Wish You Were Here

"Wish You Were Here" is a song by Australian singer–songwriter Delta Goodrem. It was sent to Australian radio on 4 October 2012, and was released digitally on 12 October 2012 and as a CD single on 19 October 2012. The song is the third single released from Goodrem's fourth studio album Child of the Universe. Background and composition In July 2009, one of Goodrem's lifelong friends, Liam O'Flaherty, was involved in a motorbike accident which took his life. Goodrem was very devastated upon learning the death of O'Flaherty, who was only 24 when he died. While writing materials for her upcoming album, Goodrem worked with Gary Clark and wrote "Wish You Were Here" as a tribute to remember O'Flaherty. During the single's press release, Delta opened up about the genesis of the song, stating "I tried a million different ways to write this song. I had to have a song about this moment in my life of losing one of my best friends. Then on his actual birthday, it was two years later, I said I’m not leaving this day without having the song about it. You can try a million ways, I wrote probably 20 songs about it, and then on his actual birthday, I wrote this song." In an interview with PopSugar, Goodrem admitted that "Wish You Were Here" was one of the best songs that she has ever written. Lyrically, the song narrates about the feelings and emotions Goodrem was feeling when she found out about the accident that killed him and her struggles to move on. Critical reception In a positive review from the website Spotlight Report, the track was labelled as an "amazing song on so many levels. Musically, it soars from Delta sitting alone at the piano, to a symphony of strings and voices. Delta delivers a dynamic, unique and breathtaking vocal performance – it's the singer in spine-tingling full voice."