painful thing and it got me down."[4] At the time of the interview, Seether's album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces was to be released soon and speculations started arising to whether it would contain an answer song to "Call Me When You're Sober"; "Breakdown" was initially pinpointed as a possible answer.[4] In response to that, Morgan elaborated that the particular song was not an "angry backlash" and it was "more universal" as he was trying to be "more vague and respectful". Talking about Lee's song, he mentioned how "there are always two sides to every story", yet, he opted not to tell his side as "[t]hat's what the bloodthirsty want, and I don't care what the bloodthirsty want" emphasizing that he "didn't feel the need to write back and be mean".[4] He added that Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces did not contain other answer songs aimed at Lee either, as "I know what the expectations are for this album and that people will be looking for that Amy Lee reference, and I am trying desperately not to have any" further noting how any possible references would be about another relationship he had recently terminated or inspired by other people in his life.[4] In an October 2006 interview with Spin, Lee initially expressed "no intention of hurting [Morgan]" when writing the song, but noted that once the song came out without any metaphors, she wanted to keep it.[11]

"Call Me When You're Sober" was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo, while its production and audio mixing were handled by Dave Fortman at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles. The programming of the track was finished by DJ Lethal while group member John LeCompt finished the additional programming. Jeremy Parker was responsible for its audio engineering while Ted Jensen served as its master. "Call Me When You're Sober" was recorded at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles.[12] The instrumentation is provided by the band with Lee playing keyboards, Terry Balsamo playing lead guitar, John LeCompt playing rhythm guitar, Tim McCord playing bass guitar and Rocky Gray playing drums. Lee's sisters, Carrie and Lori Lee, perform the backing vocals during the chorus line "Make up your mind". "Call Me When You're Sober" was one of the last songs recorded for The Open Door.[12]

Lee and Balsamo started working on the song during a camp session in Florida which lasted for several months; Lee played the music she had imagined for the song in her room while Balsamo could overhear it from his while simultaneously working on a very different "heavy riff". Upon hearing his work, Lee proposed that they mix both pieces together which led to the conception of "Call Me When You're Sober".[7] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing on the website Musicnotes.com, "Call Me When You're Sober" was written in the key of E minor. It is set in common time and performed in a moderately fast tempo of 96 beats per minute for a total length of 3 minutes and 34 seconds. Lee's vocal range in the song spans from the low musical note of G₃ to the high musical note of Eb₅.[13] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times identified numerous different genres present in "Call Me When You're Sober" such as nu metal, symphonic rock and electropop.[14] The song starts off as a piano ballad, progresses into a hard rock song with an orchestral pop-infused chorus and contains a bridge before the last chorus.[15] The singer's vocals are doubled for the second verse of the song.[15]

Lyrically, "Call Me When You're Sober" is a literal song which depicts the difficult situation of a female protagonist dealing with a lover who suffers from an addiction; she eventually decides to move away from this dysfunctional relationship and leave him.[16][17] According to Lee, writing a song with literal meaning was an unusual practice for her. A writer for The Daily Princetonian concluded that "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Lithium" (also from The Open Door) were both dedicated to Lee's ex-boyfriend, with the latter song exploring his perspective of the story started by Lee in the former one.[18] Andree Farias from Christianity Today felt that the song was "self-explanatory".[19] A Stornoway Gazette writer called it a "tough-love" song which finds the protagonist "hoping that [her lover will] crash and burn and finally learn a lesson".[20] In the song, Lee accuses her lover numerous times, as illustrated in the chorus lines "Don't cry to me/ If you loved me/ You would be here with me" and the bridge lines "You never call me when you're sober/ You only want it cause it's over".[21][22] The lines "make up your mind" repeated during the song's chorus are replaced with "I've made up your mind" at the end, indicating that the protagonist has moved on, eventually realizing her worth.[11] The song closes off with Lee giggling, which was described as "the proverbial last laugh".[23]

The song received polarized reviews from contemporary music critics; although many perceived it as a highlight on the album and noted its radio appeal, others saw it as an unworthy comeback with a generic sound. In a review of The Open Door, R.J. Carter of the music website The Trades said that "Call Me When You're Sober" has a "perfect" intro that shows Lee's vocal ability and added that the song is "the album's standout performance".[24] A writer from The Boston Globe deemed the song the album's "hard-charging opening salvo".[25] Ed Thompson of IGN picked the song as one of the album's highlights.[26] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine picked the song as one of the album's three highlights, saying that it had structure, hooks and momentum.[27] 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, something he found to be exemplified on the "terse rocker" with an "acerbic message" that is "Call Me When You're Sober".[28] The New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh praised Lee's vocal performance calling it "terrific"; he noted that the song "crashes through different styles while remaining diabolically hummable".[14] Sanneh further classified the song as "classic Evanescence", which according to him meant "bombastic, meticulously produced... [and] unreasonably addictive".[15] The writer went on to describe the song's chorus as "grandiose" and its bridge as "glorious, glimmering".[15]

Nick Catucci of Rolling Stone dubbed the song "saucy".[29] Nicholas Fonseca of Entertainment Weekly called "Call Me When You're Sober" an "angry-goth anthem".[30] Brendan Butler of Cinema Blend called "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Sweet Sacrifice" the "most-friendly radio [songs]" and noted that they could be the breakout hits from The Open Door due to the fact that they are the album's only two songs that "don't excruciatingly wane after a minute".[31] The Courier-Mail's Jason Nahrung noted that the song was the album's most radio-friendly one and at the same time reminiscent of Lee's previous work with Moody, which according to him meant a use of "heavy bass and drums, spotless and lavish production and Lee's unmistakable vocals".[32] Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield noted how Lee's vocals, which he described as "over the top, in the mode of Eighties shoulder-pad belters like Pat Benatar or Heart's Ann Wilson", are fitting for a breakup song like "Call Me When You're Sober".[33] A writer for Canada.com concluded that Evanescence showed their "staying power" on the "biting single".[34] A Billboard journalist deemed the track's title to be "wonderfully compelling" and went on to describe the song as an "anthemic grinder that musically tills familiar ground". The writer concluded the review, noting: "Lee's vocal is other-worldly and the song's overall impact is strong; however, there's really nothing new going on".[35]

A negative review came from Michael Endelman of Entertainment Weekly who gave the song a grading of C and wrote: "The sound of a woman scorned? Very mild, guessing from unmemorable kiss-off, 'Call Me When You're Sober'... Lee's latest pop-metal melodrama never lives up to the great title, as the melody hovers in a holding pattern."[36] Andrew Blacki writing for PopMatters felt that the "'revenge song' 'Call Me When You’re Sober' reduces their dramatic image to a state of mope Kelly Clarkson breakup pop for mileage".[37] Alex Nunn of musicOMH panned the song as "pretentious... [s]elf indulgent to almost breaking point, the clichéd as hell lyrics and overly generic backing make for a shockingly horrid song" which according to him was due to Moody's absence of involvement in it. He finished off showing incredulity that the "angelic-vocalled woman" who wrote "My Immortal" could "churn out such dross as 'Call Me When You're Sober'".[38] In another review, he said that "Call Me When You're Sober" hinted at the fact that Evanescence became "a mere shadow of the band they used to be".[39] Jenni Cole of the same publication concluded that there was nothing to recommend about the song and added that it was a "disappointing return" for the band.[40]

"Call Me When You're Sober" achieved commercial success in the US. For the week ending September 2, 2006, the song debuted at numbers 25 and 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Digital Songs chart respectively.[46][47] The following week, it moved to its peak position of number ten on the former chart, being the greatest sell gainer for that chart issue.[48][49] With this feat, the song became the band's third top ten single on that chart; it further remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for a total of twenty two weeks, last seen at number 35.[50] 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.[51][52] It additionally peaked at numbers four and five on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts respectively.[53] The single managed to rank at number 77 on the Hot 100 year-end chart for 2006.[54] It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 17, 2009, for selling more than 1,000,000 copies in that country.[55]

Elsewhere, "Call Me When You're Sober" was successful across Europe managing to chart within the top ten in numerous countries. In the United Kingdom, "Call Me When You're Sober" debuted at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart on the chart issue dated September 30, 2006.[56] The following week, it moved to number four and this later became its peak position in that country; with this feat, the song became the band's fourth top ten and their second top five single in the UK.[57] It spent a total of eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart and was last ranked at number 69 on the chart issue dated November 11, 2006.[58] On the year-end chart in the country, the song was placed at number 139.[59] On September 21, 2006, the song debuted in Italy at its peak position of number three where it also spent an additional week. It spent a total of six weeks in the country's top ten.[60] Other European countries where the single managed to enter the top ten of the charts include Switzerland, where it peaked at number six, Austria and Finland where it peaked at number seven and the Netherlands where it peaked at number nine.[61]

In Australia, the single debuted at number five on the ARIA Singles Chart on October 1, 2006 and it spent the following week at that same position. It fell to number seven on October 15, 2006, and it spent additional three weeks there. The song was last seen at number 44 on February 4, 2007, having spent a total of 18 weeks in the top forty of the chart.[62] At the end of 2006, the single emerged as the thirty second best-selling single on the country's year-end chart.[63] It ranked at number five on the list of most played songs in Australia in 2007.[64] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awarded the single with a gold certification in 2006 for shipment of 35,000 copies in that country.[65] In New Zealand, "Call Me When You're Sober" debuted at number nine on the New Zealand Singles Chart on September 18, 2006. It moved to number four the following week and peaked at number three on the chart issue dated October 2, 2006. It spent a total of 18 weeks in the chart's top thirty, before falling out on January 15, 2007.[66]

A scene from the "Little Red Riding Hood"-inspired clip for the song, where Lee is shown among wolves

A music video for the song was directed by Marc Webb and filmed in Hollywood, Los Angeles in July 2006 with a 400.000$ budget.[67][15] Filming was initially scheduled to start in late June, but the sessions were pushed to the second week of July.[68] The video's storyline is based on the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood", with Lee calling it a "modern re-imagining" of that story with a "more cool, superhero, rock and roll" protagonist. During an interview with MTV News, Lee talked about the concept behind the clip, noting that with the song's literal lyrics and title, "we felt like the video would have the freedom to go in a less literal direction".[16] Several real wolves were used when filming the video, accompanied by four personal trainers.[3] While on set, Lee started having allergic reactions to the animals but managed to continue and went on singing and petting them.[3][16] Webb approached her with the idea of doing something alike to a choreography where she would walk down the stairs, surrounded by several female dancers to which Lee agreed.[69] 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."[70]

In the video, Lee plays Little Red Riding Hood while actor Oliver Goodwill plays the Big Bad Wolf, who tries to seduce her.[16] The clip begins with Lee at a vanity wearing a red satin cape, lip-syncing to the lyrics while sitting at opposite ends of a dining table with her lover played by Goodwill. She is then shown standing in front of a mirror while her lover comes behind her; he starts caressing her shoulders and prepares to kiss her, but Lee refuses and pulls away from him. Shots of the band playing the song together and Lee sitting among wolves are interspersed among other scenes of the video. During the song's bridge, Lee appears descending a staircase, backed by four back-up dancers dressed in black clothing; upon reaching the bottom, both Lee and the dancers start levitating in the air. At the end of the song, Lee is seen walking atop the length of the dining table, while chairs and tabletop items are flung aside as she passes. She reaches her lover at the other end of the table, places her finger on his lips, and sings "I've made up your mind", indicating that he should start packing his things and leave.[16] The video ends with Lee giggling behind the piano.[15]

The clip premiered on MTV, MTV2, VH1 and Fuse TV in the United States on August 7, 2006; it was also broadcast on MuchOnDemand in Canada. It managed to peak at number one on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL).[71] Corey Moss of MTV News concluded that the visual was "an abstract take on somewhat literal lyrics".[72] Kelefa Saneh from The New York Times interpreted the clip as a metaphor, observing how despite being placed among wolves, Lee does not appear to be intimidated by them.[15] News Limited writer Kathy McCabe felt that Little Red Riding Hood was the "perfect role for the gothrock goddess".[3] The clip for the song was ranked at number ten on VH1's list of Top 40 Videos of 2006.[73] It was nominated in the category for Best International Video by a group at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards but lost to "Welcome to the Black Parade" (2006) by My Chemical Romance.[74] The clip also received a nomination in the category for Best Video at the 2007 NRJ Music Awards but lost to "De retour" (2007) by M. Pokora.[75]

In August 2006, Evanescence performed an acoustic version of the song with a piano, a cello and a guitar at the AOL Music Sessions.[76] On October 19, 2006, the band appeared at the awards show Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2006 in Mexico City, performing "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Bring Me to Life".[77] The song was later included on the set list of the band's The Open Door Tour (2006–07) in support of their second studio album.[78][79] According to Donnie Moorhouse of The Republican, it receives a "full band treatment" during the performances.[80] While reviewing a concert by the band, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jon M. Gilbertson said that the title "pushes away from rock's party mood". However, he praised Lee's live performance of the song saying that she "projected so loudly and clearly that she seemed to be trying to reach well beyond the confines of the Eagles Ballroom, and she hit the notes throughout the set. No screaming or growling, in other words."[81] Chris Harris of Rolling Stone described her performance of the song having "everyone in the place headbanging along with Lee, whose hair whipped in circles wildly as she belted out the chorus".[82] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan noted that for the "doomy writhing and the darkness" of the song, Lee "cuts a triumphant figure".[83]

At the 2006 Jingle Ball, Evanescence performed "Going Under" and "Call Me When You're Sober".[84] During the Family Values Tour 2007, Evanescence performed the song on July 30, 2007, in Mansfield. They had a 65-minute set during the show and Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe praised the performance of the song, writing, "'Call Me When You're Sober' was a seething highpoint, with Lee heaving and hurling her bitterness like so much china at a betrayer's head."[85] The band performed the song during a secret gig concert that took place on November 4, 2009, at the Manhattan Center.[82] Four days later, the band performed the song during the 2009 Maquinaria festival in São Paulo, Brazil.[86] The band later added the song to the set list of their third worldwide tour in support of their third self-titled studio album (2011), titled the Evanescence Tour (2011–12).[87][88] They also performed "Call Me When You're Sober" during the 2011 Rock in Rio festival on October 2, 2011 as part of the aforementioned tour.[89] On April 11, 2012, the band performed "Call Me When You're Sober" at the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods Awards at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.[90] The band later included the song on the set list of their tour which visited cities in the US and Europe in 2016 and 2017.[91] While reviewing a concert from the tour, David Simers from the website National Rock Review observed that the "decibel kept rising" with the performance of the track.[92]

Gina Glocksen, a contestant of the sixth season of the reality show American Idol performed the song live.[93] Talking about her cover of the song Lee said: "It's such a surreal thing watching other people perform your songs in the first place, but people that you don't even know on TV doing 'American Idol' and Paula Abdul commenting on it is just a whole other thing. It was pretty hilarious, just 'cause it's our song, but I don't think she did a bad job."[94] Jim Cantiello of MTV News praised Glocksen's performance, saying that Glocksen "could kick Amy Lee's butt in a cage match".[95] DJ Nate, an American disc jockey, made a sped-up remix of the song in 2010 and included it on his album Da Trak Genious.[96][97] On June 16, 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.[98] The following year, the song was also included on the iOS game Rock Band Reloaded.[99] "Call Me When You're Sober" was also used in the Nintendo DS soundtrack for the game Band Hero (2009).[100]

Credits are adapted from The Open Door liner notes.[12]

• List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 2006
• List of UK top 10 singles in 2006

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics