Lyrically Speaking: The two meanings behind ‘Comfortably Numb’

The beauty of art is the way it changes from person to person. One painting never truly hits two onlookers the same. One film won’t move everyone equally. The words of a song will always translate slightly differently to each set of ears. In the case of Pink Floyd, ‘Comfortably Numb’ varies a lot, from context to context, but even bandmate to bandmate.

When I listen to the track, it’s about sheer dissociation. As the first echoing “hello?” strikes, it seems to rattle around the brain like the inner voice calling out to nothing, desperate to break through the fog and be heard. It feels reminiscent of ‘Ashes To Ashes’ to me, and to the image of Major Tom “Strung out in heaven’s high / Hitting an all-time low”, representing the idea of a person feeling nothing, perhaps reaching the top, but still being stuck feeling low or feeling nothing at all.

The phrase “comfortably numb” is such a poignant articulation of that and the idea of someone helplessly surrendering to feeling nothing at all, losing in a fight against depression or mental struggle that they see as futile.

That’s largely the song’s meaning in the band’s concept album and movie, The Wall. It plays out at a crucial time. Pink, the film’s protagonist, is depressed, traumatised and spiralling. He’s building a wall to lock the world away and to fully isolate himself, whether this wall is physical or mental. At the moment he completes it, he regrets it, spiralling even more. After locking himself in his hotel room, the songs track his mental state. ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ is his desperate plea for support, ‘Vera’ is his longing to reconnect with the simplicity of youth, and ‘Bring the Boys Back Home’ is his wartime trauma. And then right at the moment he surrenders, giving in on his fight and becoming unresponsive, ‘Comfortably Numb’ enters the fold.

In the context of the story, the film means exactly that; it’s about giving in to depression, really, loosely representing how the group felt about Syd Barrett and his worsening state.

However, there is a crossover in verse two between the story’s meaning and what it represented to the band. “Just a little pinprick”, the verse begins as Pink, the character, is injected with drugs to prop him up, forcing the fading star to do another show as they sing, “I do believe it’s working, good / That’ll keep you going through the show / Come on, it’s time to go.”

This bit is borrowed from Waters’ real life. In 1977, during an American tour, the singer was struck down with intense stomach pain. Needing the band to go on, the decision was made to inject him with tranquilisers. It was an intense experience. Waters’ whole body went numb, taking the pain away, yes, but also forcing him to do the show in this strange state of total disconnect from himself.

“That was the longest two hours of my life,” he said, “Trying to do a show when you can hardly lift your arm.”

That inspired the plot detail in the story and gave the song that second verse, grounding the idea of being ‘Comfortably Numb’ in a real-world, bodily sensation when Waters’ body was actually purposefully numbed to take the pain away.

Drawing a line between those two ideas and the two suggestions of physical and mental numbness, and numbness as a solution for both physical and mental pain, it’s another perfect example of Pink Floyd’s ability to create multifaceted songs that work on different levels for different people.