"Wishing I Was There" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing car ...

, released on 25 May 1998 as the third single from her debut album, ''

Left of the Middle ''Left of the Middle'' is the debut studio album by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, released on 24 November 1997 by RCA Records. It is primarily an alternative pop album. Spurred by the success of lead single " Torn", the album reached numb ...

'' (1997). The track was produced by

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Imbr ...

and was co-written by Imbruglia, Thornalley and

Colin Campsie Colin Campsie (born 1957) is a British singer and songwriter. He was a member of the 1980s pop bands the Quick and Giant Steps. Biography Campsie originally formed the soft rock/funk group Grand Hotel along with long time collaborator Ge ...

. The single reached number five in Canada, Hungary, and Iceland, became a top-twenty hit in the United Kingdom, and broke the top 30 in Imbruglia's native Australia.

Background and reception

On 25 May 1998,

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

released "Wishing I Was There" as the third single from ''

''. Prior to this song's release, Imbruglia's first two singles, "

Torn Torn may refer to: Film and television * ''Torn'' (2009 film), an American film by Richard Johnson * ''Torn'' (2013 American film), directed Jeremiah Birnbaum * ''Torn'' (2013 Nigerian film), directed by Moses Inwang * ''Torn'' (TV series), a ...

" and "

Big Mistake "Big Mistake" is a song by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia. It was written by Imbruglia and Mark Goldenberg for Imbruglia's debut album ''Left of the Middle'' (1997). The song was released as the album's second single on 2 March 1998. Although ...

" were major chart hits during late 1997 and early 1998. "Wishing I Was There" followed, but was less successful than her first two singles, reaching number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, number 24 in Australia, and number 40 in New Zealand. In Canada, however, the song reached number five on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart in September 1998, becoming her second hit there after "Torn", which spent 12 weeks at number one between April and July. In the United States, the song was not allowed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 due to rules in place at the time but reached a peak of number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Airplay chart, where "Torn" had stayed at number one for 11 weeks. It also peaked at number 13 on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart and number 15 on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart. Elsewhere, the song charted in Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, but did not reach the top 50 in any of those countries. It did, however, make it to number 27 in Italy.

Composition

"Wishing I Was There" is a song with a single version length of three minutes and 52 seconds and an album version of four minutes and 25 seconds. The song is set in the key of

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

and has a medium

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

– 96 beats per minute – with a piano, guitar and vocal arrangement. Imbruglia is co-credited, with

and

, for both lyrics and music.

Music video

The music video was shot in parts of New York. Towards the end of the video, the now destroyed World Trade Center complex and parts of lower Manhattan are featured.

Track listings

Australian and Japanese CD single # "Wishing I Was There" – 4:25 # "Why" – 4:18 # "Big Mistake" (

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

live version) – 5:07 # "Wishing I Was There" (Transister remix) – 3:33 UK CD1 # "Wishing I Was There" – 4:25 # "Big Mistake" (live version on MTV) – 5:07 # "Why" – 4:18 UK CD2 # "Wishing I Was There" – 4:25 # "Wishing I Was There" (Transister remix) – 3:33 # "Impressed" (

Tim Bran Dreadzone are a British electronic music group. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. Career Dreadzone were formed in London, England in 1993 when ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts teamed up ...

remix) – 4:08 UK cassette single and European CD single # "Wishing I Was There" – 4:25 # "Why" – 4:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1998 singles ARIA Award-winning songs Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Natalie Imbruglia songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Colin Campsie Songs written by Natalie Imbruglia Songs written by Phil Thornalley