I think that I first heard this song properly on a tape of the album which bears its name, around year 11 or so, and I thought then that the song sounded so familiar that I must have heard it before, years ago, and, even more than that, that I had loved the song when I had known it in the past, so that this new falling-for was more a renewal than something entirely unprecedented. Now, looking back, I suspect that not only had I probably
actually heard it, or parts of it, many times before in the background on the radio, etc, but that there’s also something intrinsic to the song itself which lends it that kind of feel — a sort of nostalgia which probably owes a lot to its subject matter, which is expressed as much in the music itself as in the lyrics.
“Wish You Were Here” is an extremely simple song, and it’s that simplicity which allows it to be so effective and so affecting. In many ways, Pink Floyd are, in all their pomp and excess, the last band that I’d expect to write a really timeless song, but that’s just what “Wish You Were Here” is, blessed with an melody that feels as if it’s always been there and an arrangement and execution which allows the melody to breathe and resonate; I’ve loved it a lot more immediately in the past than I do right now, but the feeling remains as deep as ever.
