After the scary update that Lewis Capaldi could quit music if his Tourette syndrome ever worsens, I don’t think that “Wish You the Best” – a song that’s about saying goodbye and moving on – will be the song fans want to hear from him next. But nevertheless, apart from inspiring a few tears here and there, it was generally very well-received.
Fans first heard “Wish You the Best” on some of Capaldi’s tour dates, where the star played the music to a receptive audience. For those hearing it for the first time, the beauty of the song is not lost on them either.
“I miss knowing what you’re thinking / And hearing how your day has been / Do you think you could tell me everything, darling?” Capaldi begins the song, singing about what he misses the most from a previous relationship. In this track, Capaldi misses an ex, but, at the same time, shows that he has the presence of mind to wish them well. The song is laden with lines that are tear-jerking like “I wanna say, I wish that you never left / Oh, but instead, I only wish you the best,” “Without you, everything’s wrong / And you were everything I need all along,” and “Well, I can’t help but notice / You seem happier than ever now / And I guess that I should tell you I’m sorry / It seems I was the problem somehow.”
The music video for “Wish You the Best” perfectly complemented the somber emotions of the song by showing us of wonderful days a dog spends with his old owner. Time passes, and the old man fell sick and died, leaving his dog to basically stand guard at his grave. Another person sees the dog and takes him home, but there are days when the dog still feels the need to visit his late owner’s grave.
In a press release, Capaldi explained the reason he came to write “Wish You the Best,” saying: “‘Wish You The Best’ came from the idea of a person you used to be with, telling you all this amazing stuff about their life, without you in it. It’s a song about what we don’t say to those people. I was fascinated by the things left unsaid, whether that be in a relationship or a friendship.”
“Wish You the Best” is the fourth single to be released from Capaldi’s sophomore album, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent.