Songfacts®:

• As the title implies, this song is a list of wishes. Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder wrote it by improvising the lyrics during a jam session with the band's guitarist, Mike McCready. There are 13 wishes in total, many about becoming a better person and more dependable friend ("I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on") and others more abstract ("I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun").
  
  Vedder was in a good place when he come up with the song, so there's also some gratitude ("I wish I was as fortunate as fortunate as me").
• According to Vedder, the song was originally about eight minutes long with a much longer list. He pared down the wish list to the best of the bunch and trimmed the song to 3:26.
• The line "I wish I was the full moon shining off your Camaro's hood" is a reference to the ride belonging to Vedder's then-wife, Beth Liebling. Liebling and Vedder divorced in 2000 after a 16-year relationship that included a six-year marriage. Vedder talked about it in Los Angeles Times, saying "Relationships can be tough. There are times I end up putting a lot of time into this music thing. I don't sleep at night."
  
  Beth Liebling is also a musician, co-founder of the band Hovercraft, which played a lot of shows with Pearl Jam.
• "Wishlist" was the second single from Pearl Jam's fifth album, Yield, following "Given To Fly." By this time, they were the last band standing among the Big 4 Seattle acts Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Nivana (Soundgarden and AiC later re-formed). The song and album were well received and helped Pearl Jam enter into a new phase post grunge. They stayed together in part by making sure they took plenty of time off and encouraging side projects. Guitarist Stone Gossard, for instance, released an album in 1997 with his band Brad.
• Pearl Jam played this song live months before it was released on Yield in February 1998. The first time they played it was on November 12, 1997 at a secret show in Santa Cruz, California, where they were billed as The Honking Seals. They played it again two nights later when they started a four-night run opening for The Rolling Stones.
• Pearl Jam performed with drummer Matt Cameron for the first time when they played "Wishlist" on the Late Show With David Letterman, May 1, 1998. Cameron had played on some demos for Pearl Jam back in 1990 when he was a member of Soundgarden. After Pearl Jam finished the first leg of their tour for Yield, drummer Jack Irons left the band, later revealing that mental health issues made it impossible for him to continue. Cameron was available and agreed to fill in on their next tour. It went so well, he became a permanent member.
• In 2004, Pearl Jam fans started raising money for various causes under the banner of The Wishlist Foundation. The first effort was a fundraiser for the St. Louis food bank.