Songfacts®:

• This piano ballad quotes from various Biblical scriptures including ones from St Paul's letter to the Ephesians: "Be strong in the Lord and power of His might" and the Gospel of Luke: "Do good to those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you." Carey also mentions Bible verses from the books of Psalms, Proverbs, John and Philippians.
• This was co-produced by James Poyser. The songwriter and producer won the 2003 Best R&B Song Grammy for co-writing "Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop)" by Erykah Badu with Common. He also was nominated for Best R&B Song in 2005 for Mariah Carey's "Mine Again."
• Carey: "'I Wish You Well' is in the tradition of songs like, I would say, 'Outside,' 'I Am Free,' these are album cuts from different albums that unless people are really fans, they won't know, but mainly I would say 'Vanishing' from my first album because it's just piano and vocal and background vocals. Basically it's about coming to a place within yourself where you, no matter what somebody does to you, you can forgive them, and even if you're a little bit bitter about it, you say your peace and you let it go."
• In her 2020 memoir, The Meaning Of Mariah Carey, the singer recalled her painful childhood, which was marred by domestic violence and other dangers. Troubles with her family worsened when she became famous and culminated when her mom called the police on her during an argument. With the help of her therapist she decided she needed to cut her problematic family members out of her life for her own well-being.
• This is the closing track from E=MC2, Carey's 11th studio album. Aside from debuting at #1 on the albums chart, it also topped the US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally.