Pop Song 330 of 500 'Comfortably Numb' Pink Floyd 1979

Pop Song 330 of 500 'Comfortably Numb' Pink Floyd 1979

The Wall is a concept album about an embittered and alienated rock star named Pink. In "Comfortably Numb", Pink is medicated by a doctor so he can perform for a show. The song was inspired by Waters' injection with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the In the Flesh Tour, while in Philadelphia

The song begins with Roger Water’s singing:
Hello? (Hello, hello, hello)
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone home?
Come on (Come on, come on), now
I hear you’re feeling down
Well, I can ease your pain
And get you on your feet again

The first verse reflects the doctor coming to Pink in his drug-induced state. The doctor speaks to Pink asking for any response whatsoever. The parentheticals emphasize Pink’s drug state as he is not hearing the doctor properly as though everything is moving in slow-motion and vibrating.

Finally, Pink is able to respond to the doctor, which David Gilmour sings:

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

Pink reflects on his state. The doctor believes that he is in pain, but Pink tells him it’s exactly the opposite. There is no pain. He completely exists in a state of mind-numbing peace from the drugs. They make the doctor feel as distant as a ship. When the doctor asks how he feels, Pink compares his peaceful state to his childhood when he had a fever. He says My hands felt just like two balloons / Now I’ve got that feeling once again entailing that he is floating in his state of drug-filled peace. He is … “Comfortably Numb.”

Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone home?
Come on now
I hear you're feeling down
Well, I can ease your pain
And get you on your feet again
Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?
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
I have become comfortably numb
Okay
Just a little pinprick
There'll be no more
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
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