Wish You Were Here (6:33)
4,656,037 plays (493,758 listeners)
“Wish You Were Here” is the title track on Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. The song’s lyrics encompass writer Roger Waters’ feelings of alienation from other people. Like most of the album, it refers to former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett and his breakdown. The main riff came to David Gilmour while playing his acoustic guitar in Abbey Road Studios. Gilmour then demonstrated the riff to Waters, who was impressed. They collaborated to complete the song, as Waters had already written some lyrics. In 2004, the song was ranked #316 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In the original album version, the song segues from “Have a Cigar” as if a radio had been tuned away from one station, through several others (including a radio play and one playing Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony), and finally to a new station where “Wish You Were Here” is beginning. Gilmour performed the intro on a twelve-string guitar, processed to sound like it was playing through an old transistor radio, and then overdubbed a fuller-sounding acoustic guitar solo. This passage was mixed to sound as though the guitarist was sitting in a room, playing along with the radio; it also contains a whine that slowly changes pitch—emulating the heterodyne between two drifting AM radio signals.
The intro riff is repeated several times and reprised when Gilmour plays further solos with scat singing accompaniment. At the end of the recorded song, the final solo crossfades with wind sound effects (reminiscent of “One of These Days” from the 1971 album Meddle), and finally segues into the second section of the multi-part suite “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”.
In the original album version, the song segues from “Have a Cigar” as if a radio had been tuned away from one station, through several others (including a radio play and one playing Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony), and finally to a new station where “Wish You Were Here” is beginning. Gilmour performed the intro on a twelve-string guitar, processed to sound like it was playing through an old transistor radio, and then overdubbed a fuller-sounding acoustic guitar solo. This passage was mixed to sound as though the guitarist was sitting in a room, playing along with the radio; it also contains a whine that slowly changes pitch—emulating the heterodyne between two drifting AM radio signals.
The intro riff is repeated several times and reprised when Gilmour plays further solos with scat singing accompaniment. At the end of the recorded song, the final solo crossfades with wind sound effects (reminiscent of “One of These Days” from the 1971 album Meddle), and finally segues into the second section of the multi-part suite “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”.
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A series of pictures which accompany <b>Pink</b> Floyd's masterpiece '<b>Wish You Were Here</b>'.
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Albums featuring this track
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Echoes
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Pulse (disc 2)
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Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (disc 2)
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Shouts
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krixor wrote:
strings at the beginning...classic...
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Rebrebs wrote:
'Did they get you to trade/Your heroes for ghosts?' yes :/
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SotirisFr wrote:
For some reason, every time I listen to this song I am reminded of Stairway to Heaven... And how much better Wish You Were Here is.
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Schuyler0000 wrote:
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year. My favorite line of all time, I would kill to have written that line.
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OpethForLifee94 wrote:
I agree. So very very very very perfect, beautiful, astounding... Ah I love it. Almost brings me to tears.
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nazlyyy wrote:
amazing.
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Andr3a89 wrote:
the only word that can describe this song is PERFECT
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starlight60 wrote:
<333
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mat00 wrote:
extremely classic, impossible anyone who lives for rock don't remember this song
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squigbobble wrote:
shine on syd
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nobodycat wrote:
i can say nothing. just fucking great!
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mynameishuman wrote:
Even though this is probably their most popular song, it's awesome. Not overrated at all, it deserves to be so popular (even though PF has even better songs).
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ElRazi wrote:
this is one of the beautiful songs ever...
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eduardoeu wrote:
uma das melhores musica do mundo :D e sem exagero
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oliversimon90 wrote:
<3
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ulissina wrote:
Esta canção faz-me lembrar o meu eterno apaixonado, não me lembro já porquê. Um tributo a ele.
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MrNutjob wrote:
Wow.. I love this song! Just started seriously listening to Pink Floyd a few days ago, it's a total mystery to me how I've never really listened to them before. O_o But better late than never.. right? <3 :)
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aminals wrote:
we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
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JCLFC wrote:
classic
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Rafa_Mu wrote:
epic <3 i wish my little cat were here with me. I'm sad =/
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Recent Activity
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brainstorm-girl added Wish You Were Here to their Loved Tracks. 25 minutes ago
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dizasterpiece added Wish You Were Here to dizasterpiece’s library. 1 hour ago
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dizasterpiece added Wish You Were Here to the playlist. 1 hour ago
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K-siur, metal_knives, haroszy and 6 other people loved Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here. 2 hours ago
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brian188 added Wish You Were Here to brian188’s library. 6 hours ago
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u2martyman tagged Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here with love and angelica. 7 hours ago
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kite1975 added Wish You Were Here to the playlist LET'S ROCK. 7 hours ago
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angiealight added Wish You Were Here to her Loved Tracks. 8 hours ago
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schiizophrenic tagged Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here with amazing, progressive rock and favorite songs. 8 hours ago
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Sinikelle, Koenigsberg and cudajake loved Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here. 8 hours ago
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