Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb Meaning

Song Released: 1980

Comfortably Numb Lyrics

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,
Get you on your feet again.

Relax.
I need some information first.
Just the...

1. anonymous

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   Apr 26th 2008 !⃝

   My favorite Floyd song. I read the Wikipedia interpretation of the song as well.I like the diabetes interpretation offered here. Regardless, I still think it was about heroin.There seems to be so much symbolism in the song, it is really difficult to decipher. Life passed him by, just as when he was a child when he saw a fleeting speck from the corner of his eye, so he grew up and did heroin to recapture life and became numb to it all. That the doctor gave him a shot to ready him for the show just seems too concrete and obvious. In any case, whenever I listen to the song, and I find I will play loud, over and over again while I am driving, I have gotten lost on many occasions. It seems to move you in a way that no drugs are needed. The song does it naturally, that is it shifts you to the right brain hemisphere, where drugs take you. I beleive the song itself is the little pin prick or shot.
2. anonymous

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   Apr 22nd 2008 !⃝

   Though the song may be interpreted to be about drugs. The truth is that Syd never ment it to seem that way and he is actually telling of a time when he was a child and greatly sick as thought to be numb to himself and the world.
3. anonymous

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   Apr 13th 2008 !⃝

   This song has nothing to do with drugs, in fact besides the bassist Syd Barret, Pink Floyd used less drugs than most band in the sixties and seventies. The song is about becoming numb to ones surroundings.
4. anonymous

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   Apr 5th 2008 !⃝

   I believe the song refers to Syd Barrett's decent into madness. It describes some kind of doctor, perhaps a psychologist, trying to get through to him. The phrase, "YOUR LIPS MOVE BUT I CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYIN'" sounds to me as though Syd's lips are literally moving in a conversation with someone that lives in his own world. I'm assuming after some traumatic childhood experience he began to slip into a make believe world, further enhanced by drug use. Anyway, because Syd is too deep into insanity he cannot respond. The shrink gives him a quick fix drug like heroine or morphine so he can at least perform. Syd performs yet again, although he slips further and further into a "comfortably numb" world where he can turn his back to the unforgiving world. His innocent childhood, his last salvation, is more of a rock for him to lean on.
5. anonymous

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   Feb 13th 2008 !⃝

   This song is about one of the band member's disease. I mean, don't take this into drugs, which obviously, so of you know a lot about. So do yourselves a favor and stop watching the wizard of oz and listening to dark side of the moon.
6. anonymous

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   Jan 23rd 2008 !⃝

   Interesting!
   Reading through this thread.
   It is my all time favourite song.
   
   I have become comfortable numb after all these years with people saying it's about drugs.
   
   As above watch the movie:
   
   To me it is about accepting YOUR life as you think it should be. THEN waking up and realising that it not as you want it to be. The MEDICS (little pin prick) are the money makers sucking the life out of you. This can mean life in general.
   
   (going through the show) - well ..... That's life.
   
   Waters and Rogers argued over which version to release of this song.
   
   My understanding is that Rogers was suffering from an illness when it came to releasing The Wall. Hepatitis was mentioned.
   
   Whatever: the show must go on.
   
   And it still is ;-)
7. Therestofuarestupid

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   Jan 22nd 2008 !⃝

   You are all full of shit. I bet none of you have even done heroin. Watch the wall and then try to make that point.
8. Gaz

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   Jan 14th 2008 !⃝

   Pink Floyd have a way about them! Their songs can mean a number of different things but instead of looking for there meaning look for your own. The Dark Side of Pink Floyd Means different things to different people If anyones ever experimented with Acid then they'll already understand what I mean. For example the laughing at the start of "Speak To Me" Your hands feeling like 2 balloons, the lunatic is in my head!! It all sums up the drug when put together. I realise that may not be there intention but that's what I think about when I hear them.
9. anonymous

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   Jan 5th 2008 !⃝

   The song is about how roger waters felt like as a child when he was sick with a fever and then when he was a adult he would get those same feelings again sometimes entering a state of delusion. He thought of the song cause when they did a concert in Philadelphia roger became sick the doctor then gave him sedative to help the pain then to realize he had hepatitis but waters didn't no. Then on stage when he was playing the guitar his hands became numb "like two toy balloons" but the fans didn't realize cause they were rocking out hence "comfortably numb"
10. anonymous

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    Dec 20th 2007 !⃝

    Mmm.. actually, the drugs in question are not opiates, but barbiturates
11. alice

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    Nov 27th 2007 !⃝

    Comfortably numb is obviously about the use of heroine but it seems to me that its not so much about numbing yourself so you don't deal with it, its more about getting to the point to where all of the things are happening around you and you controlling it like a game actually the lyric to dominoes is about the same thing "its an idea some day in my tears my dreams don't you want to see her proof life that comes of no harm you and i, you and I and dominoes the day goes by, you and I in place waisting time on dominoes ...etc.". but in general I think its a gigantic blatant discription of what happens to people when they start "following the rabbit" all of it from shine on to see emily play it all very much agrees with the concept of introspection and self discovery which well coincides with madness. and Pink Floyd aren't the only ones to map it, everything from alice in wonderland to the bible is about the same thing, or at least that's my take on it.
12. anonymous

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    Oct 17th 2007 !⃝

    For all you fuckin dumbshits who think that this song is about drugs like morphine, heroine or even those of you who think its cancer are all just fuckin stupid. It's about the music, when he gets on stage he feels such a connection with the people that he just gets comfortable, like he feels numb, he sais that in an interview you dumbass'. Its not drugs that he gets that from, they also give him that feeling he sais but he's refering to the music in the song not drugs. Thats just what everyone is led to believe.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
13. anonymous

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    Oct 8th 2007 !⃝

    This is not a true story you can find interviews of roger waters saying its just another example of how alone pink really is because the concoction of drugs he is given was actually given to the doctor by pinks musical manager because all he cares about is pink performing so he can get paid which further proves the fact of the cd's and the movie pink builds a wall to separate himself from life because no one thinks of him everyone thinks about themselves and how he can help them so he pushes them all away. I think pink tried to kill himself in this song and while he is sleeping (or dying its hard to tell) he is comfortably numb because there is no reality that's why he is thinking of his childhood because he has never been normal since childhood he was fatherless and his mother was very overbearing passing off her fears onto her son but he was not a psycho like he has turned into later in the movie so him being comfortably numb is him dying or trying too until the doctor gives him the shot and tries to bring him back whick ultimately does nothing but push him further into the spiral down to his breaking point
14. anonymous

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    Aug 28th 2007 !⃝

    The song is definitely about injecting cocaine.
15. AlfreRH

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    Aug 8th 2007 !⃝

    Comfortably numb is based on a true story, one day, Roger Waters had a terrible illness. That same day had to play, so they called the doctor, and gave him some pills. All the same in the concert he almost couldn´t move his hands to play.
    In the wall he changed the story, and Pink is like gone until the doctor comes and drug him.

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