When You're Gone" has received mixed reviews from music critics. Alex Nunn wrote that Avril hasn't lost her sense in ballads with this song.[6] Stylus was mixed calling the song "turgid and humdrum," but "taken at times by an exhilarating slickness."[7] Dave Donnely was mixed to positive: "Ballad and expected next single 'When You're Gone' may be the best of the bunch, though it's superficially like any number of pop-rock ballads, with contemplative lyrics lending the album a little bit of emotional depth. The theme, separation from a lover, is universal, and the lyrics simple: "I always needed time on my own/I never thought I'd need you there when I cried/And the days feel like years when I'm alone/And the bed where you lie is made up on your side."[1] PopMatters stated that this song tries to match "I'm With You" but it fails.[8] On a more negative note, Darryl Sterdan of JAM! described the song as "a standard piano-and-strings weeper" and went on to tell the reader to skip-it.[9] In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "When You're Gone" was voted Lavigne's eighth best song.[10]