As part of a purported huge publicity campaign by Sony/Columbia Records to promote Roger Waters resent album Amused To Death, it was announced in January 1993 that the song "Three Wishes," was to be released as the second CD single from the album. It would be accompanied also by a video release of the same title.
A release date was set for February 16 the following month. February came and went with no release. Then in March word came that "Three Wishes" had been released as a CD single in Europe. But even as record store managers in the US were ordering the soon to be released US CD single, the release was canceled. "Three Wishes" was to be a European only release. Later, we heard that the professionally done commercial video release of "Three Wishes" had also canceled and scrapped. It was released as a promo only video months after the CD single, and only aired on MTV once or twice. Columbia's publicity campaign to promote Amused to Death turned out to be nothing but a fraudulent and deceptive sham.
REG obtained a copy of this ÔPromo Only' video single and we review it here for our members.
As the song begins, we see scenes of telephone poles, and a crossroads in a small Southern California desert town. An old red Buick convertible* circa early 1950's drives toward us over a hill on the horizon. As the car gets nearer we see a beautiful blond girl driving the car.
In the next scene we look into the cracked window of an old roadside bar and gas station. The Scene then cuts back to the girl riding in the car. Again from outside the bar and through the window, we see Roger sitting in a chair at a table. As we watch, he gets out of the chair and walks to the bar. A dog sitting next to Roger turns to look at the camera. Roger reaches behind some bottles, at the bar and grabs a bottle (brushing up against what looks like a fat bottle). As Roger turns back to his table with the bottle, the lamp (or fat bottle) starts spewing smoke. Roger sits writing on a pad of paper at the table and begins singing. As the vocals begin a Genie materializes and dances around the room to the music also singing his lines.
"Reached for the bottle,
and rubbed against the lamp,
Genie came out smiling
like some Eastern tramp.
He said hey boy what's happening,
what is going on,
You can have three wishes
if you don't take too long.
I said, well I Wish they all were happy in the Lebanon,
Wish somebody'd help me write this song,
I Wish when I was young my old man had not been gone.
Genie said consider it done"
As the song continues we see the girl in the car again as the car stops outside the bar at the gasoline pumps. The girl gets out, and Roger goes to the window to look out at her as she fills the car with gas. The song continues as Roger stares longingly out the window.
"There's something in the airAnd Roger sings
and you don't know what it is,
You see someone through a window
who you've just learned to miss.
And the road leads on to glory,
but you've used up your last wish,
Your Last Wish.
And you want her to come home..."
"...Bring her Home"But the
"Genie said I'm sorry,
that's the way it goes,
(Where the hell's the lamp sucker,)
it's time for me to go
- Bye."
With this the genie goes back behind the bar, grabs the Lamp and disappears. The instrumental begins. Roger, still at the window watching the girl begins fantasizing about being with her and kissing her, as the song continues, and the chorus repeats.
"There's something in the air(The girl looks over at Roger)
and you don't know what it is..."
"...You see someone through a window(And she puts the gas pump nozzle back on the pump)
who you've just learned to miss..."
"...And the road leads on to glory..."(and then she gets back into her car and drives away)
"...but you've used up your last wish,And Roger sings "Ho------me"
Your Last Wish.
And you want her to come home..."
As the instrumental ending of the song concludes, Roger turns back to the table, and his dog and sits back down to his pad of paper and his bottle, and watches the car drive off over the horizon.
Not only is this video well done, but it is a radical departure from the collage of images and animation that was the style of Roger's first video "What God Wants (Pt.I)". This video looks as if Roger played a large role in its writing and direction, as was not the case with the other. This video actually tells the story in the song.
In this reviewers humble though biased opinion, this video gets a four star rating, out of five. ( i.e.. The genie should have vanished in smoke when he left instead of ducking behind the bar, and the genie, overacting, over emphasizes his words too much as he lipsinkes his lines, and his dancing around doesn't lend itself to any authenticity.)
The bottom line is that if you like Roger, You'll love this video. I highly recommend it. However it unfortunately is not available commercially so you won't find it in stores. Thank Columbia Records for that. You can however obtain copies from many collectors and possibly also from Hip Cat Records in Wheeling, Illinois. (auto made by General Motors Co.)