Its music video was directed by Marc Webb, and depicts a metaphorical visual, drawing inspiration from the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood".

With it, she felt the need to "say exactly what I was feeling for so long", describing her process of creating music as a form of a therapy that gives her a medium to express the negative things that happened in her life and allows her to "turn something bad into something beautiful".

[4] Initially reluctant to reveal the song's inspiration, Lee later confirmed it in an August 2006 interview after Morgan's announcement that he was being admitted to rehabilitation center to undergo treatment for "combination of substances".

"[10]Lee added that she felt "brave" writing the straight-forward lyrics as she was "sick of hiding behind metaphors" in everything she had written before, and "so much of the record was about the turmoil I was going through".

[8] She noted that the song was about "more than the most obvious thing", deeming it "empowering" for herself as it represents "leaving a whole world behind that was really hurting me",[7] and "getting to the place with yourself where you're finally willing to stand up for yourself.

"[11] "Sober" was also inspired by other events in her life, including people who she was working with that were "holding me down and manipulating me and betraying me", eventually leading her to make the decision to "put my foot down and walk out the door".

[5] At the time, Seether's album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces was to be released soon and it was speculated that it would contain an answer song to "Call Me When You're Sober", with "Breakdown" initially considered one.

"[8] In 2011, Lee described "Call Me When You're Sober" as "mostly a chick anthem", and deemed it empowering for female listeners of their fandom based on the response she had received from them.

[19] The New York Times said the song starts off as a "piano ballad, swerves into hard rock, then builds to a grandiose pop-orchestral refrain, and later on a glorious, glimmering bridge.

[20] Los Angeles Times suggested that the song had influence from singer Erykah Badu, one of Lee's female artist inspirations.

[21] Lyrically, "Call Me When You're Sober" depicts the difficult situation of a female protagonist dealing with the behavior of a lover with substance addiction; she eventually decides to move away from this dysfunctional relationship.

[25][26] The Courier-Mail's Jason Nahrung felt that the song was the album's most radio-friendly track, featuring "heavy bass and drums, spotless and lavish production and Lee's unmistakable vocals".

described it as "an unusually transparent, autobiographical dissection of [Lee's] abortive relationship" and a "tough-love song insistent that she won't be brought down by anyone else's addictions".

[33] In his review of The Open Door for the Hartford Courant, Eric R. Danton observed that Lee was more certain and in charge of the whole album, which he found to be exemplified on the "terse rocker" with an "acerbic message" that is "Call Me When You're Sober".

[36] Metal Edge wrote of the track, "fans might be surprised by the R&B-flavoured vocal melody and piano chords that introduce [the song].

But it’s not really a stretch once those crunchy guitars kick in, and the soulful chorus breaks new ground for the band without straying from its signature style.

"[2] The New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh praised Lee's vocal performance calling it "terrific", adding that the song "crashes through different styles while remaining diabolically hummable".

[37] In his review, Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net called it a "blunt emotional assessment" and a "huge, dramatic, sweeping number, complete with massive hooks and a powerful, fearless performance from Lee".

's Sam Law deemed the song a "watershed of confidence and catharsis, with the genre-mashing ... emphasising a talent finally unbound", and complimented the "rich backing vocals to an already-luxuriant mix.

She called it a "perfectly crafted ode to an ex-boyfriend" with an "undeniably addictive melody", and thematically relatable to "anyone who's ever been in a dicey relationship".

[62] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awarded the single with a gold certification in 2006 for shipment of 35,000 copies in that country.

[64] The music video for the song was directed by Marc Webb and filmed in Hollywood, Los Angeles in July 2006 with a $400,000 budget.

[65][66] The video was inspired by the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood", with Lee calling it a "modern re-imagining" of that story with a "more cool, superhero, rock and roll" protagonist.

[4][22] Webb approached her with the idea of doing something akin to a choreography where she would walk down the stairs, surrounded by several female dancers to which Lee agreed.

[18] News Limited writer Kathy McCabe felt that Little Red Riding Hood was the "perfect role for the gothrock goddess".

[4] Kerrang called it an "unforgettable" music video in which Lee "takes back control from The Big Bad Wolf".

[74] In June 2009, "Bring Me to Life", "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Weight of the World" were included in the video game Rock Band as downloadable songs.