“I Wish You Knew” is a country song written by Charlie and Ira Louvin, the Alabama brother duo whose searing close harmony made them one of the most influential acts in country music. The Louvin Brothers recorded it and released it as a single in 1957.
The lyric is a quiet lament of unspoken feeling — a singer wishing the person he loves understood the depth of what he carries. That kind of restrained heartbreak was a Louvin Brothers specialty, and their piercing two-part harmony gave even a simple sentiment an almost painful intensity.
The Louvins’ songs were widely admired and adopted by bluegrass musicians, whose own emphasis on high, close harmony made the material a natural fit.