There are not many acoustic songs in Blink-182’s discography, although perhaps they should have recorded them more often, because one of these works by cheerful Californian punks became one of their most famous and successful tracks. We are talking about the composition I Miss You (“I miss you”), which we will talk about in this article.
The history of the creation of the song I Miss You – Blink-182
Let’s start with a discussion of the features of the creative process. DeLonge and Hoppus worked on the song in an unusual manner. First, they discussed the main idea of the future track, and then went to separate rooms to compose a verse in seclusion. The next step was to bring the developments into a single composition. Here is what Tom later recalled:
Mark has always been very, very good with words, so I often turned to him for help to find out how to express myself better … But we never really explained to each other the meaning of the songs …
Kerrang!, 2005
DeLorgue also spoke about what drove them when they wrote I Miss You:
I think with this song we rebelled against the pop element of our band that we had for many years. We wanted to do something a little darker and more atmospheric. I guess people were surprised when they heard it for the first time.
Kerrang!, 2005
The meaning of the song I Miss You – Blink-182
Tom named the famous work of The Cure as the main source of inspiration:
I’m a really big fan of the Cure and one time I was listening to their song called Love Cats and I liked the idea of using a standing bass and jazzy brushes. We ended up writing a completely acoustic song.
Tom explained the meaning of the text as follows:
This song is more about vulnerability and the kind of heartbreak you feel when you fall in love. When you’re the guy trying to explain to a girl, “Don’t waste your time coming and chatting with me because – at least it seems to me – you probably left me a long time ago.”
MTV
The line about Jack and Sally, referring listeners to Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, appeared in the first verse at the initiative of Travis Barker, who thus hinted at his relationship with his wife Shanna.
Release and achievements
I Miss You was released in February 2004 as the second single from Blink-182. The song topped the Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number forty-two on the Billboard Hot 100. It rose to number eight on the UK chart. By October of that year, over half a million copies of the single had been sold, for which the song was awarded gold status.
Clip I Miss You – Blink-182
A stylish video clip in the spirit of the cinema of the thirties of the last century was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. DeLong described cooperation with him in the following words:
He made amazing videos. We had a general idea of what we wanted to do, but we knew it would be interesting because guys like him always bring a lot of artistic vision to a project. In fact, you do not understand what is going on in their head, how they want to make a film and so on.
MTV
Interesting Facts
- Although originally an acoustic song, the band played it on electric guitars at the album’s promotional shows.
Blink-182 I Miss You Lyrics
(I miss you, I miss you)
Hello there, the angel from my nightmare
The shadow in the background of the morgue
The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
where you can always find me
We’ll have Halloween on Christmas
And in the night we’ll wish this never ends
We’ll wish this never ends
(I miss you, I miss you)
(I miss you, I miss you)
Where are you and I’m so sorry
I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight
I need somebody and always
This sick strange darkness
Comes creeping on so haunting every time
And as I stared I counted
Webs from all the spiders
Catching things and eating their insides
Like decision to call you
and hear your voice of treason
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight
Stop this pain tonight
Don’t waste your time on me you’re already
The voice inside my head
(I miss you, I miss you)
Don’t waste your time on me you’re already
The voice inside my head
(I miss you, I miss you)
Blink-182 Lyrics
(I miss you, I miss you)
Hey hello angel from my nightmares
Shadow in the depths of the morgue
The unsuspecting victim of the valley of the shadow of death
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
And you can always find me
We’ll have Halloween at Christmas
And at night we’ll wish it never ends
We’ll wish it never ends
(I miss you, I miss you)
(I miss you, I miss you)
Where are you and I’m so sorry
That I can’t sleep and dream tonight
I need someone and always
This sick, strange darkness
Every time creeps ominously towards me
And when I looked at her, I thought
Webs of all spiders
Who caught insects and ate their insides
Like my indecision preventing me from calling you
And hear your traitorous voice
Maybe you’ll come home tonight and take my pain away
Spare me the pain
Don’t waste your time on me, you already
Became the voice in my head
(I miss you, I miss you)
Don’t waste your time on me, you already
Became the voice in my head
(I miss you, I miss you)
