Wish You Were Here (The Song)
From Pink Floyd
| Wish You Were Here | ||
| Previous Track | ||
| Have A Cigar | ||
| This Track | ||
| Wish You Were Here (The Song) | ||
| Next Track | ||
| Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX) | ||
Song Name: Wish You Were Here
Artist: Pink Floyd
Album: Wish You Were Here, Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd
Run Time: 5:40
Year: 1975
Track Number: 4
Sung By: David Gilmour, Roger Waters (backing vocals)
Written By: David Gilmour, Roger Waters
| Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd | ||
| Previous Track | ||
| Arnold Layne | ||
| This Track | ||
| Wish You Were Here (The Song) | ||
| Next Track | ||
| Jugband Blues | ||
Info:
- 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, 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 barely-audible whine that slowly changes pitch, as if receiving AM radio interference.
- 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".
- During the opening solo, about 0:26 into the recording, a small cough can be heard, followed by a faint sniff at 0:48. It is often rumored that at the time of recording, David Gilmour's smoking habit caused him to cough during the solo and that he quit after hearing it played back during mixing; this was initially denied on Gilmour's official website in 2006 but the denial was removed shortly after it first appeared; it is also possible that the cough and sniff were intentionally or accidentally recorded and left in to bring character to the song.
- Wish You Were Here made its stage debut on the band's 1977 tour, which featured a performance of the entire album at every show. It was not played live by the band for nearly ten years after this, yet became a concert staple after its reappearance in 1987 — and was performed at nearly all subsequent Pink Floyd concerts. In the original 1977 concert performances, Gilmour would play his Fender Stratocaster instead of acoustic guitar whilst Snowy White played a 12-string Ovation acoustic guitar. At some of these shows (all of the US shows, notably), Mason tuned an actual transistor radio onstage to start the song and Rick Wright would perform an extended piano coda as the wind effects played. During the 1987-88 tour, Gilmour was joined at some venues on acoustic guitar and vocals for this song by Tim Sutherland of Sutherland Brothers and Quiver.
- The song proved to be a popular choice for a cover song for later artists such as Sparklehorse (in collaboration with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke), Dream Theater, The Flaming Lips, Wyclef Jean, Catherine Wheel, Velvet Revolver, and Rasputina, all of whom have recorded or performed live cover versions of the song.
- Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and Wes Borland, and the Goo Goo Dolls' John Rzeznik gave a performance of Wish You Were Here (previously unrecorded by them) for the America: A Tribute to Heroes television event following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. New lyrics for the song had been written for the occasion.
- There is a brief piece of violin playing at the end of the track which was subsequently all but drowned out by the addition of the wind effects. Violinist Stephane Grappelli was recording in a downstairs studio, and Gilmour had suggested that there be a little "country fiddle" at the end of the song. Grappelli duly obliged, although because his contribution is barely audible, the band decided not to credit him for it in the sleevenotes. According to Waters, he received the agreed fee of £300, however.
- The voices and brief burst of orchestral music between "Have a Cigar" and "Wish You Were Here" were picked randomly from radio broadcast. The music includes a snippet of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, and a radio play. In concerts, the band extended the bit by playing live off-air samples from the local town, and then switching into the pre-recorded bit from the album. When the radio series was released on cassettes and CDs, this scene was cut for legal reasons.
- Roger Waters has said the song is based on a poem he wrote about Syd Barrett's fall from reality.
- When Pink Floyd were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band (sans Roger Waters and Nick Mason, although the latter was in the audience) performed the song with the assistance of their presenter Billy Corgan on rhythm guitar.
- In 2004, the song was ranked #316 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
| Credits | Chronology |
