Wish You Were Here

As said by the living members of Pink Floyd in the movie/documentary specially about this album (The Story of Wish You Were Here (2012), this album IS NOT JUST about Syd Barrett, their former member, leader, composer, singer, guitar player. This album is also about, and criticises the phonographic industry. The critic to the phonographic industry is notorious by the cover of the album (2 persons making a deal and one of them gets burned) and the songs "Welcome to the machine" and "Have a Cigar". The song "Shine on you crazy diamond" both parts (opening and closing of the album) are dedicated to Syd Barrett, and it's obvious by the lyrics ("Remember when you were young"; "Nobody knows where you are"; "Come on you painter" (his job before pink floyd)). About that song, Wish You Were Here what they say is that they play the song thinking about Syd, and they can't to it of other way, although this song is not like "Shine On", it's not specifically about Syd. Roger (the writer of the lyrics) says: "Can you free yourself enough to be able to experience the reality of life as it goes on before and with you, and as you go on as part of it. Or not? Because if you can't you stand on square on, until you die. It might sound like bullshit but that's what the song is about. All the songs are encouraging me, I imagine that I write them for me, it's to encourage myself not to accept a lead role in a cage, but to go on demanding to myself that I keep auditioning for a walk on part in the war, because that's where I want to be. I want to be in the trenchers, I don't want to be in the headquarters or sitting in a hotel somewhere, I want to be... Engaged... Probably, I might say, in a way that my father would approve of. David Gilmour says: "Shine on is the one specifically about Syd, wish you were here as a broader remit".

I hope I've helped with the interpretations. If you can, watch this documentary because it's really good and well done.