I wish, I wish, I wish
To every city
I wish, I wish, I wish
Every hood
I wish, I wish, I wish
And every block
Ghetto America!

Rollin' through the hood
Just stopped by to say what's up
And let you know
Your baby boy ain't doing so tough
And even though you passed
Going on four long years
Still waking up late at night crying tears
Just thinking about those days
You used to talk to me
Smilin' while I'm sippin' on this Hennessey
And remember we bragged on how rich we would be
To get up out this hood was like a fantasy

And now you hear my songs the radio is bangin'
Oh, I can't believe my ears
And what everybody's sayin'
And boy I'll tell you, folks don't know the half
I would give it all up, just to take one ride

(With you)
How I used to kick it on the front porch
(With you)
And how I used to lay back and smoke weed
(With you)
And all the little basement party joints we'd do
Now I'm just missing you
How I wish

I wish that I could hold you now
I wish that I could touch you now
I wish that I could talk to you
Be with you somehow
I know you're in a better place
Even though I can't see your face
I know you're smiling down on me
Saying everything's okay
And if I make it out this thug life
I'll see you again someday
I wish, I wish, I wish
I wish, I wish, I wish

Now ever since this money come
It's been nothing but stress
Sometimes I wish that I could just trade in my success
Y'all look at me and say boy you've been blessed
But y'all don't see the inside of my unhappiness
Man I swear this shit gets heavy like a ton
That's why you hear me shootin', this real shit off like a gun
Hmm, I wonder how my friends would treat me now
If I wasn't iced up with a Bentley and a house
That's why fake ass niggas get fake ass digits
And fake ass playas get a real playa hatin' 'em
Honey Love goes platinum and y'all ass come around
But y'all don't want to raise the roof
Until my shit is going down

And now you hear my songs the radio is bangin'
Oh, I can't believe my ears
And what everybody's sayin'
Boy I'll tell you, folks don't know the half
I would give it all up, just to take one ride

(With you)
How I used to hoop off in them tournaments
(With you)
And how I used to club hop on weekends
(With you)
Your family called the morning of the tragic end
Damn, my condolences

I wish that I could hold you now
I wish that I could touch you now
I wish that I could talk to you
Be with you somehow
I know you're in a better place
Even though I can't see your face
I know you're smiling down on me
Saying everything's okay
And if I make it out this thug life
I'll see you again someday
I wish, I wish, I wish
I wish, I wish, I wish

Voices in my head be telling me to come to church
Said the Lord is the only way for you to stop the hurt
Dreaming of windows black tinted like a hearse
When waking up to life sometimes seems worst
And all I ever wanted is to be a better man
And I try to keep it real with my homies now
For me to save the world I don't understand
How did I become the leader of a billion men?

And now you hear my songs the radio is bangin'
Oh, I can't believe my ears
And what everybody's sayin'
Boy I'll tell you, folks don't know the half
I would give it all up, just to take one ride

(With you)
How I used to street perform on Friday
(With you)
And how I used to go to church on Easter Sunday
(With you)
Standing here throwing them songs at me
Somebody pray for me

I wish that I could hold you now
I wish that I could touch you now
I wish that I could talk to you
Be with you somehow
I know you're in a better place
Even though I can't see your face
I know you're smiling down on me
Saying everything's okay

I wish that I could hold you now
I wish that I could touch you now
I wish that I could talk to you
Be with you somehow
I know you're in a better place
Even though I can't see your face
I know you're smiling down on me
Saying everything's okay

I wish that I could hold you now
I wish that I could touch you now
I wish that I could talk to you
Be with you somehow
I know you're in a better place
Even though I can't see your face
I know you're smiling down on me
Saying everything's okay


Lyrics submitted by oofus

I Wish Lyrics as written by Robert S. Kelly

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O DistroKid, Capitol CMG Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

I Wish song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

16 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is too sad... but so sweet. It reminds me of a friend of mine who was killed a year ago, and I used to listen to this song all the time those days. I still get chills when I hear this song. :(

    Sunnyon February 18, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i lost a friend a long time ago, not to death or nothing, guy moved and i know its not the same, but this song is comforting...

    Disappearon June 08, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i had a friend that died. just one nite he went to sleep and god decided he isnt gonna wake up the next morning. a firend of his sang the chours of this song at the funeral and everytime i hear i pick the church, the crying freinds and family (espicaly how hard i was crying) and is mostly reminds me of the casket in the front of the church. knowing that my firend is in there. i cant hear this song without breaking down with memories even after over 5 months.

    Doniaon July 24, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This was my brothers faverite song. My brother was killed April 14,2002. He was 22 and has a 3 year old son. He was shot. I think about him every day. I wish, just makes me cry now. Only because I feel the words and I understand how it feels to lose someone you love. You dont know what to say to someone when they lose a loved one, but when you lose someone you love you know then that no words can bring them back or make the pain go away. All you can do is let that person know that you are there for them. I'm just thankful that I still have people here that love me and that are in my corner. Knowing that you'll never see that person again will make you cry, but then you should know that the person is in a better place. That doesn't make you feel better but its better then sitting and thinking there gone forever because in the end you will be united......Much luvTendersweet R.I.P Duane Harrison jr. July 11, 1979-April 14,2002

    tendersweetluvon August 25, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song reminds me of my girlfriend that killed herself about 3 years ago. i never had any family so i cant feel the pain that tendersweetluv has suffered but this girl was the only string i had connecting to the world and the beauty of life and i can only quote this song "i wish i wish i wish"

    moderndayromeoon October 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is really touching. I personally have never lost anyone close to me, but I still get emotional when I hear it. Thinking of all those people who lost loved ones at war in Iraq. How can you say a man who writes a song like this is an evil pervert? You can't. We Love You R Kelly. God Bless America...

    sweetnspicy656on June 20, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a good song but why does R. Kelly say "come on and braid my hair"? I don't get that part.

    Christopher1974on March 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really like this song. It's heartfelt and about a friend that he lost. He starts wondering if anyone would really care about him if he wasnt famous and rich.

    angelpawson March 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i thought it was to his mum

    princessmelissaon April 16, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about his mother

    'Come on and braid my hair' are lyrics referring to the times when his mother obviously used to sit and braid his hair... now he has to get someone else to do it.

    Their is also a remix version of this song titled 'I wish remix - To the homies that we lost' and is pretty similar but is about a friend he lost. Also features guests on the song =) Its also worth a listen too.

    Adam_Is_Shaggyon August 10, 2006   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.