Missing (Everything but the Girl song)

Did You Know?

• The music video was directed by Mark Szaszy and features Thorn walking around Balham and Clapham South.
• A cover version by No Mercy, subtitled "I Miss You Like the Deserts Miss the Rain", was produced by Frank Farian and peaked in the top 20 in Germany and top 10 in Switzerland.
• The song is written in the key of A minor with a tempo of 128 beats per minute.

Background

Before "Missing", Everything but the Girl was an indie band with folk and jazz leanings. They had eight prior albums and a UK number-three single in 1988, but were little known in the US. Amplified Heart took a more introspective, stripped-back approach. "Missing" was recorded in London between December 1993 and April 1994 as a relaxed guitar-based pop song that received modest US Adult Contemporary airplay. The duo gave the track to house producer Todd Terry for a club remix. Tracey Thorn later said the song was originally intended as a dance-oriented track.

Critical reception

The song was generally acclaimed by critics. Larry Flick of Billboard called it a forlorn love song bolstered by a springy retro-pop arrangement tweaked into a credible dance confection by Todd Terry, praising Thorn's restrained emotion and the instantly memorable chorus. Steve Baltin of Cash Box noted the duo threw in everything but the sink, blending Lisa Stansfield and Cowboy Junkies into ethereal pop that could be danced to. Douglas Wolk of CMJ described it as a first-rate pairing of songwriting and technology, pairing a torch song with techno-inflected backing, where neither element alone is great but together they create a heartfelt dancefloor simmer. Dave Sholin of the Gavin Report remarked on the difference a remix made, noting Miami as the breakout market. Chuck Campbell of Knoxville News Sentinel felt it achieved a beautifully enchanting chorus. Music & Media wrote that the remixes by Todd Terry and Ultramarine would speed up the duo's dance milieu presence. James Hamilton of Music Week's RM Dance Update called it atmospheric and melancholy. Ben Turner of Muzik considered it a miracle. John Kilgo of The Network Forty named it a very exciting uptempo groover. James Hunter of Vibe said Terry's remix allowed Thorn to grace US radios with rare English soul, calling her voice untouchable.

Chart performance

It logged 55 weeks on the chart, a record at the time, and is now the eleventh-longest charting song on the US Hot 100. It was the first single to spend an uninterrupted year on the US Hot 100 and topped the US Cash Box Top 100, but never entered the US Hot Dance Club Play chart. In Canada, it topped the RPM Top Singles, Adult Contemporary, and Dance/Urban charts. In the UK it spent over 20 weeks on the singles chart and earned double platinum certification from the BPI. It peaked at number two in Australia and number 14 in New Zealand, and reached the top ten in several European countries. The single sold three million copies worldwide.

Impact and legacy

In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "Missing" at number 177 in its list of the 1001 Best Songs Ever, and Paul Morley included it in his list of Greatest Pop Single of All Time. A 2011 remix by Fedde le Grand was named Song of the Day by About.com's DJ Ron Slomowicz, who called Thorn's mournful voice a perfect fit over Todd's house beats. Bill Lamb of About.com ranked the song number one on his Top 10 Best Songs of 1996. Toponehitwonders.com called it a nearly perfect pop song, comparing it to "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals. In 2012, NME listed it at number 35 on its 50 Best-Selling Tracks of the 90s, noting the Todd Terry deep house beats complemented Thorn's rich melancholy pine. In 2018, ThoughtCo ranked it number one on its 10 Best Pop Songs of 1996. In 2022, Pitchfork featured it on its lists of The 30 Best House Tracks of the '90s and The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s, while Classic Pop ranked it number nine on its top 40 dance tracks of the '90s. Rolling Stone ranked it number 54 on its 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time in 2022. In 2025, Billboard ranked it number 25 on its 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time, writing that Todd Terry shoved Everything but the Girl into the pool.