Wish Me Well
Procol Harum Lyrics


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You know I caught a glimpse, thought I understood
But I left it all far behind
Now if I'd known then what I know now
Do you think I would've been so blind?
Gonna take myself to the wishing well
I'm gonna make myself one last wish
And if you follow me there, better bring what you've found
Cause my night has come and I'm going down

Gonna buy myself a big rocking chair
And when I'm sitting in that, then no-one will peek
And my friends will come, they'll see what I'm suffering from
How I wish, how I wish I could rock myself to sleep
Gonna take myself to the wishing well
Gonna make myself one last wish




If you follow me there, better bring what you've found
Cause my night has come and I'm going down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Procol Harum's "Wish Me Well" speak of regret and longing for what could have been. The singer expresses his regret for leaving something behind after only catching a glimpse of it, implying that he did not fully understand what it was. The use of the phrase "if I'd known then what I know now" illustrates the singer's realization that he had made a mistake. The line "Do you think I would've been so blind?" implies that the singer may have been ignorant of the consequences of his actions.


The chorus of the song features the singer taking himself to the wishing well, which serves as a metaphor for his desire to make amends and correct his mistake. The lyrics suggest that he plans to make one last wish before his "night" comes and he goes down. This could be interpreted as a reference to his ultimate demise or simply a representation of him running out of time to make things right.


The second verse features the singer planning to buy a rocking chair where he can wallow in his suffering. He longs for his friends to come and witness his pain, hoping that they can relate to his plight. The repetition of the line "How I wish, how I wish" emphasizes the singer's desire to escape his pain, even though he knows he cannot.


Line by Line Meaning

You know I caught a glimpse, thought I understood
I thought I had everything figured out, but now I know I was wrong


But I left it all far behind
I abandoned what I thought I knew


Now if I'd known then what I know now
If I had the knowledge I have now back then


Do you think I would've been so blind?
Would I have made the same mistakes if I knew then what I know now?


Gonna take myself to the wishing well
I will go to the wishing well


I'm gonna make myself one last wish
I'll make one final wish


And if you follow me there, better bring what you've found
If you come with me, bring what you have discovered


Cause my night has come and I'm going down
My time has come and I'm ready to face the consequences


Gonna buy myself a big rocking chair
I will buy a large rocking chair


And when I'm sitting in that, then no-one will peek
No one will disturb me when I'm in it


And my friends will come, they'll see what I'm suffering from
My friends will come and see my pain


How I wish, how I wish I could rock myself to sleep
I wish I could find peace by rocking myself to sleep




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GARRY BROOKER, K. REID

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Jim Varlas

I love the "fuzzy" guitar on this lost gem. Gary Brooker has one of the greatest rock and roll voices.

jawad Kazmi

Ameen brother Alhumdulila ❤

Glicksman1

A rare bluesy number from these geniuses. Also some harmony. Altogether a remarkably rare PH tune.
That guitar tone comes from a now rare Selmer amp called the "Littel Giant, a 5-watt amp with one 6" speaker that can hardly sound any different from what we hear on this recording. RobinTrower, Procol's guitarist used this tone for much of the early recordings he made with them. It's a kind of instant 'Woman Sound" (neck pickup, tone rolled-off to full bass, volume at max) that was very popular after Eric Clapton used it to great effect on Cream's second album, "Disraeli Gears".

John Allen is my name and music is my game

There's two or three fuzz guitars riffs I've come across that I really dig. A group called "Spirit" used it most effectively. I've spent a lot of time trying to get the tone just right but it's hard to put your finger on sometimes.

David Maslow

One of my favorite Procol Harum tunes!

Marcio Ivam de Brito Teixeira

Grande banda.

A. Ritchie

That fuzz guitar was Robin Trower. He was with the band from 1967 -1971. After he left Procol Harum, during a 1971 solo tour with Jethro Tull, Robin Trower arrived early for a sound check and found Martin Barre's Fender Stratocaster (which Barre used for slide playing) propped up against an amplifier. Trower picked up the guitar, plugged it in, and with a shout that resounded around the auditorium he yelled, "This is it!" He then switched to a Strat. "Up to then he had been playing Les Pauls.

Fran Abreu

Excelente! Beautiful. Procol Harum - Atlanta International Pop Festival 1970. Jul 03-05, 1970 - Middle - Georgia Raceway - Byron - GA

keith_kar

Chilling guitar work here.

The Loner

That guitar tone though....

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