Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here Meaning

Song Released: 1975

Wish You Were Here Lyrics

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for...

1. anonymous

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   Jul 29th 2008 !⃝

   Honestly, I don't give a fuck what this song was written about. All I know is that this is the greatest song ever written. Pink Floyd will live on forever.
2. ziadog

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   Jul 9th 2008 !⃝

   As for the top rated interpretation... Although the interpretation states that Waters denied that the individual songs or concept of the album had nothing to do with Syd, I have a recording of a show in Vancouver dated April 1975 where Waters himself states that Shine On WAS about Syd just before their eloquent 15 minute interpretation of the song played. April was a full two months before the final mastering was completed for the album. In this concert they were putting on stage the most complete ideas to date of the music that would go on to be the fully realized concept. SO AS SO MANY TIMES BEFORE WATERS CONTRADICTED HIMSELF. This album was ALMOST entirely a reflection of detachment of the crazy diamond Syd Barret.
3. anonymous

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   Jun 11th 2008 !⃝

   Another one who agrees that the song was inspired largely by the band's rise to super stardom and the changes that entailed, & probably also reminiscing about the early days of the band. Here's a breakdown of the way I interpret the lyrics more generally.
   
   ______________________
   So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
   blue skies from pain.
   Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
   A smile from a veil?
   Do you think you can tell?
   ______________________
   This first verse is coming from a place where nothing is as it seems - there's perhaps a slightly jaded/sarcastic tone to the idea that the subject of the lyrics can tell the difference between the seemingly clear-cut opposing concepts. What you think to be the case is not really the case - and that's made more powerful by the fact that the concepts are polar opposites. Hints at a deception. The lyrics could be self-reflexive (someone questioning their own beliefs) or ideas which apply to people in general.
   _________________________________________
   And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
   Hot ashes for trees?
   Hot air for a cool breeze?
   Cold comfort for change?
   And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
   __________________________________________
   This second verse moves it up a level, now asking if the deceptions were acted upon, suggesting that they have. The last line hints at a past spent struggling in insignificance, only to find that when elevated to a position of fame that the fame itself is more constraining than the difficult past was.
   ______________________________
   How I wish, how I wish you were here.
   We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
   Running over the same old ground.
   What have you found? The same old fears.
   Wish you were here.
   __________________________
   I'd read this as applying specifically to Syd Barrett, but the song can be read more generally. The lyrics suggest that despite the changes that have taken place, it hasn't made any difference to happiness or the feeling of being trapped somewhere (either trapped in insignificance, or trapped by fame). Ultimately the song is saying: wherever you go, there you are, and suggesting that we go through life blinkered to a certain extent only to find that what we thought would make us happy actually doesn't. These are sentiments which apply to most people as well as to the specific situation with the band at the time, which is probably one of the reasons for its enduring appeal.
4. anonymous

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   May 26th 2008 !⃝

   I think songs are meant to be interpreted by each listener, and this song, for me personally, reflects my brother's death due to drug addiction/overdose. "So you think you can tell..heaven from hell..." To me, this speaks of the attraction to using drugs, thinking you are experiencing heaven, or maybe hell. Good vs. Evil, all that kinda stuff. How drugs alter your perceptions, blurring the line of reality. "Did they get you to trade..your heros for ghosts..." I like this line, It makes me think of my brother, and how drugs made him trade his hopes and dreams, and all the good things in his life, for "ghosts": sadness, bad people, death, addiction, despair. Finally, "did you exchange..A walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage" Makes me think of "war" as "life". As if, just living, all the day to day stuff is a struggle, a "war" if you will, and turning to drugs means you give up your part in life, to be a prisoner to drugs, "living" your life in a cage, and, eventually, in a box(coffin).
   
   So, I guess this has nothing to do with the history of this song, but it just seems to speak so much to me and my situation right now, that I had to share.
5. anonymous

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   May 17th 2008 !⃝

   Waters said in the pink floyd reunion tour when they started to play wish you were here "this is for everyone who's not here but particularly of course for Syd" so it's at least partially written for Syd barrett
6. anonymous

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   Mar 24th 2008 !⃝

   As with all art, the lyrics are interpretive, and the listener/viewer finds their own personal meaning/symbolism.
   
   I feel strongly that when a song is written it is personal(syd barretts departure from band/their lives; grappling with fame; pressure expectation> loss of privacy/simplicity of life before fame)but the intention is that it is still illusive enough that the listeners will relate, and therefore enjoy, the song.
   
   Consequently, they have the capacity to become anthems of a particular year, or even generation, and musically/lyrically/melodically have the power to inspire future generations. Other examples of this rarity are Hotel California and Don Mclean's American Pie
   
   It can be as simple or as complex as we, the listeners, decide.
   
   To dissect: So, so you think you can tell, Heaven from Hell-meaning right from wrong. This is alluding to the spiritual element of what is in us, the more we seek/grow...
   Blue Skies from Rain- meaning happiness/contentedness from depression/misery...
   Green Field from a COLD Steel Rain- what is natural/REAL, from what is artificial, "created", fabricated-FAKE...
   A Smile from a Veil-meaning the warmth of a genuine smile which is a beautiful thing, compared with a veiled, camera ready and forced smile that further fuels the facade
   
   Then it kicks up a notch and directly asks did "they" get you to trade... basically, all those things for lesser things... essentially alluding to "selling out"!
   
   I especially love the lyric "And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?"
   
   I think that's pretty clearly about Celebrity/Fame, being in the Spotlight, the "cage" being another word for "fishbowl", to soon follow- AND I think from that time it could have been about actual "part in the war", but could be poetically referencing the war on accepting the way things are and greater good of humanity, etc....
   
   Wish You Were Here- because the music is so emotive here, I do believe it is about missing somebody, who has either passed away or ceased to exist as you once knew them- but agree that it could be the songwriter talking to his former self, pre fame, celebrity, wealth, power, etc....!
   
   A masterful, beautiful mystery, to be sure!
7. anonymous

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   Mar 16th 2008 !⃝

   It WAS written about Syd Barrett, and he WASN'T dead at the time.
   
   The end.
8. anonymous

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   Feb 2nd 2008 !⃝

   Firstly for all those who said Syd walked into the studio when they were recording this song.. It was actually for "shine on you crazy..". This song I think is about the pain you feel for someone whom you really love are no more, either dead or just gone. It has certain tone of anger initially where he asks if the person has made the right choice in leaving and taking the easier way out.
9. anonymous

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   Jan 31st 2008 !⃝

   I think this is about people as a whole, as well. Often in our teens and early 20's we start out wanting to save the world, willing to give all for what we believe in. Eventually, having been kicked in the head enough times, we begin sacrificing these ambitions for a bit of comfort. The line "did you exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage" exemplifies this. Someone's who's gone from self sacrificing to pointing out what others should do, while maintaining their own safety and comfort.
10. mariusbaldrey

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    Jan 31st 2008 !⃝

    The song is probably about Syd Barrett, but who can know for sure? (Does it matter?)The point is, most lyric-writers are deliberately vague about the meaning of their lyrics due to the fear of potential triviality being revealed. Most don't discuss lyrics openly; some words/phrases are chosen simply because they rhyme or 'sound good.' Nick Mason's book about the band says that Syd's visit to the studio during the recordings contributed a certain poignancy to the songs, but how would he know? How much did he contribute creatively anyway? He isn't even a very good drummer if we're honest, so maybe his memory isn't that accurate either. Who cares?
    
    I guess it might be best just to enjoy this composition for the great piece of music that it is, although the mystery is undeniably intriguing. No offense to Syd's fans, but I believe Syd leaving Floyd enabled the band to hire someone like Gilmour who knew something about melody and harmony. Water's lovely poetry helps the song be a big hit, but the credit goes to David Gilmour for knowing how to get the music across. Lyrics are always secondary, and if you disagree, go and study poetry.
11. anonymous

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    Jan 7th 2008 !⃝

    I think that it is about Roger talking to Syd, but he is warning him about drugs, " a smile* from a veil^" ( *Roger being happy with him...^ Roger sad because he's dead..) There is a small indication in each lyric- " so you think you can tell Heaven ( on drugs and happy) from hell (dead). Some is also about what the band thought of Syd- "Trade your heroes(Syd alive) for ghosts(syd dead)" And I am barely touching the surface.
12. anonymous

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    Dec 27th 2007 !⃝

    This song is about someone dying and you want them back so bad.
    or
    your boyfriend/girlfriend walks out on you and you want them back.
    
    Either way it's about wanting someone back

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
13. anonymous

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    Nov 30th 2007 !⃝

    O.K I'm going to start by stating the fact "I am not, nor have ever claimed to be a pink floyd expert" but would love to share my opinion on the meaning of the lyrics to my all time fav song. First and foremost I agree partially with killabee 123, I think its is about good/bad, or what is right and what is wrong, but mainly how it's your responsibility to choose fro yourself, and the song is asking if you yourself even know what is right or wrong...ok..."so so you think you can tell, heaven from hell, blue skies from pain"...all I get out of this is (and it might not be this simple) can you personally tell/know what is wrong or right, aside what you have learned to believe and do you really know happy from sad. Now the rest I have probably misinterpreted greatly but like I said just my opinion..."can you tell a green field, from a cold steel rail, a smile from a vail, do you thik you can tell"...i think this is expressing physical changes metaphorically, be it the band or the earth itself, a green field, which is something natural an unaltered by man, a cold steel rail, something totally man made, in some peoples eyes an improvement, either on the band or like, the construction of a railroad, where a green field once was. A smile, the way people want to seem, which is happy when their hiding their true feelings behimd a mask (vail)."Did they get you to trade, your heroes for ghosts, hot ashes for trees, hot air for a cool breeze, cold comfort for change, did you exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage" ok "heroes for ghosts" isnstead of being happy for who and what you have (heroes) you want to meet other people and have unreal things (ghosts)..the effect society has on people always wanting better things. really no idea on hot ashes for trees, or hot air for a cool breeze...but cold comfort for change I think is, something your used to and can live with a way of life persay (cold comfort) for a new outlook on things everything, life in general feeling you need to improve, (change)..ok I'm thinking this as far out as it is is talking about people dodgong the draft, " WALK ON PART IN THE WAR" and being put in jail "lead role in a CAGE"
14. anonymous

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    Nov 30th 2007 !⃝

    O.K I'm going to start by stating the fact "I am not, nor have ever claimed to be a Pink Floyd expert" but would love to share my opinion on the meaning of the lyrics to my all time fav song. First and foremost I agree partially with killabee 123, I think its is about good/bad, or what is right and what is wrong, but mainly how it's your responsibility to choose fro yourself, and the song is asking if you yourself even know what is right or wrong...ok..."so so you think you can tell, heaven from hell, blue skies from pain"...all I get out of this is (and it might not be this simple) can you personally tell/know what is wrong or right, aside what you have learned to believe and do you really know happy from sad. Now the rest I have probably misinterpreted greatly but like I said just my opinion..."can you tell a green field, from a cold steel rail, a smile from a vail, do you thik you can tell"...i think this is expressing physical changes metaphorically, be it the band or the earth itself, a green field, which is something natural an unaltered by man, a cold steel rail, something totally man made, in some peoples eyes an improvement, either on the band or like, the construction of a railroad, where a green field once was. A smile, the way people want to seem, which is happy when their hiding their true feelings behind a mask (vail)."Did they get you to trade, your heroes for ghosts, hot ashes for trees, hot air for a cool breeze, cold comfort for change, did you exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage" ok "heroes for ghosts" instead of being happy for who and what you have (heroes) you want to meet other people and have unreal things (ghosts)..the effect society has on people always wanting better things. really no idea on hot ashes for trees, or hot air for a cool breeze...but cold comfort for change I think is, something your used to and can live with a way of life persay (cold comfort) for a new outlook on things everything, life in general feeling you need to improve, (change)..ok I'm thinking this as far out as it is is talking about people dodgong the draft, " WALK ON PART IN THE WAR" and being put in jail "lead role in a CAGE"
15. anonymous

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    Jul 6th 2007 !⃝

    Everyone who says Syd Barrett left the band because he went "insane" is ignorant the song is about him and his leaving the band. However, he left do to power tripping so to speak and yet the band still "wished he were there."

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