Wish You Were Here

"Wish You Were Here"
Cover song by The Smashing Pumpkins Original by Pink Floyd
Lyrics Tabs
Songwriter(s)	David Gilmour, Roger Waters

"Wish You Were Here" is a 1975 single by Pink Floyd. It was first performed live by Billy Corgan when he joined Pink Floyd on stage after inducing them into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on January 17, 1996, and again at the Roger Water's Music Heals event on October 16, 2015. Corgan then performed it occasionally during the Ogilala tour, and more recently by The Smashing Pumpkins during their 2019 tour of Europe.

In his induction speed for Pink Floyd, Corgan said the song helped him come to terms with his grandmother's cancer diagnosis when he was 17 years old, saying that it "still makes me cry, it's such a beautiful song."

Videos

Corgan on guitar with Pink Floyd, January 17, 1996

Piano version by Corgan, November 20, 2019

Lyrics

so, so you think you can tell
heaven from hell
blue skys 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 heros 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
what have we found?
the same old fears
wish you were here

Tour stats

• Total plays: 26 plays (24 full, 2 tease), 13 acoustic, 10 piano, 4 artists
• First performance: Pink Floyd 1996-01-17 (featuring Billy Corgan) at Waldorf Astoria, New York City, NY, US
• Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2023-08-11 at Yaamava' Theater, Highland, CA, US (tease)
• Last full performance: Billy Corgan 2020-12-01 (unknown location), Chicago, US

External links

• "Wish You Were Here" at SPFC