Gone Away (song)

"Gone Away" is a song by American rock band the Offspring. Written by the band's singer, Dexter Holland, it is the seventh track on the band's fourth studio album, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), and was released as its second single. It also appears as the sixth track on Greatest Hits (2005). A piano version of the song features as the eleventh track on the group's tenth studio album Let the Bad Times Roll (2021).

The lyrics were reportedly inspired by a real life incident in which singer Dexter Holland and his wife were shaken up after having to seek cover when an ice cream shop they were patronizing was riddled with gunfire by gang members. Though no one was killed, Holland told the Bob Lefsetz Podcast, "The idea that we came so close to death was a real life-changing moment. It was right when we were recording Ixnay and I was coming up with the idea. I knew I wanted it to be heavy, but I didn't know what it was going to be about yet. I know it's not a direct connection, but it made you think about dying and about grief and about what that would feel like, and what if my wife would have been the one?"

The song became the Offspring's first No. 1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, while reaching No. 4 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Through 2009, the band played "Gone Away" with Holland performing on piano throughout Europe and the United States. Two of the tracks from this single ("D.U.I." and "Hey Joe") appear on the band's 2010 compilation album, Happy Hour!.

Former drummer Ron Welty said in 2002 that "Gone Away" was his favorite song to play live.