“Wishing Well” by Free

The 1960s, if you will, was an era in Anglo-American music when many a song about drug abuse came out, probably even more frequently than they do now. So that would perhaps be why some people have interpreted “Wishing Well” as so, even though Paul Rodgers more or less debunked that theory.

And indeed, we will further go on to say that there doesn’t appear to be any references to drugs in the lyrics. Rather the titular “wishing well” is of course a symbolic construct, representing the “dream” of the addressee, who is in fact the subject of the song. In other words, it is his ideological vision of “love and a peaceful world”, which also sounds very 1960s, that the title actually points to.

But more to the point is this notion that the addressee is so obsessed with achieving this goal, that he or she lives in a constant state of anxiety or discontent. That’s why throughout the first part of the song, the vocalist is basically encouraging this individual to just chill out, you know, stop jumping around for a second.

The Addressee

The addressee of the lyrics is actually a composite of different people that Rodgers was associated with at the time. And our conclusion would be that the type of person he is actually addressing would be one of those who was zealous about protesting. Those types of individuals were also, as you likely already know, quite active around the time this song was released.

And the way this story reads is as if the vocalist has a close friend who is caught up in such matters, i.e. fighting for “love and a peaceful world” – or a hippie, as some people may refer to such folk. But what he is telling his friend is something like don’t get so caught up in such pursuits – ‘dreams’ in a manner of speaking – that you end up putting your personal wellbeing at risk. Or as TLC would say some years down the line, “don’t go chasing waterfalls“.

In the End

Conclusively, it can be said this song is based on the premise that it is better for one’s health to stay grounded in the mundaneness of reality as opposed to being consumed by an ideology, even if said “dream” is a pious one. And even now in the 2020s, this message may be applicable to so many people.

Free and “Wishing Well”

Free was a short-lived band from London that was extant from the late 1960s into the early 1970s. They were known to be hard-working (i.e. engaged in “non-stop touring”) and accordingly were able to put out six studio albums within a five-year timeframe, from 1969 to 1973. And this track is actually from the last of those efforts, Heartbreaker, which was put out by Island Records.

The official date of this track’s issuance was during January of 1973. And at that time the membership of Free consisted of lead vocalist Paul Rodgers alongside the following musicians:

• John Bundrick (aka Rabbit)
• Simon Kirke
• Paul Kossoff (1950-1976)
• Tetsu Yamauchi

The two Pauls, Rodgers and Kossoff, were also amongst the founders of the band.

The aforementioned quintet are individually acknowledged as the writers of “Wishing Well”. And they collectively co-produced it in conjunction with Andy Johns (1950-2013).

Free may be gone but they’re not forgotten as, according to Rolling Stone, they hold an important place in the history of British hard rock. And two of its members, Paul Rodgers and Paul Kossoff, have been recognized by the same organization as being amongst the greatest in the game in their respective areas of musical specialization.

“Wishing Well” is amongst a handful of songs Free sang that managed to break the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. And a 1985 remix of the tune also appeared on that list.