Wish You Were Here (Rednex song)


"Wish You Were Here" is a ballad by the Swedish band Rednex from their first album Sex & Violins. It was a number-one hit in Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. In Austria, it was the most successful single of 1995. Additionally the song reached number 2 in Iceland, number 3 in Sweden and number 6 in Finland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it peaked at number 5.

Critical reception

Billboard noted the song as a "surprisingly sincere ballad". J.D. Considine from The Daily Gazette described it as a "unexpectedly Abba-esque ballad" in his review of Sex & Violins. Music & Media wrote that "the upcoming third , Wish You Were Here, focuses on a totally different side. It's a ballad, sung with lots of Dolly-patented vibrato and pathos."

Music video

The music video of "Wish You Were Here" was directed by Matt Broadley. It shows a woman, played by singer Annika Ljungberg, sitting in a meadow, singing to her man, a soldier who has been killed in a war. Other times we see the male band members dressed like soldiers, on a battlefield. They are shooting at each other and some of them being shot. In between, romantic flashbacks between the woman and the man takes us back to happier days. In the end, the woman walks through the battlefield at night with a torch in her hand. She watches and sings to the dead soldiers, lying on the ground. The video has a sepia tone.

Track listing

  1. "Wish You Were Here" - 4:00
  2. "Wish You Were Here" - 4:08
  3. "Hittin' the Hay" - 3:19
  4. "Wish You Were Here " - 5:57

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions