Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here Meaning
Song Released: 1975
Wish You Were Here Lyrics
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...
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This song is about the band coping with sudden superstardom.
The difference between a green field and a steel rail, is the price of the ticket, and the seat that you get at the concert.
The difference between a smile and a veil, is if the band is really happy to be their, or just putting on a happy face for show.
The whole next verse is about offering to exchange places with the fans, actually that is what the whole song is about.
The fish bowl is the stadium that we, (fans and the band, ((2 lost souls)), ) keep swimming through year after year, going over the same songs.
The song is about not having fun as a superstar, and I kind of get the feeling that they don't want us to keep filling up the fish bowl. -
Syd Barrett died July 7th 2006 in Cambridge, England at age 60
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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It could be about syd but I think it's about choosing between good and bad.
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I personally think that this song is about whatever you want it to mean.. I mean the group could have directed it towards syds departure, but I also think that they wanted listeners to link the goups views to yours, so you can also personaly relate to the song andnot just syd.
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Yes I got it out of a newspaper the song wish you were here is about syd barrett. Its about when he left the band they missed him doing the songs, so they made the album wish you were here.
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Ok, guess he is dead then.
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Syd just died this week
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Why are people so stupid? get facts right before you post SYD BARRETT ISN'T DEAD and he has never been dead so just fucking think or maybe research before you post, idiots.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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The phrase "two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" may refer to Roger Waters' and David Gilmore's feelings about the band's uncertain future and having to live their lives under public scrutiny.
"Living in a fish bowl" means to live life under public scrutiny. The word "living" may have been changed to "swimming" to make it more metaphorically correct. The number of souls could have been changed from "four" to "two" to make it more personal (one on one) rather than revealing that the band is the subject in the song. -
Syd Barrett would have gone insane with or without the help of LSD.
He was psychologically weak.
Pink Floyd wanted to visit him after his melt-down but his mother forbade it.
He did put out a few albums later which are actually considered quite good but the producers must have had a hell of a time keeping him focused -
According to an interview with Roger Waters, none of the songs were about Syd Barret. He stated that they were written to describe the current state of the band and the music industry. Only after the public presumed that the album was about Syd did the band decide to dedicate it to him. This "Urban Legend" only adds to the difficulty of interpreting the song.
In the literal sense, I believe that the song is directed to a dead friend or family member. Only after shooting a video tour of a family cemetery and setting it to the music of Pink Floyd did it hit me.
In the middle of a big green field is a small cemetery plot surrounded by a white wrought-iron fence. The only trees nearby were the ones inside. It was a hot summer day and a cool breeze was blowing. Inside the fence were several markers. Among the lead role were the headstones of the few who had died in battle - the heroes. The fence is a cage, coffins have cold steel rails, and the veil hides the face of the widow. The clincher for me was this inscription on one of the headstones: "Stranger CAN YOU TELL is this where individuality ceases or does it exist beyond."
The band had reached its peak with the success of DSOTM, and Mr. Waters was conveying the band's feelings after their two-year hiatus. I'm still not sure if the band is speaking to the public and music industry from the grave or if the public and music industry are speaking to the band in the grave. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I agree with it being about Syd.
Dissecting the song doesn't ruin anything. Songs are meant to be dissected. If anything, it helps you to truly appreciate the artist and spark a thought. Take your own meaning from the songs and apply them to your life. Maybe you'll see something in a way you've never thought of before.
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