Wish You Were Here (Avril Lavigne song)

Background and released

"Wish You Were Here" is written by Lavigne, Max Martin, and Shellback, while produced by the latter two. It was recorded at Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. In a telephone interview with The Caprice, Lavigne confirmed that the song would serve as the third and possibly last single from Goodbye Lullaby. During an interview with Artistdirect, Lavigne said that the song showed her vulnerable side.

In an interview with MTV News, she stated that the song is the perfect tune for anyone who's not able to be with the ones they love this holiday season. "I’m excited about 'Wish You Were Here' being the single because it's a ballad and the song kind of represents the album definitely more so than the first single," she told MTV News about the song, which she performed during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last week. "That was kind of more my older stuff and more pop rock and aggressive and a lighter subject. Goodbye Lullaby, for me, was a record that I was writing for myself." Lavigne also described her meeting with Martin and the work on "Wish You Were Here":

"He said some really kind things that really meant a lot to me. He worked with so many people and he's an artist, he's very sensitive. We wrote a couple really special songs together. It's kind of hard to work with someone new, and when I went in and did vocals on 'Wish You Were Here', I did my first take, and then Max stood up and was like, 'I'm so honored that you're here.' And it was a really special moment, where he understood me and I understood him. We connected and had a really great time. And it was really magic my first trip there."

Composition

"Wish You Were Here" was described as a midtempo power ballad song, 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."

Critical reception

"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". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic marked "Wish You Were Here" as a highlight of the album, Goodbye Lullaby. 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". Bill Lamb of the website About.com found "interesting arrangements and musical settings" in the song. 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. He further put the song in his list of "Possible future singles".

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. 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".

Chart performance

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. Upon release to radio stations, the song entered the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay at number 69 on November 13, 2011, has peaked at 32, and re-entered the Canadian Hot 100 on November 19, 2011 at number 98. It re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at 84 and peaked at 65. 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.

Background and synopsis

On August 9, on her official website, Lavigne posted pictures from the shooting of the music video for "Wish You Were Here", one of a red flower, and another of her lying on a wooden floor. Lavigne said that the video will be very raw and exposed, unlike her previous videos "What the Hell" and "Smile". Dave Meyers was the director of the video. On September 8, Lavigne posted on her Twitter and Facebook accounts "My music video for 'Wish You Were Here' is coming out tomorrow (and the tears are real... no onions!!)" confirming that the video will be posted on September 9. She further described the video, "It's simple but emotional. Raw and real. Stripped down." The video premiered on Lavigne's VEVO channel on September 8. It begins with her lying on a wooden floor wearing a black dress and barefoot, surrounded by leaves. She rises, and begins to sing. Lavigne picks up a red flower and begins picking off the petals. She sets the flower on fire, and waves it in the air. As she continues singing, she starts to cry. Towards the bridge of the song, Lavigne is shown lying in a bathtub. She submerges herself, then suddenly rises, and steps out. Lavigne continues to sing, and steps towards the sunlight from a nearby window.

Reception

A writer for the magazine Billboard simply called the video "dark". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said that Lavigne could have worn waterproof mascara in the video but she concluded that it "wouldn't be quite as cinematic." Writing for AOL, Marina Galperina concluded "Unlike other recent videos 'What the Hell' and 'Smile,' this latest cut from the Goodbye Lullaby album is a bit somber." Melinda Newman of HitFix concluded that Lavigne "looks beautifully anguished, but that's a lot of screen time and focus for any one artist to try to carry off." However, she added that the video doesn't "look as awkward as she did in the horrible video for 'What The Hell.'" Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush said: "It's a somber video with Avril as the only star, in a sad, dark place. It certainly resonates, though! Even a perky pop star like Avril Lavigne immune to sadness that comes with separation."

According to Derek Johnson of Long Island Press was "heating up the Internet" with one million views on YouTube because Lavigne "is showing another side to fans". Writing for Dose, Ottawa Citizen and The Vancouver Sun, Leah Collins gave the video a mixed review saying that Lavigne is "feeling a bit more mall-emo than mall-punk". She added that Lavigne used "pyromania in the opening scenes, torching a gerbera daisy while wanly singing of lost love" before concluding "What's an Avril video without at least one act of age-inappropriate mischief, anyway?". Pop Dust's Katherine St Asaph compared the scene where Lavigne is in the bathtub with the music video for Britney Spears' song "Everytime" but the two scenes have different meanings.

Live performances

Lavigne performed the song on Good Morning America on November 22, 2011.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Goodbye Lullaby album liner notes.