About The Song
“Comfortably Numb” is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on their eleventh studio album, The Wall, on November 30, 1979, by Harvest Records in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. The single was issued on June 23, 1980, with “Hey You” as the B-side. The music was composed by guitarist David Gilmour, while the lyrics were written by bassist Roger Waters. Production was handled by Bob Ezrin, David Gilmour, James Guthrie, and Roger Waters. Recording occurred from April to November 1979 at multiple locations, including Britannia Row Studios in London, Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes, France, CBS 30th Street Studio in New York, and Producers Workshop in Los Angeles. Strings were recorded in New York by Bob Ezrin and Michael Kamen.
The album The Wall peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, holding the position for 15 weeks starting January 19, 1980, and remained on the chart for 759 weeks before moving to the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. The single “Comfortably Numb” did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 upon release, but achieved certifications including Gold in Denmark (45,000 units), Platinum in Italy (50,000 units since 2009), 3× Platinum in New Zealand (90,000 units), Gold in Spain (30,000 units), and Platinum in the UK (600,000 units since 2004). A 2004 cover by Scissor Sisters reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 4 on the Australian Club Chart, No. 9 on the Australian Dance Chart, No. 39 on Belgium’s Ultratop 50 Flanders, No. 10 on Ultratip Wallonia, No. 4 on Belgium Dance Flanders, No. 8 in Croatia, No. 97 in Germany, No. 30 in Ireland, No. 2 on Ireland Dance, No. 2 on Netherlands Dutch Top 40 Tipparade, No. 84 on Single Top 100, No. 9 in Scotland, No. 27 in Sweden, No. 1 on UK Dance, and No. 175 on the UK Singles year-end chart.
The song originated from a wordless demo by David Gilmour during sessions for his 1978 self-titled solo album, though it was not used there. Gilmour composed verses in E minor, later changed to B minor by Waters, who added bars for the line “I have become comfortably numb.” Waters drew lyrical inspiration from a 1977 incident during the In the Flesh Tour in Philadelphia, where he was injected with tranquilizers for stomach cramps misdiagnosed as food poisoning, later revealed as hepatitis, causing his limbs to feel numb during the performance. The working title was “The Doctor,” and an earlier version had Gilmour’s original title “Come On Big Bum.”
During recording, Gilmour and Waters argued over the arrangement, with Waters favoring an orchestral version and Gilmour preferring a stripped-down rock mix. They compromised by combining elements, using Waters’ orchestration for the main portion and Gilmour’s for the final guitar solo. Gilmour composed the solos by editing together parts from several takes, using a Fender Stratocaster with a maple neck, Big Muff distortion, delay effects, a Hiwatt amp, and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet. For the chorus, Gilmour and session guitarist Lee Ritenour used acoustic guitars in a Nashville tuning variant, replacing the low E string with a high E two octaves higher, a technique also applied to arpeggios in “Hey You.”
Additional trivia includes the song being the last constructive collaboration between Waters and Gilmour before Waters left the band in 1985. In live performances during The Wall Tour (1980-1981), Waters portrayed a doctor at the wall’s base, while Gilmour performed from the top on a hydraulic lift. A 1988 live video from the A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour reached No. 11 on MTV’s Top 20 Video Countdown. The song was performed at the 1990 Berlin Wall concert with Van Morrison, used in the 2006 film The Departed. A 1994 Earls Court performance on The Division Bell Tour featured a 10-minute version, edited to about 8:40 for the Pulse album. Pink Floyd reunited with Waters for a performance at Live 8 on July 2, 2005, in Hyde Park, London.
Video
Lyric
[Verse 1]
Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, now
I hear you’re feeling down
Well, I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again
Relax
I’ll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?[Chorus]
There is no pain, you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move, but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child, I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I’ve got that feeling once again
I can’t explain, you would not understand
This is not how I am
I have become comfortably numb[Verse 2]
Okay
Just a little pinprick
There’ll be no more, ah
But you may feel a little sick
Can you stand up?
I do believe it’s working, good
That’ll keep you going through the show
Come on, it’s time to go[Chorus]
There is no pain, you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move, but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look, but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown, the dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb