Wish You Were Here

I think the first part of this song refers to growing up, maturing, and knowing how to discern between things that often fool us when we're young. When we're young we sometimes misconstrue the most straightforward signs in our lives. Someone smiles at us and we think its a veil. A beautiful blue sky doesn't seemingly have an obvious connection to pain; but these are the connections we sometimes mistakingly make mentally. Growing out of this mindset is a sign of maturation or growth.

As for the second part of this song... it's like looking up to or at a person who is now in a different position. Trading "hot ashes for trees" and "hot air for a cool breeze" can be interpreted again as maturing, getting more in sync with the world as opposed to your own selfishness. Trading "cold comfort for change" is letting go of that which we are comfortable with/in (but nonetheless hurts us) in exchange for something new. This is the best part: "Did you exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage"

• to me this alludes to giving up your collective identity for "a lead role in a cage" or, attaining a high/different/unique/individualized/differentiated position (but possibly living in it in solitude).

Literally, "how I wish you were here" would mean the narrator wants that other person to be where the narrator now is. But given my interpretation of the first two verses, I'd like to (and am inclined to) think "how I wish you were here" is merely pointing out that the narrator would both him and the other person to be in the same place (probably not physically). Moreover, to be as accurate as I can get, that line can be taken as simply being a feeling of 'longing to be...' "two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground... same old fears..." --just makes it known the similarity and connection between these two souls... how they're invariably tied together, thus, making it understood that "wishing you were here" isn't too far-fetched since they're already connected in some ways.

I think the cover art, a man on fire shaking hands with a man that's not on fire perfectly symbolizes this song.

I get the feeling that I'm overanalyzing -but I wouldn't have been able to make this interpretation had I not happened to think about something thats going on in my life while listening to it.