Stan

Stan is a song by American rap artist Eminem, it was released as the third and final single from The Marshall Mathers LP. The song features a sample of "Thank You" by British singer Dido after The 45 King heard the song in a commercial for the movie Sliding Doors while siting at home and added a drum and bass line. The song is Eminem's most famous song and plays it the most during live performances, it's placed at #296 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest song of all time.

Story of the song
FULL FIRST VERSE: The song is about a fictional character Stanley "Stan" Mitchell who is obsessed with Eminem and claims to be his biggest fan. In the first verse, Stan writes for the 3rd time to Eminem hoping he will write back, the verse references different events in Em's life including the Suicide of his uncle Ronnie, a song he did with underground rapper "Skam", he later talks about his wife who is pregnant and tells him he named it "Bonnie" which is a reference to '97 Bonnie and Clyde from The Slim Shady LP.

FULL SECOND VERSE: In the second verse, Stan becomes frustrated with Em cause he didn't write and begins to lose his temper in the second line as the thunder in the background gets louder giving off his anger rising and says he cuts himself to feel the pain and see the blood.

FULL THIRD VERSE: In the third verse, Stan is driving a car during a rain storm and recording a message on a cassette tape and about to commit suicide by driving off a bridge into a river and reveals that he puts his girlfriend in the trunk of the car. In one verse, he references In the air tonight by Phil Collins and the urban legend that Collins saw a man drowning which gave him the inspiration to write the song.

FULL FINAL VERSE: In the final verse, Em writes a letter to Stan saying how he's flattered that his child is gonna be call Bonnie but thinks he needs help cause he cuts his wrists and treats his wife badly and he doesn't want anything bad to happen to him. He says that he saw a news story about a guy who drive his car off a bridge with his pregnant girlfriend and a tape then he realizes that it was Stan.

Grammy performance
With the controversy surrounding The Marshall Mathers LP and  GLADD protesting the 2001 Grammy Awards, Eminem half jokingly said that he would perform Stan with openly gay musician Elton John he asked Elton if he could and said yes. Even though the performance was highly praised, GLADD felt like that the performance was a publicity stunt and felt that the Grammys were promoting Marshall's "Hate speech".

Legacy
The song was been called a cultural milestone in music and is called Eminem's best song and his signature song. The term "Stan" has been used in today's English meaning an overzealous fan to a one specific artist or person.

Track listing

 * UK CD single
 * 1) "Stan" (featuring Dido) – 6:45
 * 2) "Get You Mad" (featuring Sway & King Tech and DJ Revolution) – 4:22
 * 3) "My Name Is" – 4:32
 * 4) "Stan" (Video) – 8:08


 * UK cassette
 * 1) "Stan" (featuring Dido) – 6:45
 * 2) "My Name Is" – 4:32


 * German CD single
 * 1) "Stan" (Radio Edit) - 5:33
 * 2) "Guilty Conscience" (Radio Version w/ Gunshot) (featuring Dr. Dre) - 3:22


 * German maxi CD single
 * 1) "Stan" (Radio Edit) - 5:33
 * 2) "Guilty Conscience" (Radio Version w/ Gunshot) (featuring Dr. Dre) - 3:22
 * 3) "Hazardous Youth" (Acapella version) - 0:46
 * 4) "Get You Mad" (featuring Sway & King Tech and DJ Revolution) – 4:22