To hold me closer or set me free
To trust completely or let it be
You don't know my destiny
You can't see what I can see

Hey, I wish I cared
Hey, I wish I cared

To love me truly or let me go
Inbetween I don't want to know
This is how it has to be
No more us and no more we

Hey, I wish I cared
Hey, I wish I cared

Once again, on the station
See your face in a crowd
Comes again the sensation
You can't hear yourself think
With their voices inside your head

Hey, I wish I cared
Hey, I wish I cared
I wish I cared
Yes I really do
I wish I cared
(Hey) I wish I cared
Yes I really do
I wish I cared
(Hey) I wish I cared
I wish I cared
(Hey)


Lyrics submitted by Idan

I Wish I Cared Lyrics as written by Morten Harket Magne Furuholmen

Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

I Wish I Cared song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

3 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Yeah, this song is one of my favourites :) I only got into them about two months ago when I ready Coldplay was inspired by them. This song is definately about leaving a relationship. But I feel like when he sings "hey I wish I cared" He means he wished he cared for her, instead of the obnoxiuos way it could also be said. It seems like they're both good people, but there's nothing between them, so he ends it, even though she thinks she feels something.

    white_stone_3on September 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    its fairly obvious what its about i reckon

    a guy is leaving his woman, and she keeps telling him they need eachother, but he wants freedom cos he can see a better future without her (you dont know my destiny, you cant see what i cansee)

    he says she doesnt put enough effort into the realtionship, and so the only solution is for him to bail, which he does, when he sees her at the train station. where the noise from the people around, and the 'voices inside' telling her shes right, make him just want to leave the chaos

    hope its all good

    sattsandcoon March 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Possibly about lack of communication and empathy in a relationship. One person in the verses is questioning, deeps thinking. The other in the chorus, just does not want to engage in the conversation at all. Repeats I wish I cared (but I don't).

    maqsimillionon January 25, 2021   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.