Here Without You

For the Byrds' song, see Here Without You (The Byrds song).

"Here Without You" is a song by American rock band 3 Doors Down. The power ballad^[2] was released on July 28, 2003, as the third single from the band's second studio album, Away from the Sun (2002). The song reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 2003 and was certified six-times platinum in the US for shipping over 6,000,000 units. It was also successful around the world, peaking at No. 2 in Australia and reaching the top 10 in Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

"Here Without You"
Single by 3 Doors Down
from the album Away from the Sun
B-side	"It's Not Me" (live)
Released	July 28, 2003 (2003-07-28)
Studio	London Bridge (Seattle, Washington) Greenhouse (Burnaby, British Columbia) Ocean Way (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Post-grunge[1]
Length	3:58
Label	Republic Universal
Songwriter(s)	Brad Arnold Todd Harrell Chris Henderson Matt Roberts
Producer(s)	Rick Parashar
3 Doors Down singles chronology
"The Road I'm On" (2003) "Here Without You" (2003) "Away from the Sun" (2004)
Music video
"Here Without You" on YouTube

Background and meaning

Brad Arnold stated that the main inspiration for the song was his now ex-wife.^[3][4]

In an interview with Arnold, Kevin Johnson of St. Louis Post-Dispatch said the song "became an Iraq War anthem."^[3] Arnold added, "[t]hat's one of those songs...a lot of people can identify with whether they’re apart for...hours or...months while (someone) is away overseas."^[3]

He elaborated the story behind the song during an interview by Shawna Ortega of Songfacts: "The song's about being away from someone, or missing them. And it really doesn't matter if you're here without them for all day or all month. It's about the loneliness and missing of somebody. But in a way, people take that as a little bit of a sad song, and I kind of meant it as a happy song, because it's talking about being here without you, but she's still with me in my dreams. And tonight, it's only you and me, so the song was really about that dream. And being in a state of peace, because you've got that person there with you in your sleep. In that way I kind of meant for it to be a little bit of a happy song."^[4]

Chicago Tribune said the song "struck a vital chord among members of the American military, many of whom were serving overseas during the Iraq War."^[5]

Chart performance

"Here Without You" peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending November 8, 2003, becoming the band's third and final top-10 hit as of 2025.^[6] Only their songs "Kryptonite" and "When I'm Gone" reached higher positions on the chart, peaking at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. It has since been certified double platinum in the United States and platinum in Australia. The song was a large success on pop radio, becoming their third No. 1 hit on the Mainstream Top 40 chart and their first No. 1 on the Adult Top 40 chart, where it stayed at the top for 13 weeks.

While one of their most popular songs, "Here Without You" was not a large hit on the band's home format of rock radio, peaking at No. 14 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 22 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. After the song's release, "Here Without You" remained a staple on pop and adult contemporary radio but not on rock or alternative radio. Worldwide, the song reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 2 in Australia, becoming the band's highest-charting single there. It also reached the top 10 in Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand as well as the top 20 in Austria, Norway, and Sweden.

Live performances

"Here Without You" was first performed live on December 31, 2002, at First Union Spectrum in Philadelphia. As of April 1, 2019, it has been performed 443 times, making it the fifth-most-performed song by 3 Doors Down.^[7]

Track listings

UK CD single[8] "Here Without You" (album version) – 3:57 "Here Without You" (live) – 4:11 "It's Not Me" (live) – 3:47 "Here Without You" (video) European CD single[9] "Here Without You" – 3:57 "Here Without You" (live) – 4:11

Australian maxi-CD single[10] "Here Without You" (album version) – 3:57 "Here Without You" (acoustic version) – 3:52 "Kryptonite" (live) – 4:14 "Here Without You" (enhanced video—album version) – 3:47

Charts

Weekly charts 2003–2004 weekly chart performance for "Here Without You" Chart (2003–2004) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 13 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 26 Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)[14] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[15] 8 Germany (GfK)[16] 23 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 12 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 10 Norway (VG-lista)[20] 11 Poland (Polish Airplay Charts)[21] 2 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[22] 80 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[23] 21 Scotland (OCC)[24] 78 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 61 UK Singles (OCC)[27] 77 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[28] 7 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[29] 98 US Billboard Hot 100[30] 5 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[31] 14 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[32] 1 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[33] 22 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[34] 14 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[35] 1 2022 weekly chart performance for "Here Without You" Chart (2022) Peak position Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[36] 11 US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[37] 14

Year-end charts 2003 year-end chart performance for "Here Without You" Chart (2003) Position US Billboard Hot 100[38][39] 62 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[40] 29 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[41] 25 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[42] 81 2004 year-end chart performance for "Here Without You" Chart (2004) Position Australia (ARIA)[43] 18 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[44] 96 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[45] 14 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[46] 52 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[47] 198 Sweden (Hitlistan)[48] 38 US Billboard Hot 100[49] 15 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[50] 17 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[50] 4 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[51] 20 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for "Here Without You" Chart (2000–2009) Position US Billboard Hot 100[52][53] 68

Certifications

Certifications for "Here Without You"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[54]	Platinum	70,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[55]	Gold	30,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[56] Acoustic version	Platinum	60,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[57]	Gold	45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[58]	Gold	150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[59]	Gold	50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[60]	3× Platinum	90,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[61]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[62]	6× Platinum	6,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[63] for Video Single	6× Platinum	300,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Here Without You"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	July 28, 2003	Contemporary hit hot AC mainstream rock active rock alternative radio	Republic Universal	[64]
Australia	January 19, 2004	CD		[65]
United Kingdom	May 31, 2004			[66]