Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

Syd Barret and Roger Waters, while studying in High School in Cambridgeshire, conceived the rock band ‘Pink Floyd.’ After spending 10 years with the band, Barrett had to leave the band due to mental illness thought to have been due to his excessive use of psychedelic drugs.

This song is a tribute to Syd Barret. It would be simplistic to assume that Roger Waters(poet and songwriter) addressed only Syd Barret in this song. It calls for action from all of us — the listeners. The refrain, “wish you were here,” feels like the poet longs for his friend Syd to be with him. A more careful reflection reveals that these words are aimed at us, the listeners, asking us to wake up and get out of a contrived set of values and ‘be here’ in reality.

At its core, this is an anti-war song.

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?

A person who is dreaming or under the influence of drugs or some brainwashed thoughts does not realize that he is under the influence. The poet juxtaposes seemingly opposite things and challenges us if we are able to tell the difference. As a listener want to Answer “yes.”

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?

The poet explains how ‘they’ brainwashed you to trade all the good things and values for such poor options. He then explains that we have traded(exchanged) all the good things for a ‘part’ ( a role in a play ) in the war. The poet reminds us that even though we got a ‘lead role’ we are still in a ‘cage.’

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 we found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here

He longs for his friend Syd to be here with him. But you can interpret this as being addressed to us, the listeners. The poet wants us ‘to be here’ — be awake and be in reality and not in a contrived set of values pushed on us.

A fish in a bowl may swim frantically in circles around the fishbowl, but it still is trapped. Similarly, year after year, we have been running in circles (running over the same ground) and we are confronted with the ‘same old fears.’

Wish we realize that we are in a cage and breakout, choose good over war, and ‘be here’ in reality.