Wish You Were Here | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Em7 | G5 G | Em7 | G5 G | Em7 |
| A7sus4 | Em7 | A7sus4 | G5 | G5 G |
| Em7 | G5 G | Em7 | G5 G | Em7 |
| A7sus4 | Em7 | A7sus4 | G5 |
Verse 1
| C/G | D/F# |
So, so you think you can tell,
| Am | G |
heaven from hell, blue skies from pain.
| D/F# | C |
Can you tell a green field, from a cold steel rail,
| Am | G |
a smile from a veil, do you think you can tell.
Verse 2
| C/G | D/F# |
Did they get you to trade, your heroes for ghosts?
| Am | G |
Hot ashes for trees, hot air for a cool breeze.
| D/F# | C |
Cold comfort for change, did you exchange,
| Am | G |
a walk-on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage.
Instrumental
| Em7 | G5 G | Em7 | G5 G | Em7 |
| A7sus4 | Em7 | A7sus4 | G5 | G5 G |
Chorus
| C/G | D/F# |
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
| Am | G |
We’re just two lost souls, swimming in a fishbowl, year after year.
| D/F# | C |
Running over the same old ground, what have we found,
| Am | G |
the same old fears, wish you were here.
Outro
||: Em7 | G5 G | Em7 | G5 G | Em7 |
| A7sus4 | Em7 | A7sus4 | G5 | G5 G :||
Wish You Were Here Guitar Lesson | Course Preview
It’s hard to imagine a more epic acoustic guitar song than Wish You Were Here by British psychedelic rockers Pink Floyd.
Even the hammer-on licks are classics, repeated many times since.
Copied by hundreds of other famous songs in progression, chord shapes, and especially guitar style, it is compulsory to learn to play Wish You Were Here note for note.
In the video above I play the complete song with a singer from beginning to end. Following this, you get a preview of what the course is like.
Wish You Were Here strumming pattern
Let’s look at how to strum the verse/chorus of Wish You Were Here. The chords are simple and the strumming is very repetitive. To make it sound nice, focus on how you change the dynamics of your strumming hand.
Below are the verse/chorus rhythms as well as the rhythm of the vocal melody for verse 2. Notice how the syncopated vocal needs the repetitive guitar.
Later on (steps 7 and 8), you’ll actually play that vocal melody, all over the neck, hunting down what interval is used in relation to each chord.
Wish You Were Here’s 8 guitar lessons in the course
In the first series of lessons from the advanced acoustic course, we learn to play Wish You Were Here step by step.
As this is not too difficult we also work on our minor and major pentatonic scales and play the intro licks and the vocal melody in all shapes.
In total, there are 8 step-by-step lessons for Wish You Were Here available. Here are links to each lesson in the course (members only):
- Step 1 – Intro strumming
- Step 2 – Intro licks
- Step 3 – The complete song, with TAB
- Step 4 – Minor and major Pentatonic check-up
- Step 5 – Intro licks in all shapes
- Step 6 – Vocal melodies open position
- Step 7 – Chorus melody in all positions
- Step 8 – Verse melody in all positions
Become a member today and get unlimited access to all my guitar courses, the SEPR practice route, and the eBook Spytunes Method – You can learn guitar!
Wish You Were Here chords | Related pages
Advanced Acoustic
The advanced acoustic tunes use big chord extensions and sometimes, unique and complex chords that incorporate open strings.
Study these in-depth and you will gain a complete understanding of the guitar fretboard, including how to build any scale, arpeggio, or chord.
Five similar tunes
- Angie chords
- The Drugs Don’t Work chords
- Redemption Song chords
- Tears In Heaven chords
- Wonderful Tonight chords
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd is an English rock band that sold an estimated seventy-five million albums in the United States alone.
With their laid-back blues-influenced psychedelic rock, they had hits like Another Brick In The Wall, Comfortably Numb, Money, and Wish You Were Here.
Pink Floyd on the web
David Gilmour
David Gilmour is an English musician, best known as the lead guitarist, primary singer, and one of the main songwriters in the band Pink Floyd.
Known for his melodic ability and fantastic tone, David Gilmour has always been considered one of the truly great British guitar players.
David Gilmour on the web
Ballads
The perfect first dance or an emotional piece for your next audition, this collection of ballads is great for working on your expression.
Learn tunes from Burt Bacharach, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Eva Cassidy, Ben Harper, Etta James, Chet Baker, Elvis, Norah Jones, and many more.
Pop & Rock
Whenever a tune doesn’t fit into a specific genre, it tends to end up here, in the Pop & Rock section.
Learn tunes from Tom Petty, Eagles, Toto, Oasis, Elvis, Clapton, John Mayer, Kings Of Leon, R.E.M., Radiohead, Bruno Mars, and more.
