prior to release, the track was played during moby's area:one summer festival in 2001. it was announced as "morning view"'s lead single in june that year. guitarist mike einziger noted that "wish you were here" was one of the last songs written for "morning view" and that "the content is about being happy living for the moment and not looking forward to the future as some event." vocalist brandon boyd also elaborated on its meaning: "the song wasn't specifically about a person. it was about me acknowledging a very brief moment in my life and in my experience with all of these guys in making this record. in that moment, i wish that i had somebody to go, 'i love you, man.' i was wishing that there was someone there to share that moment with."