Wish Man

Album: Chapter of the Forest (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Hall wrote this song about a real encounter he had while walking by himself in New Orleans, Louisiana, during a day-long break from a tour. His shirt had the word "wish" in big letters across his chest. A man called out to him, "Hey, Wish Man, what's your wish?" Hall looked over to see a homeless man on a bench. The man asked him again what his wish would be. Hall couldn't think of an answer, so he turned the question back on the homeless man. The homeless man responded that his wish would be that he'd never run out of whiskey. He then told Hall to close his eyes and embrace the moment, because the moment is all any of us ever has.

    The experience left a deep impression on Hall. A year or two later he remembered the man and the encounter, and the song "Wish Man" "popped out" of him.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Lecrae

LecraeSongwriter Interviews

The Christian rapper talks about where his trip to Haiti and his history of addiction fit into his songs.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.