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. Tommy

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   Jan 17th 2006 !⃝

   This song is about Syd Barrett and how much Roger missed him and how he wished he was there with them. The wierd thing is while recording this song Syd showed up at the studio overweight had his head and eyebrows shaved off and was jumping up and down brushing his teeth. He then walked back to cambridge from london.
2. anonymous

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   Jan 4th 2006 !⃝

   This is a song on their band member that died from drugs and the Pink floyd are expressing their feelings and saying how they wish he was back on earth

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

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   Nov 13th 2005 !⃝

   I think this song is the band expressing there feelings to Syd after he went mad. They are asking him if he can tell the differences between heaven and hell, cold comfort, and change. The song's title is the band wishing they could be with the syd they knew before. But remeber over analysing the songs runes theme so take them as a whole and only disect them for fun.
4. anonymous

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   Nov 11th 2005 !⃝

   This is about his left band member, and how they have the same old, boring lives ("We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year. Running over the same old ground.")

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

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   Oct 27th 2005 !⃝

   Indeed, this is a tribute to the long lost mind of Syd Barret. And indeed he did walk into the studio cluelessly.
6. anonymous

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   Oct 18th 2005 !⃝

   This song, and the entire album for that matter, is entirely about Syd Barrett. I read somewhere that one time, while the band was recording in a studio, Syd Barrett happened to wander in. None of the them recognized him, as Syd had gained a lot of weight due to irregular eating habits, and was bald. Then finally Roger Waters recognized him and informed the others. After that meeting, they never saw him again. They were all hit so hard by this event, that it spawned "Wish You Were Here."
7. anonymous

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   Oct 7th 2005 !⃝

   Syd Barrett isn't dead. He's in Cambridge, MA.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
8. rockon

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   Sep 25th 2005 !⃝

   This song is actually about a dead band member.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. username

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   Jul 9th 2005 !⃝

   Like most of Floyd's albums, this one is a story. Contrary to popular belief, this song is not about the war for fuck's sake! It's about fame. Super stardom. That's what the album's about. This song is Roger Waters talking to Syd Barret, the bands former guitar player and the subject of most of floyds work (The Wall, The Final Cut, etc.) He had to leave the band because he had too many bad trips if ya know what I mean. In the midst of the fame, waters stopped and realized what a shame it was that Syd couldn't have been there to see it.

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