Wish You Were Here (Atmosfear Version
Pink Floyd Lyrics


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So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue sky's 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 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?

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.
And how we found




The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics from Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" are filled with symbolism and questioning the authenticity of our experiences. The poem is questioning the nature of our existence and how we often confuse one thing with another. For instance, the opening lines "So, so you think you can tell / Heaven from Hell, / Blue sky's from pain. / Can you tell a green field / From a cold steel rail? / A smile from a veil? / Do you think you can tell?" refer to the notion that our perception of reality is often warped, and what we perceive can be wildly different from the real world. The song asks the listener to contemplate what is real and what is not and question whether their understanding of what is happening around them is entirely accurate.


The poem continues to speak of how we can trade our authentic selves for something else. The lyrics "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?" suggest that we are often willing to give up what is essential to us for something less valuable if we are convinced it is of more value. We lose touch with our authenticity and what matters to us. It then continues to ask if in exchanging an authentic experience for a false one is worth the trade by asking "And did you exchange / A walk-on part in the war / For a lead role in a cage?" which can be interpreted as wondering whether the deal is worth it.


Overall, then, the song is a powerful lamentation of the loss of authenticity in our lives and how we often are willing to give up what is essential to us for a pale substitute.


Line by Line Meaning

So, so you think you can tell
Do you believe that you can easily distinguish between different situations?


Heaven from Hell,
Can you tell apart positive and negative experiences?


Blue sky's from pain.
Can you differentiate between happy and depressing moments?


Can you tell a green field
Is it easy for you to separate happiness and freedom from confinement and boredom?


From a cold steel rail?
Can you differentiate between natural beauty and industrialization's persistent and inevitably harmful influence?


A smile from a veil?
Do you find it hard to tell between a happy person and someone who is just pretending to be happy?


Do you think you can tell?
You believe you can discern easily, but can you *really*?


And did they get you to trade
Did someone justify a bad thing by telling you that it was a good thing to do?


Your heroes for ghosts?
Did they convince you to give up on your original dreams for some hollow alternative?


Hot ashes for trees?
Have you sacrificed real growth for the mere illusion of it?


Hot air for a cool breeze?
Did you convert meaningful progress into empty words?


Cold comfort for change?
Have you given up on meaningful repair for the numbness of continuing as is?


And did you exchange
Did you betray your own desires for someone else's?


A walk on part in the war
Did you start off with the hope of making only a small contribution, but now you find yourself sacrificing everything?


For a lead role in a cage?
Does being in charge mean anything if you're trapped and forfeited the things you truly wanted?


How I wish, how I wish you were here.
It's a wistful plea for someone else's company when that person shares similar problems you can't solve alone.


We're just two lost souls
We're both wandering on this path without any clear direction.


Swimming in a fish bowl,
Trying to survive in a tiny universe, restricted from ever moving beyond it.


Year after year,
Things have gone on for so long without any resolution.


Running over the same old ground.
Things have remained the same, with no triumphs or changes.


And how we found
As we searched for something else, we ultimately discovered...


The same old fears.
... that we're still haunted by the same specters we always have been.


Wish you were here.
The wish remains that this person could be present to help work through these problems.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID JON GILMOUR, ROGER WATERS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Diego Moreno

awesome!!!!!

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