I sent two letters back in autumn, you must not-a got 'em I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom Watch the clean music video here and watch the uncensored one here.ĭear Slim, I wrote but you still ain't callin Damn.”Īt the end of the “Stan” video, you can see Stan’s reflection in the window looking at EM when the lightning strikes. Eminem worries about Stan's mental state and says he doesn't want Stan to end up like a story he had seen on the news recently-a man who had driven drunk off a bridge with his girlfriend in the trunk, about whom he quickly realizes, "It was you. He apologizes for being late, thanks to him for being a fan, and expresses interest in Stan's personal life. In the process, Stan references both "My Name Is" ("I drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?") and the popular urban legend about Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" before realizing that there's no way of transmitting this final tape to Eminem, proceeding to commit the act anyway.Įminem finally gets around to responding to Stan. Believing he has been ignored, Stan uses a tape recorder to record himself driving along a rain-soaked highway while his girlfriend's tied up in the trunk which he does with the intentions of driving off a bridge. Stan wants Eminem to contact him through a personal letter or a phone call but, due to unfortunate circumstances, the letters fail to reach Eminem in a timely manner.
Stan gets mad at his girlfriend (Dido) when she interrupts him watching “The Way I Am” video.
Stan eminem album full#
Stan sits in a room full of Eminem's posters, writing letters that express his devotion as "your biggest fan." He is aware of even the most minute developments in Eminem's personal life. Later, Marc Labelle, EM’s road manager, is the guy who hands him Stan’s letter on the tour bus. ‘Stan’ in the video is actually a real person called Stanley Mitchell and lives in Portland, MO. A prologue involves Stan dying his hair blonde and reacting angrily to being called "Stanley" by his girlfriend. The video is a literal interpretation of the story, directed by Dr Dre and Philip Atwell featuring Devon Sawa as Stan and Dido as his pregnant girlfriend. She has duct tape over her mouth but is then seen being able to eventually get it off and start screaming. For example, when Stanley is driving towards the bridge with his girlfriend in the trunk, his girlfriend (Dido) is actually seen tied up and gagged in the trunk struggling. In the uncensored version of the music video, which wasn't released commercially, there are more abusive suggestions. The first three verses are delivered by Eminem as Stan while the fourth verse is Eminem attempting to write to Stan, only to realize that he had already heard about Stan's death on the news. Throughout the song, he becomes progressively more and more obsessed with Eminem, culminating in a murder-suicide by Stan. The song tells the story of a fictional man named Stan who claims to be Eminem's biggest fan. In April 2011, Complex magazine put together a list of the 100 Greatest Eminem songs, ranking "Stan" at #2. Stan was also listed #15 on VH1's list of the greatest hip hop songs of all-time. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #290 in their list in The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Stan has been called one of Eminem's best songs and is considered one of his signature songs. Coincidentally, both songs were released as singles in late 2000. The track also samples the opening lines of "Thank You" as its chorus. The song was produced by The 45 King, and uses a slightly modified break from Dido's "Thank You" as its base sample. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits, performed with Eminem and Dido as well as track 17 on Curtain Call: The Hits as a Live Performance from the 2001 Grammy awards featuring Elton John. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Australia.