“Wish You Were Here” by Avril Lavigne
“Wish You Were Here” is premised on Avril Lavigne being in a troubled relationship with the addressee. So when she states that she ‘really misses’ him or her, it is not simply in the context of the two of them being spatially separated. Rather whatever happened between them also serves as a barrier to the pair reuniting.
And indeed the lyrics let it be known that this is someone whom the singer has unique feelings for. For instance, from an emotional standpoint she tends to be a guarded person. However, the addressee is able to “just walk through” her defenses. Also the singer likes being in this person’s company in general. In fact the way they joke around together is one of the things she misses most.
And for the record, even though Lavigne has stated that this song has a personal meaning to her, she never went as far as to say it was about a specific person. Rather, she’s one of those types of artists who would rather have the listener do their own interpreting. But considering that she shed genuine tears in the music video and all, it is possible that the prevailing theory of the addressee being Deryck Whibley is true. For those who don’t know, Lavigne was actually wed to Whibley, her first husband, from 2006 to 2010. They divorced shortly before “Wish You Were Here came out”. And that is why some people have concluded that this song is based on their relationship.
This song is from “Goodbye Lullaby”, Avril Lavigne’s fourth album. It was the project’s final single, being issued by RCA Records on 31 July 2011.
The music video to the track, which was helmed by director Dave Meyers, came out about a month and-a-half later.
The writers/producers of “Wish You Were Here” are Shellback and Max Martin. And Lavigne also co-wrote the song, saying that it was an especially-personal experience for her. She also went on to state that working with hitmaker Max Martin was particularly edifying.
This song made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 even prior to being released on its own, ultimately peaking at number 65. And it went on to chart in many other territories across the globe, including the likes of Lebanon, Brazil and Japan.
