Talk:Comfortably Numb/Archive 1

Archive 1

Infobox

An infobox was requested for the Scissor Sisters' 2003 version of "Comfortably Numb" at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Missing_encyclopedic_articles/List_of_notable_songs/3.

Evidence regarding Gilmour's lyrics, please? Andy Mabbett 09:04, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I forget where I heard about the entire thing I wrote. The downfalls of pot are exposed.

There's a pie in it for whoever finds where the stuff I put down is from... The one part I know I remember is the part about them settling on using Gilmour's intro riff, and another piece of trivia on the page I found it on was about the thing Mason did after somebody gave Meddle a bad review that I am about to put on the triva page... Quite an amusing story, I laughed my ass off when I heard it! - Fizscy46 17:04, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I've noticed you've removed quite a large amount of the details that I put in this article that were factual and interesting bits on the song (With the exception of the unproven part of the different lyrics) - Fizscy46 03:23, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Surely more than this can be found to be said? Is someone repeatedly cropping this? - Concerned User.

---

Shamelessly Irreverant?

Thats the most NPOV statement I've seen in ages. Just because the cover doesn't sound like the original <npov>dirge</npov> doesn't mean its irreverant. Its not like the track was even hugely popular and regarded the first time around - if it was, it might be more acceptable to say its irreverant <npov>like Orgy's cover of Blue Monday was</npov>. And the Scissor Sisters received full permission to cover it. And their version is much better live, IMHO. Kiand 21:36, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Category: Scissor Sister songs

I think this category is incorrect. This article is about the orignal Pink Floyd song, not about the cover (except for the reference). A separate page for the cover song should be created, and that article can be placed under the Scissor Sister Song category. Ninja neko 07:25, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree, I added some info on that cover, but I did not add that cat. Feel free to remove. --Doktor Who 07:51, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Content concerns in History section

I've removed the following text, twice:

"THE PRECEDING CLAIM IS NOT TRUE] I'll leave it up to the Wikipedia staff to edit this comment. "Mother" is another stand-alone track on "The Wall." Immediately before "Mother" is the sound of a telephone busy signal, followed by a quick inhale and exhale, like someone blowing out a candle. Then there's a brief pause before the first guitar note of "Mother." "Mother" is the last song on side 1 of the vinyl version, so it does not fade into another track. Also, the line "Is there anybody out there" is not really part of "Bring The Boys Back Home." It's a brief interlude between BTBBH and CN, that echoes the song "Is There Anybody Out There.""

I can't comment on how correct either the current article or this correction is, but this isn't really an appropriate way to raise the concern. There are no "Wikipedia staff" to edit the article; if you really think the text is wrong, just fix it. Eron 03:22, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Cover Versions

I think the statement regarding Van Morrison covering the song on The Departed soundtrack is incorrect. I think the version on the soundtrack is actually taken from the album The Wall: Live in Berlin (1990). This is a duet with Van Morrison and Roger Waters.

Before I changed the entry, I was wondering if anyone agreed.

~Faded

By all means! No version that appears on an album by Roger Waters can be considered a cover. --63.25.27.249 18:36, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Lyrics

I've just removed an addition of the complete lyrics. That's a copyright violation. See Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry for more information.

I think that some judicious quotes from the lyrics to explain the themes of the song would be an excellent addition to the article, and would fall under fair use. We just can't quote the complete lyrics with no commentary. Eron 12:17, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

One could do a fair use quote, but I don't think it's really necessary. The song's meaning in the plot of the story has been explained pretty well. --63.25.27.249 19:04, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Three solos?

I'd like to know who counted three solos. I just sat and listened to the song very carefully, with a calculator by my side, and it came out to two. So I changed it. --63.25.27.249 19:07, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Morrison Movies.jpg

The image Image:Morrison Movies.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

• That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
• That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --22:37, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Plot

The first plot is dubious at best. Citation is obviously needed. Wikifan4 (talk) 16:42, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Roger said something like that in an interview. I'll try to remember when and where he did say that. But AFAIK the lyrics are made from two experiences, one as a child (like described in the lyrics) and one during - I think - the "In the Flesh" tour in 1977, when he did a concert on "drugs". --Avant-garde a clue-hexaChord² 18:00, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Demo

Does somebody know the lyrics of the demo tape version of Comfortably Numb? ~~WhiteTimberwolf 21:34, 26 July 2005 (UTC)

They can be found here: http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/features/cnumb/floyd_demo_lyrics.php. A demo mp3 of the song can be found here, http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/features/cnumb/. --ShadowJester07 21:49, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

it's about HEROIN. "just a little pin prick..." it's about heroin. Twinkletos1211 22:21, 28 September 2007 (UTC) its about a detist visit —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.127.132.71 (talk) 07:55, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

It is absolutely not about heroin.Mk5384 (talk) 16:07, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

What Drug Is He Singing About?

My understanding of the story behind the song is this: While on tour, a member of Pink Floyd became sick with flu right before a concert. Instead of calling a 'real' doctor who might dispense sensible medical advice (like bed rest, drinking lots of fluids, cancelling the concert, etc.), the concert promoter called a doctor feelgood, who gave the musician an injection, which would have likely contained vitamins and/or a stimulant and/or a painkiller. That's the story I heard, and I'm sticking to it! - Two Halves

• • Most hallucinogens can lead to these types of sensations, so your experience in itself wouldn't answer the question. However, given the popularity of LSD during Pink Floyd's heyday, I would say it's reasonable to suggest the song is about LSD, if it's about any drug specifically. QuinnHK 04:54, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

The member of Pink Floyd who had the injection painkiller thing was Roger. He recalls the incident in the commentary to the Wall dvd when the other guy with him (i think it was gerald scarfe) asked him if what was being shown during the Comfortably Numb sequence ever happened to Waters. 172.162.250.57 18:41, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

• What supposedly happened was that right before a show during the In the Flesh tour, Waters came down with a bout of hepatitis. He insisted that they continue with show, and was given medication to sustain him during the show. He recalled feeling very numb and hazy, finding it hard to simply strum on his bass guitar.Krobertj (talk) 00:19, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

This song is absolutely not about drugs. There is a huge misconception that this song is about heroin. It is not. It is about stage fright. Yes, the song mentions a drug injection. It is not the focus of it. It is about being anxious to the point of being catatonic, but having to take the stage anyway. Hence, the injection of a tranquilizer, and the state of being "comfortably numb". "Comfortably numb" as in finally not giving a fuck; not as in being "comfortably high".Mk5384 (talk) 16:14, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

I personally believe the song is about faltering under the multiple pressures of life, finally succumbing to their collective weight and pulling into ones own mind. What follows is entirely hallucinogenic. The teacher, the mother, the wife all pushed Pink to the brink. When he finally snapped, he saw the reality of the world — everyone just follows the leader. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ ^τ _¢ 16:45, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

What I wrote above is not a personal interpretation of the song. It is what Roger Waters has said about it. You are largely correct in what you have written. I just meant to clarify that the song is not at all about drugs.Mk5384 (talk) 17:05, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

I try to keep track of what Roger Waters has to say in interviews and the like, and I KNOW I listened to his Wall-movie commentary with Gerald Scarfe, once, but somehow I missed that one. If you WERE, in fact, saying this was your personal interpretation, I'd have to compliment you for your insight, because it sounds right to me, without having actually seen/heard/noticed this explanation from Waters.

Sadly, we live in a world where, not only do most people believe this particular song IS about drugs, and a celebration of using them, no less ... they also believe that they're ENTITLED to "decide" whatever the song means "to them". I'd like to find the first rock star who said "My songs are about whatever they mean to you, maaan", and just strangle him until dead. (It was probably that fucking McCartney, trying to spread the blame for his doggerel!)

Really, if anyone doubts the stage-fright/loss-of-artistic-fulfillment interpretation, they only need to look at the album's sequence: There's "Bring The Boys Back Home" (from wars or from long stadium tours), "Comfortably Numb", and then "The Show Must Go On" (which could accurately have been titled "Must the Show Go On?") I think that in itself shows that you're right, and I believe you when you say Roger has said so. One of the things I just love about that man, he WILL tell you EXACTLY what his songs are about!

--Ben Culture (talk) 03:31, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Waters was given morphine, before a concert in Philadelphia, as pain treatment for stomach cramps related to hepatitis (the curable one). GabeMc ^{(talk|contribs)} 03:39, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Lyrics by Gilmour?

Is there any sources regarding words written for Gilmour's solo work? Floyd(Norway) 13:14, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

I think the solo was written for Gilmour's solo album, but he decided to include it in this song instead. The words were written by Roger Waters, though I remember having read a quote by Gilmour saying that Comfortably Numb was completely his own creation. Bluerain 15:19, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

No, Gilmour claimed (correctly) that he wrote 'every note of the *music*' (see Miles' Pink Floyd visual documentary book), but the lyrics are by Waters. All Floyd's lyrics from Dark Side to Final Cut were written by Waters, without exception. I will correct the article accordingly. Martyn Smith 22:34, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

In a interview with Bob Ezrin, he said that Gilmour showed him a demo with a melody which he found interesting. When Waters refused to work on the song, Ezrin challenged him to fix it. Then 2 days later Waters showed up with a complete song with complete lyrics and some changes to the music. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.211.208.170 (talk) 02:32, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

I have the earlier Gilmour s version: he didnt wrote all the music, actually the parts that are sung by Waters have additional notes, that were added together with the words by Waters himself. --Doktor Who 06:03, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

Martyn, I have no doubt the Miles book says that very thing, but in an interview with some guitar magazine or other, Gilmour said that Roger wrote the chord sequence for the "I have become comfortably numb" part. (Asus4, Asus2, A, G/B, Cadd9, G, D, if you're interested). --63.25.27.249 18:34, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

(The above comment was made by me, before I became a registered user.)--Ben Culture (talk) 05:16, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

From Gilmour's demo (the one that appears in the Total Eclipse box set), someone changed the chord progression for the verse before the final version and the intermediary version that appears on the Under Construction bootleg. Whether it was Waters or Gilmour (or Bob Ezrin, for that matter) who changed them I know not. Also, I know that Waters asked Gilmour to lengthen the chorus to add the lyric "I have become comfortably numb," but I have seen nothing that says who wrote that chord sequence. Carolus 22:52, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

What I think I remember reading about the key change is Gilmour saying "We changed the opening of the song's key from E to B", but that "we" thing could easily refer to something like, Roger says, "We should transpose that to B minor" and Gilmour says "Okay." Or vice versa, I suppose, but one assumes, if he demoed it in E minor, he meant it to be in E minor. Like, y'know, every single song on A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell (slight exaggeration).

I think trying to deny musical credit to Waters is a fool's errand. We simply don't know, because we weren't there. For a reverse example, "Money" and "Hey You" are two songs credited solely to Waters, and just from what I know about those songs as a musician, I feel it's unfair Gilmour isn't credited for them. I would hate to be unfair in the other direction and say Gilmour wrote every note of "Comfortably Numb", when various interviews leave that open to debate.

To answer the original question of this section (Is there any sources regarding words written for Gilmour's solo work?) -- Yeah. Bad ones, but they exist. In Karl Dallas's over-opinionated and poorly-researched Bricks in the Wall, in trying to convince us that A Momentary Lapse of Reason is a more meaningful and relevant album than Radio K.A.O.S., "I wonder if Roger remembers it was Dave who wrote so powerfully about being 'Comfortably Numb', in The Wall." Well, of course Roger remembers nothing of the kind, because it didn't happen. They're HIS lyrics, and NO ONE of consequence contests this! Dallas's book is probably the second-worst Pink Floyd book EVER, after Cliff Jones's book that Gilmour (not the legendarily-litigious Waters, but David J. Gilmour) succesfully sued to stop being printed, because it was so misinformative.

--Ben Culture (talk) 05:16, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Why is Comfortably Numb a stand alone song?

As written, the history seems to imply it was because it was CN was the beginning of Side 4. Furthermore, it goes on to say that the CD's Dark Side and Wish You Were here have cross fades from side 1 to side. That's not true. I have one of the earliest pressings of WYWH and I've got the first U.S. pressing of Dark Side (the original version sold in the U.S. seemed to be a European version, while later versions (prior to 92) were had the capital imprint), and Side 1 and 2 on both are not connected in anyway. I don't have recent WYWH pressings, but I've got the most recent Dark Side, and there's no cross fade there either.

I'm not going to edit the history, but that section seems baseless at best and is almost certainly incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.65.233.53 (talk) 07:02, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

What's incorrect is any claim that "Comfortably Numb" is the first song on Side Four. It's actually the last song on Side Three. There is a reprise of "Is There Anybody Out There", a brief moment of silence, then the song begins. It fades out, Side Three is over, and then there's "The Show Must Go On" beginning Side Four.

Of course it's a stand-alone song.

--Ben Culture (talk) 06:40, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Contradiction?

In this article, it states "Waters and Gilmour disagreed about how to record the song as Gilmour preferred a more grungy style for the verses. In the end, Waters' preferred opening to the song and Gilmour's final solo were used on the album."

However, in The Wall article, it states "Waters re-wrote the song and added more lyrics for the chorus, but his "stripped-down and harder" recording was not to Gilmour's liking. The guitarist preferred Ezrin's "…grander Technicolor, orchestral version", although Ezrin preferred Waters' version. Following a full-scale argument in a restaurant in North Hollywood, the two compromised; the song's body eventually included the orchestral arrangement, with Gilmour's second and final guitar solo standing alone."

There's seems to be confusion as to who's advocating which version of the song. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.212.58.231 (talk) 23:22, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Everything I've read about Waters and Gilmour disagreeing on this song mostly had to do with the drumming and the timekeeping. Waters preferred a version with Nick Mason on drums that was slightly "looser", while Gilmour preferred a "tighter" version with an unnamed drummer (I would assume Jeff Porcaro, who played on "Mother").

--Ben Culture (talk) 06:44, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Instrumental version

It might be worth adding an instrumental version was released too, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXFvp1PpEM4 It appears to be the b-side of another (which?) single. Note that this version has a real ending instead of the fade out. It is a few seconds shorter because the "knocking" intro is omitted. 85.179.8.255 (talk) 22:22, 22 June 2014 (UTC) Arnd

What is this song about?

To me it could be either about benzodiazepines or perhaps it could be about someone who has a high fever and is hallucinating.. (Malaria perhaps?) Mfernflower (talk) 06:02, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Performance for Teenage Cancer Trust

I believe that David Gilmour's performance of Comfortably Numb for the Teenage Cancer Trust, on 24 April 2016, should be given mention in this article. It's not only a unique performance of the song, incorporating the solo from Purple Rain by Prince, but also noteworthy in that it was played like this as a tribute to Prince, who had passed away only a few days earlier. Nonetheless, there is debate over whether it should be included. Is it worthy of mention in the article on these grounds? 156.57.211.162 (talk) 03:05, 22 August 2016 (UTC)

Anyone know....

what's the thing Pink catches a "fleeting glimpse,out of the corner of my eye"?It's trivia all right,and won't go into the article,but I'm curious as a fan,what Pink Floyd is referring to in those words.... EaswarH (talk) 18:26, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

• Good question! The answer is that there is no answer, so far as we can find out. Waters shows that in the lyrics by going on to say "I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now". Hence, Pink does not remember what exactly it was that he saw. However, given how his life is described in the album's story, it may refer to a period of complete happiness and a safe feeling, two things he has been without during his life as a rock star. Because these concepts are so alien to him, this may be why he does not remember seeing/sensing them. I don't know, this is just my interpretation. Krobertj (talk) 12:54, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Seven years and change in the future calling with another interpretation: I've often wondered if Waters had William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Recollections of Early Childhood" in mind when he wrote this song. Lines in point:

There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light,

The glory and the freshness of a dream.

It is not now as it hath been of yore;—

Turn wheresoe'er I may,

By night or day,

The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

and

O joy! that in our embers

Is something that doth live,

That nature yet remembers

What was so fugitive!

Recall that in the film this is where you finally see what was going on with that recurring clip of the backlit figure running toward the camera on the rugby field: it's a young Pink, coming back from finding the rodents he was tending to had sickened and died, passing their illness on to him. I view that memory, surfaced at that point, as suggesting the moment that Pink lost his innocence, the "fleeting glimpse" that disappeared when he tried to look directly at it. Daniel Case (talk) 01:19, 17 December 2016 (UTC)

What key?

I see that there's some controversy about what key(s) this song is in. This article is about the key ambiguity in this song: https://www.guitarmusictheory.com/in-what-key-is-comfortably-numb-by-pink-floyd/ -- The Anome (talk) 00:35, 28 March 2018 (UTC)

Truly, it's not ambiguous at all. The verses are in B minor (not E minor, as the article presently states) with the chorus in the relative major of D. As the article states, the chorus does vary modally, from Ionian (traditional major) to Mixolydian (major with a dropped 7th). -- Trowbridge (talk) 20:53, 3 April 2018 (UTC)

MTV Top 20 Countdown

Where did the info about its peak position on the MTV Top 20 come from? --70.187.218.65 (talk) 08:06, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

WikiProject Ireland?

I'm wondering why this article is of interest to WikiProject Ireland. The only Ireland mentions I can see are of the track charting there. Maybe there was some other Ireland connection in an older version of the article, but I feel that the current version isn't connected. Thanks Declangi (talk) 06:07, 25 October 2019 (UTC)

@Declangi: I agree, and have removed it. The connection might be Bob Geldof, but that's a bit of a stretch. ——Serial ^# 08:20, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

(By the same reasoning, it should be under WikiProject CND, WikiProject Education and WikiProject Family...) ——Serial ^# 09:08, 30 June 2020 (UTC)

Sir Bob Geldof

Isn`t it weird that the chorus is sung by Gilmour...? The chorus are Pinks thaughts right? And Sir Bob Geldof is the actor of Pink in the film: The Wall? Then isn`t it a bit weird that Sir Bob Geldof isn`t the one singing in the chorus? Or am i missunderstanding? Kim Pløhn (Norway) hundremeterskogen@gmail.com

Sir Bob Geldof only played Pink in the film. Before the film there was the Concept Album with Gilmour singing the part of Pink. JP Godfrey 13:59, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, Sir Bob only played Pink in the film. The album was completed before the film was started. I'm not sure if Sir Bob does any singing in the film version of the song. I've got a vague feeling that the only singing he does in the film is in the song Stop. Sven945 00:12, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

No, he sings "In the Flesh?" and "In the Flesh" too. --200.118.236.184 00:46, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

In the Youtube video on David Gilmour's channel "David Gilmour - Comfortably Numb (In Concert)" published Feb 15, 2019 Comfortably Numb is performed with an opening singer who is reading the words from a sheet of paper. It is not Bob Geldof, but looks like Robert Wyatt from the picture on Wyatt's Wikipedia page (beard, weight, hair, glasses). The performer in the video is also sitting down and Wyatt is described on his page as paraplegic, following an accident. At the end of the performance, David Gilmour says, "Thanks Robert" and while Bob is short for Robert, and Geldof's legal name is Robert Geldof, it seems highly unlikely that Gilmour would be referring to Bob Geldof with the name Robert, when he has been known as "Bob" since at least the 1970s. It appears to be Wyatt who was performing in that concert and who should be named as the person who had not memorized the lyrics, and read them as he sang, not Geldof. Unless both did? Perhaps the performers were brought in at short notice and didn't have time to learn the words? But I suspect that it may have been related to Wyatt's accident, and Robert/Bob have got confused at some stage. Potski51 (talk) 22:34, 8 August 2021 (UTC)

I've found two videos on Youtube, both published on 16 February 2019: [1] and [2]. The first one is clearly Robert Wyatt, and the second one is as clearly Bob Geldof - they couldn't be more different and more recognisable. I can't tell if it's the same concert or not - although David and the drummer are wearing different shirts, the woman playing the cello seems dressed the same and is seated in the same spot on stage, also the credits at the end of the second video mention guest appearances by Robert Wyatt, Richard Wright and Bob Geldof. Also, at the end of the two performances, David says "Thanks, Robert" and "Thanks, Bob" - clearly to the two guests. Kiwipete (talk) 10:12, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Agreed. I also found the other video published on Gilmour's channel with Bob Geldof (or rather Youtube algorithm suggested it once I had watched the first). Pretty much the same performance except a different guest performer. Geldof is reading the words from notes. So the original text is not wrong as I originally thought might be the case. But perhaps could be clarified to mention that both Geldof and Wyatt read from notes. And this gives more credence to my theory that they had little time to prepare and memorize the lyrics. The video on Gilmour's channel with Geldof was also posted on Youtube unofficially several years earlier, this may be the original source on this page of the information that Geldof read the lyrics as the comments mention this fact a number of time. General consensus was just that Geldof was making the point that he had said publicly many years earlier that he hated Pink Floyd, despite appearing in The Wall, so wouldn't have known the lyrics in the same way as most fans. However, mention is also made by one comment that Richard Wright sang the lyrics at another of Gilmour's performances, and he also had the lyrics on paper, so it does appear that Geldof was not unusual in doing it. Potski51 (talk) 15:55, 10 August 2021 (UTC)