The third single released from Avril Lavigne’s Goodbye Lullaby is “Wish You Were Here.” No, this is not a Pink Floydcover, it’s an original from this pop punk princess. It’s more of a sad, sappy slow song, perhaps a bit bitter over a love lost. It’s possible she was singing about her recent divorce to Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley although most likely this was just another song intended to be a mainstream hit and has nothing to do with her personal life. However, Avril was quoted as saying, “the tears are real… no onions!!” And cry she does, pretty much throughout the entire song. No matter whether it’s personal or not, this is a very good song and has enjoyed success as it peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold over 362,000 digital copies in the Unites States. Avril told Billboard “It’s a song written about missing someone and looking back and remembering all the good times and all those awesome moments. The song is stripped down. It’s kind of raw, but also emotional. I cry in the video and that was something that I did on purpose, but it was something that was real.”
The video starts out with Avril lying on a floor with leaves scattered all across it. As she starts singing about being tough and strong, she picks up a large red flower from the floor and pulls a petal off of it, then she lights the flower on fire with a lighter. That flower flares up as though it was doused in gasoline and she swings it around a bit while it burns. She throws the blazing flower out of sight just as she kicks off into a very catchy chorus,
“Damn damn damn what I’d do to have you here. I wish you were here.
Damn damn damn what I’d do to have you near. I wish you were here.”
She sits in the floor and the camera zooms in and out on her for awhile as she sings and cries at the same time, mascara running down her face. It’s a very touching and heartfelt video, designed to invoke feelings of sadness, loss and yearning to have a love lost back in your life.
There is a bathtub in the middle of the room and she submerges herself in it as she goes into a monotone voice explaining how she never wants to let go. She slips under the water and then bursts up out of it just as starts in on the chorus again. She gets up and walks toward the window and fades away.
Not exactly what we would expect from Avril as it’s much more common to see her jumping around on stage in a punkish frenzy but this video should appeal to many people as there are many people who are hurting over a former love lost and wish to have this person back in their life. “Wish You Were Here” will reach out to these people as it shares their sadness and emotions.