Wish You Were Here (Avril Lavigne song)
"Wish You Were Here" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne from her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby (2011). The song was released on September 9, 2011, by RCA Records as the third and final single from the album. "Wish You Were Here" was written by Lavigne along with the song's producers Max Martin and Shellback. According to Lavigne, the song shows her vulnerable side. Critical reception toward the song was positive, with critics praising it as a highlight on the album.
"Wish You Were Here"
"Smile" (Acoustic Version)
September 9, 2011
2010
3:45
- Max Martin
- Shellback
The accompanying music video for "Wish You Were Here" was directed by Dave Meyers and it premiered on September 9, 2011. Lavigne described the video as different from her previous work. Upon its release on the Internet, it received mixed to positive reviews from music critics who praised Lavigne's portrayal of emotions, and described it as dark. She further added "Wish You Were Here" to the set list of her tour, The Black Star Tour.
Composition[edit]
"Wish You Were Here" was described as a midtempo power ballad, while featuring soaring strings, piano and drum kits. The lyrics talk about missing someone and something we all go through in our lives.
In an interview with MTV News, Lavigne described the song as the most personal track on the album. "It was more raw and stripped-down and more emotional and I wasn't holding back," she said of working on the album. "[It's] sort of more song driven and the production was mainly just like a lot of acoustic guitars and loops and just all about the vocal; the vocal being clear and having an honest emotion to it. And saying that, yeah, the first two singles ['What the Hell' and 'Smile'] were more pop rock, and so now finally with this one, 'Wish You Were Here', being released, it feels right."
The song comes from a place deep inside and is very much about someone in Lavigne's life. "I love this song. I like this song because I wrote it about missing somebody and that's something that we all go through at some point in our lives," she explained. "It's just about looking back and remembering all those good times you shared with somebody, all the crazy moments. And that's life. We all experience that at some point, but it has a positive message."[7]
Critical reception[edit]
"Wish You Were Here" received largely positive reviews from critics. Jody Rosen, writing for Rolling Stone magazine, described "Wish You Were Here" as a "jangling power ballad".[8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic marked "Wish You Were Here" as a highlight of the album, Goodbye Lullaby.[9] Al Fox, an editor of BBC Music, said that the song is one of the tracks from the album where "Lavigne actually manages to communicate some real sentiment". He also commented that it is "an unassuming strum-along".[10] Bill Lamb of the website About.com found "interesting arrangements and musical settings" in the song.[11] While reviewing Goodbye Lullaby, Robert Copsey of Digital Spy concluded that the main theme of the song was based on the lines "I can be tough, I can be strong/ But with you it's not like that at all" and talked about Lavigne's divorce.[12] He further put the song in his list of "Possible future singles".[12]
On a more negative note, Mikael Wood of Spin magazine wrote that, in songs like "Wish You Were Here" and "Everybody Hurts", the "former brat-punk princess in dreary woe-is-me mode" can be found.[13] According to Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine, this song, along with others from Goodbye Lullaby, "mistake having a potty mouth for having an actual personality", stating it "fails to pass off 'Damn, damn, damn / What I'd do to have you here, here, here' as a hook".[14]
Chart performance[edit]
Even before being released as a single, the song peaked at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 64 on the Canadian Hot 100 on the week of the album's release.[15][16] Upon release to radio stations, the song entered the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay at number 69 on November 13, 2011,[17] has peaked at 32, and re-entered the Canadian Hot 100 on November 19, 2011, at number 98.[18] It re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at 84 and peaked at 65.[19] The song has sold over 500,000 units of digital copies in the USA. It was never released on radio in the UK, Germany and some other European countries.
Live performances[edit]
Lavigne performed the song on Good Morning America on November 22, 2011.[33]
Credits adapted from Goodbye Lullaby album liner notes.[2]