Anaysis of Stan - Eminem
The song Stan was written and released in the year 2000 by Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem. The song, by far, was one of his biggest hits, earing his studio "The Marshall Mathers LP" platinum nine times as well as making the existence of Eminem much, much more well known. This song was the point in Marshalls career that showed that he was a proper artist with real talent and potential. Prior to the song, Marshall was more widely known as "Slim Shady", a persona that was considered immature and childish and because of Stan, that perception of him was replaced with the now successful Eminem, his music becoming more various and diverse.
The actual story of Stan is about an overly obsessed fan of Eminem, so obsessed that when Eminem didn't reply to any of his letters or phone calls, that he became enraged and killed himself, his wife along with his unborn child.
Stan's story is told almost like a narrative, starting with Stan writing letters and progressing through each verse till the point of the horrible act committed by Stan. Some of the techniques used by Eminem in this song is acting out as himself but also as Stan, this shows that the character Stan is shown as perceived by Eminem himself, it is a clever way of telling the story by changing from character to character.
Some of the many themes used in and throughout the song include anger, mistrust, fear and like every other text on this site, Discovery. One of the major points in the song that included discovery was what lead to the death of Stan and his family. In the middle of the night Stan’s wife, assuming Stan to be sleeping, sneaks into Stan's private basement, this is the area where his obsession was most obvious with dozens of posters and pictures of Eminiem, it was this discovery that pushed Stan over the edge and commit one of the most evil crimes.
Lyrics
Chorus: Dido
My tea’s gone cold I’m wondering why I..
got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window..
and I can’t see at all
And even if I could it’d all be gray,
put your picture on my wall
It reminds me, that it’s not so bad,
it’s not so bad..
1st Chorus: volume gradually grows over raindrop background
2nd Chorus: full volume with beat right after “thunder” noise
[Eminem as ‘Stan’]
Dear Slim, I wrote but you still ain’t callin
I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom
I sent two letters back in autumn, you must not-a got ’em
There probably was a problem at the post office or something
Sometimes I scribble addresses too sloppy when I jot ’em
but anyways; fuck it, what’s been up? Man how’s your daughter?
My girlfriend’s pregnant too, I’m bout to be a father
If I have a daughter, guess what I’ma call her?
I’ma name her Bonnie
I read about your Uncle Ronnie too I’m sorry
I had a friend kill himself over some bitch who didn’t want him
I know you probably hear this everyday, but I’m your biggest fan
I even got the underground shit that you did with Skam
I got a room full of your posters and your pictures man
I like the shit you did with Rawkus too, that shit was phat
Anyways, I hope you get this man, hit me back,
just to chat, truly yours, your biggest fan
This is Stan
{Chorus: Dido}
[Eminem as ‘Stan’]
Dear Slim, you still ain’t called or wrote, I hope you have a chance
I ain’t mad – I just think it’s FUCKED UP you don’t answer fans
If you didn’t wanna talk to me outside your concert
you didn’t have to, but you coulda signed an autograph for Matthew
That’s my little brother man, he’s only six years old
We waited in the blistering cold for you,
four hours and you just said, “No.”
That’s pretty shitty man – you’re like his fucking idol
He wants to be just like you man, he likes you more than I do
I ain’t that mad though, I just don’t like being lied to
Remember when we met in Denver – you said if I’d write you
you would write back – see I’m just like you in a way
I never knew my father neither;
he used to always cheat on my mom and beat her
I can relate to what you’re saying in your songs
so when I have a shitty day, I drift away and put ’em on
cause I don’t really got shit else so that shit helps when I’m depressed
I even got a tattoo with your name across the chest
Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds
It’s like adrenaline, the pain is such a sudden rush for me
See everything you say is real, and I respect you ‘cos you tell it
My girlfriend’s jealous cause I talk about you 24/7
But she don’t know you like I know you Slim, no one does
She don’t know what it was like for people like us growin up
You gotta call me man, I’ll be the biggest fan you’ll ever lose
Sincerely yours, Stan — P.S.
We should be together too
{Chorus: Dido}
[Eminem as ‘Stan’]
Dear Mister-I’m-Too-Good-To-Call-Or-Write-My-Fans,
this’ll be the last package I ever send your ass
It’s been six months and still no word – I don’t deserve it?
I know you got my last two letters;
I wrote the addresses on ’em perfect
So this is my cassette I’m sending you, I hope you hear it
I’m in the car right now, I’m doing 90 on the freeway
Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?
You know the song by Phil Collins, “In the Air of the Night”
about that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning
but didn’t, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?
That’s kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from drowning
Now it’s too late – I’m on a 1000 downers now, I’m drowsy
and all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call
I hope you know I ripped ALL of your pictures off the wall
I love you Slim, we coulda been together, think about it
You ruined it now, I hope you can’t sleep and you dream about it
And when you dream I hope you can’t sleep and you SCREAM about it
I hope your conscience EATS AT YOU and you can’t BREATHE without me
See Slim; {*screaming*}
Shut up bitch! I’m trying to talk!
Hey Slim, that’s my girlfriend screamin in the trunk
but I didn’t slit her throat, I just tied her up, see I ain’t like you
cause if she suffocates she’ll suffer more, and then she’ll die too
Well, gotta go, I’m almost at the bridge now
Oh shit, I forgot, how am I supposed to send this shit out?
{Chorus: Dido}
[Eminem]
Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I just been busy
You said your girlfriend’s pregnant now, how far along is she?
Look, I’m really flattered you would call your daughter that
and here’s an autograph for your brother,
I wrote it on the Starter cap
I’m sorry I didn’t see you at the show, I musta missed you
Don’t think I did that shit intentionally just to diss you
But what’s this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too?
I say that shit just clowning dog,
c’mon – how fucked up is you?
You got some issues Stan, I think you need some counselling
to help your ass from bouncing off the walls when you get down some
And what’s this shit about us meant to be together?
That type of shit’ll make me not want us to meet each other
I really think you and your girlfriend need each other
or maybe you just need to treat her better
I hope you get to read this letter, I just hope it reaches you in time
before you hurt yourself, I think that you’ll be doin just fine
if you relax a little, I’m glad I inspire you but Stan
why are you so mad? Try to understand, that I do want you as a fan
I just don’t want you to do some crazy shit
I seen this one shit on the news a couple weeks ago that made me sick
Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a bridge
and had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid
and in the car they found a tape, but they didn’t say who it was to
Come to think about, his name was.. it was you
Damn!
Some of the other techniques that were used were in the music video of the song, the lyrics are played along side depiction and scenes of Eminem, Stan and his family. The story is told not only lyrically but visually, this gives a much more clear and powerful view of the situation that all the character find themselves in.
"Dear Slim, I wrote but you still ain’t callin
I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom
I sent two letters back in autumn, you must not-a got ’em
There probably was a problem at the post office or something"
This part of the song shows just a small part of the obsesstion that lies within Stan and at the end of the song, after Eminem discovers just how messed up Stan is he writes:
"Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I just been busy You said your girlfriend’s pregnant now, how far along is she?Look, I’m really flattered you would call your daughter thatand here’s an autograph for your brother, I wrote it on the Starter cap"
Even though Eminem discovers that Stan is probably exremely unwell and not thinking straight he does not treat him like it, he instead shows him kindness and even gives a gift to show he's sorry. Eminem also discovers the sort of things Stan does to himself, such as self harm, and what he does is give him advise and help. In this part of his career, he was still known as Slim Shady meaning he was still in his childish phase so this discovery of how serious someone is obsessed with him, it changes him, he has a self-discovery moment, picks up his act and becomes more serious and mature, because of another persons story.
Music Video
