I Wish – Tom MacDonald

I wish I wasn’t fat, I wish I wasn’t gay
I wish I was’t black, I wish that I was brave
I wish, I wish, I wish with every candle on the cake
That I could quit doin’ these drugs, but I can’t and I’m afraid
I wish that I was smart, I wish that I was rich
I wish it wasn’t hard for me to grow up and forgive
I wish that I could help, I wish I wasn’t sick
I wish that I was Tom MacDonald, I’d be just like him.

The song begins by going through many types of people who wish they could change something about themselves. This intro instantly makes the song relatable. The last line is a child wishing he could be like the Artist, Tom MacDonald. This is a big moment for the song, as we enter the rap and learn more about Tom MacDonald and how even he has things he wishes he could change about himself.

I wish I wasn’t sober, I miss it when the party wasn’t over
Happiness was right around the corner
Every single night was like the best one of our lives, now we’re older
The good ol’ days are out of reach, I wish that they were closer
I wish I wasn’t anxious, and I wish I could fast forward
And I wish that I could rewind but they don’t make that controller
I wish the nights were longer, and I wish the days were shorter
And I wish that I could sleep enough to maintain my composure
I feel crazy, I wish that I was normal
I wish that I could **** but also be immortal
Take me to the oracle, I heard that time is borrowed
Can you give me back my yesterdays, I’ll give you tomorrows?
Forget all of my morals and just live like I cannot remember sorrow
Before all of the tattoos and the cornrows
I was different, I was happy
I was calmer, I was young and full of hormones
Now I’m wishin’ for a time machine
I’d step into that portal and be gone

The first verse allows us to enter his life, and all the ways he suffers. It is a very vulnerable moment for the Artist, as he opens up about how even he wishes he could be a kid again and not as broken.

I wish on shooting stars, or were they satellites?
Maybe they were too far, hey-oh-nah-nah
I must have blown apart a million dandelions
Now they don’t grow in my yard, hey-oh-nah-nah

The chorus has a cry-for-help vibe to it. He talks about wishing on shooting stars, but there must be a problem because it’s not working. Maybe they were to far away, or perhaps not stars at all. He has wished on so many dandelions that he has used them all up. The chorus really shows how hopeless things can feel, no matter how hard you try, there is sometimes just not enough wishes to wish on, or not a possibility of getting what it is you desire most; your childhood back.

I wish I didn’t care about the day that I’d be buried
Used to live like I was ready for it, always in a hurry
Now I’m worried, all my memories are blurry
I’m just barely turnin’ 30 and the voices in my head are tryna hurt me
The choices that I made make me feel dirty, I was 25 at 13
I was smokin’ with the seniors, drinkin’ beer and gettin’ flirty
Now the **** ain’t workin’ I need somethin’ even stronger
Give me childhood, my mother and my father and my sister
And a Christmas to make up for all the recent ones I’m missin’
While I’m tourin’ the country for a livin’
Give me a hug and a Nintendo and a toy box in the closet
Give me everything I wish I had, oh wait I think I got it
I’m a rapper like I always promised them I would accomplish
This is awesome man, I wish I had a friend to tell, I’d call ’em
And I wonder if I jumped from here if I’d survive the bottom
And would everyone believe me if I told ’em I had fallen?
I’ma jump

This verse hits really hard, as it discusses his fear of dying, how he grew up too fast and never got to enjoy the simple childlike pleasures, and then goes into how part of him doesn’t see the point of living.. even if he is terrified of what is on the other side. He has no friends, his life is just about his career. He feels like he has nothing, and he wishes more than anything, he could just have another chance at being a kid.

I wish we were kids again
Before everything was on Instagram, hey-oh
Things were so simple then
Me, my tree fort, all of my friends
Way back when, on Beaver Drive
When the floor was lava, I could fly, hey-oh
Wished I was big like them
Never thought I’d wanna be a kid again

The bridge adds more to the nostalgic feeling of the song. We all remember having a club house with our friends, and feeling invincible. We all also remember wanting nothing more than to grow up. Now that we have, can we just go back?

the stars are lines that were too vivid and were taken out for respectability.