Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb Meaning

Song Released: 1980

Download "Comfortably Numb" on MP3:

Download from Amazon MP3
Download from iTunes
Download Ringtone

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. 1TOP RATED

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   May 3rd 2006, 12:06 report

   
   

   This is my interpretation of the song, broken down verse by verse or line by line as appropriate.
   
   Hello... Is there anybody in there?
   Just nod if you can hear me
   Is there anyone home?
   
   Someone, probably a doctor, is talking to Pink (perhaps a reference to Syd Barrett's descent into insanity, but probably a reference to the fact that Pink is in a semi-catatonic state and is withdrawing from the world.)
   
   Come on, now, I hear you're feeling down I can ease the pain get you on your feet again
   Relax, I need some information first
   just the basic facts
   can you tell me where it hurts?
   
   Pretty self explanatory - he isn't responsive, they are going to shoot him up with a drug to get him to the point where he (Pink) is capable of performing
   
   There is no pain you are receding
   A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
   You are only coming through in waves
   Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
   
   This paragraph refers to Pink's state of mind - he isn't feeling pain, the world around him is becoming more distant, more hazy, less real as Pink withdraws farther from the real world. The reference to the ship smoke is simply a poetic reference to the way Pink is viewing the "real" world - it is drifting away from him.
   
   When I was a child I had a fever
   My hands felt just like two balloons
   Now I have that feeling once again
   I can't explain, you would not understand This is not how I am.
   
   This paragraph seems to be, first, a reference to what many of us probably remember from childhood - being sick with a high fever your head and body can start to feel hollow, for lack of a better term. It feels almost like a dissociative experience. Sometimes when I am in a position of EXTREME stress that same feeling overcomes me. Pink is making a reference to the fact that he is feeling disassociated with the world yet that really isn't who he is - the constant pressures of stardom have changed him.
   
   I have become comfortably numb.
   
   His state of withdrawal has made him numb to the world.
   
   Okay, just a little pinprick
   There'll be no more AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
   But you may feel a little sick
   
   Can you stand up? I do believe it's working good that'll keep you going for the show, come on it's time to go
   
   Nothing more than a reference to the fact that the doctors/concert producers/etc. don't give a f*** about the performer, they just want to get him on stage.
   
   There is no pain you are receding
   A distant ship's 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
   
   This one leaves me a little puzzled. The best interpretation I have is that when Waters was a child, he experienced a fleeting glimpse of the promise and happiness of life - but his father was killed in the war, stripping Waters of the innocence and happiness of childhood before Waters had a chance to experience it. Now he is a jaded adult, the innocence of youth is gone and was never really experienced, the dreams he had as a youth are gone - and to escape this rather tragic reality, he has withdrawn into a semi-catatonic state where he does not have to face reality.

   
   
   
   

2. 2TOP RATED

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Mar 1st 2006, 04:48 report

   
   

   I have to agree with the last Anon, music before the movie and who wouldn't think drugs were involved. But it's not doing drugs for the trip, he needed a push to get on with the show. I also think it is a fading away from reality and a mental withdrawl. He wanted to be numb to the rest of the world and did not want to face it any longer.

   
   
   
   

3. 3TOP RATED

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 19th 2006, 02:12 report

   
   

   Ok, guys stop thinking of the movie for god's sake. The song is about becoming numb to everything around himself. In fact the whole album is about the progresstion to his insanity. This song is simply one stage. The movie was after the music people and its hard to show a person simply going insane so they used symbolisim(sorry about the spelling issue)

   
   
   
   

4.  

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 3rd, 12:18 report

   
   

   I think its about growing up. He was scared as a kid. But now he's grown up the child is gone.The dream is gone because he's the now living it.And now comfortably numb nothing can hurt him anymore and he's not scared.Everything in his life turned out OK

   
   
   
   

5.  

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 16th 2012, 23:32 report

   
   

   They were doing a show in philly, he was in ton of pain. Doc gave him a shot to get him thru and that's where the song came from. No over thinking needed.

   
   
   
   

6.  

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 9th 2012, 19:21 report

   
   

   To me, the entire song can be summed up by the title alone. He has become "comfortably numb". This man has been pushed to the point where his physical state has succumbed to his emotional pain and he can no longer differentiate between the two. He'd rather feel nothing at all, be numb, than be in a constant state of agony, of darkness. The verse "When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye" is also important because there is no greater symbol of hope than our youth. Children are pure and innocent, in their eyes the world is an amazing place where possibilities are endless. They have yet to be tainted by failure or loneliness. He caught a "fleeting glimpse" of this happiness, this sense of fulfillment within himself. But as we grow older, with each passing year this hope seems to diminish leaving only pain, regret, and disappointment in it's stead. Drug addicts are addicts for a reason, because they feel they are out of options. They no longer wish for happiness, it is incomprehensible, so they settle for just being "numb". It's really very sad. He is trying to tell us why he needs this why he needs to just not feel anymore.

   
   
   
   

7.  

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jul 7th 2012, 00:47 report

   
   

   great thing about great music is you can interpret it anyway your mind takes you. who cares what it's really about all that matters is how you see it and how it moves you

   
   
   
   

8.  

   alpha

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jul 6th 2012, 12:13 report

   
   

   To the idiot who criticised those of us who think the song is about heroin, you should find someone to teach you how to spell.
   To the poster who thinks this song is about morphine, as opposed to heroin, heroin turns into morphine the second it is injected into your body.
   This song is most likely about heroin, although the band will never admit this.

   
   
   
   

9.  

   anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 29th 2012, 16:26 report

   
   

   I actually think it's obvious it is about drugs. I think you all know that though, so that was kind of pointless. But he's so called "comfortably numb", so he is on drugs and has become numb.....well, I'm kind of not 100% sure.

   
   
   
   

10.  

    DrGreg

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 4th 2012, 12:02 report

    
    

    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 whereso'er I may,
    By night or day,
    The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
    
    Wordsworth said it first.

    
    
    
    

11.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Nov 28th 2011, 13:00 report

    
    

    This isn't about heroin, for Gosh's sake. It's about how the events in his life have made him numb to his surroundings. I think that's it. Sometimes, this album can be too intense for me to understand it fully.

    
    
    
    

12.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Oct 18th 2011, 18:21 report

    
    

    Heroin use definitely.

    
    
    
    

13.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Oct 3rd 2011, 22:45 report

    
    

    a great song has many interpretations. i always liked the way this song made me feel, the tone-painting was excellent. you can't very well write a song that says i went to the doc & he gave an opiate & i vomited. this song was(to me)a lament, if not his then at least my own.

    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Sep 1st 2011, 02:45 report

    
    

    umm. im in recovery from a bad heroin addiction. i thnk the song is def bot sum form of opiate. comfortably numb is def how u feel on heroin or morphine. "u may feel a lil sick" def get ur stomach upset espeacialy ur first few times. "thier is no pain" yea ur def not feelin any pain. sum of the lyrics are him rememberi times from his child hood. he had a bad fever and his hands sweeled up maybe the drugs r takin him back to his childhood. "a lil pinprick thier is no more... ahhh." the rush from opiates is almost instant. "is there anybody in there?" is there anybody home?" u do "nod off" wen u do herion or other iv opiates. i have ppl ask me the same question wen i was in that state. reciedin? cause the higher u get the more u seem to fall out of reality. just a guess guys. i read the part were he brought up the childhoo fever part,

    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Aug 4th 2011, 09:22 report

    
    

    People, music isnt about proving people wrong. a song belong to whomever it pertains to. if one wants to interpert it in one way, and it means something to them, then they are no more right or wrong than someone else who interperts it a different way. make what you want of this, or any other song, and as long as it reaches out to you, who gives a shit if someone tells you your right or wrong. thats what many dont understnad. stop going to sites about wht songs mean and find you own meaning in them.

    
    
    
    

16.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jul 31st 2011, 05:04 report

    
    

    it's about being abducted by a fucking UFO! you simple minded humans

    
    
    
    

17.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jul 25th 2011, 18:09 report

    
    

    You folks who are knocking the heroin explanation... Have you ever used it?

    
    
    
    

18.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jun 20th 2011, 18:38 report

    
    

    Since art isn’t “owned” by the artist once it has been created I would never say that someone else’s interpretation is wrong. I hear in this wonderful song the pain and helplessness of someone finally hitting the bottom of the abyss of addiction or insanity (Syd) and they no longer feel connected to the rest of the world. I particularly like the line “Can you show me where it hurts?”. Since it’s the subject’s mental anguish which is causing the pain it is impossible to answer the question and it shows how ignorant or uncaring everyone else is to the suffering. The distant ship on the horizon also alludes to the loneliness and separation from society felt by the subject. Overall, the lyrics combined with Gilmour’s hypnotic guitar solo makes this song a memorable and haunting one.

    
    
    
    

19.  

    spiriteye

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jun 12th 2011, 09:32 report

    
    

    he had a spiritual, mystical or religious experience when he was young,maybe during a childhood illness but did not know at the time what was happening. many people who use drugs have have a similar experience of being an "eternal being". maybe by trying drugs he was trying to recreate he earlier experience. using drugs can give a similar "spiritual" experience but it is somewhat a FALSE enlightenment as it was not created by the "natural" process of MEDITATION. understanding spiritual experiences and their teachings by the great world teachers can be found @ guardiantext. org if you need more info

    
    
    
    

20.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 25th 2011, 19:12 report

    
    

    The song is about a time when Pink got too use to how his fame can turn him to drugs which when he o.d'ed he saw the truth and the doctors and executive producers decided to drug him up so that he could continue with the show but if you pay close attention, you can see how its Pink's family and friends that break in through his door first and once they saw the producers doing that to their friend, they took action and took him out of the building and dragged him to a vehicle so that they could get him to the hospital. Also I can see how he feel completely numb to the point he was comfortable with the world and he didn't want to face reality so he would block out everything. When he was a child he caught a fever means exactly what it says which is something that most children face, but since this was way back when Pink was a child, it was more difficult to cure the fever, so it was a major point in life he faced. Near death experience. Pink faced many through his life. What he didn't have was a childhood because his father was sent to fight in WWII so he didn't get to experience a kids true happiness and he hoped to be able to when his father got back. Pink had to watch all the men come off the trains and run to their families, but his father never came off. So truethfully he got to the point that he felt he had no life, which caused him to overdose, but he didn't count on that being the trip he needed to actually understand life. If you really want to understand this song, watch the movie "Pink Floyd's The Wall," then you'll understand

    
    
    
    

21.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 11th 2011, 12:19 report

    
    

    Shut up dumb ass :P! Anyways before this fuck tard ruined the thread in a interview waters said that it was before a concert that the hepatitus c he had was getting worse so they called a doctor they being his manager or something the doctor gave him a shot to finish his show and waters said that was the longest three hours of his life.

    
    
    
    

22.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 8th 2011, 20:50 report

    
    

    Why does everyone always focus on what a song meant to the artist that composed it? Who cares? The beauty of music, is that each song means something different to each person that listens to it. It is entirely dependent on your current life situation and whatever shit you are dealing with at the time. When I was younger, I connected with the message of anti-establishment and "The Wall" for me were the boundaries put upon me by my control freak parents. Now it is something completely different.

    
    
    
    

23.  

    anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 20th 2011, 08:56 report

    
    

    at one concert he suffered from a incredibble pain in his spine so bad he cuold not perform becuose of that they gave him a strong painkiller at the concert that day he became so high that he wrote a song about how he experrienced being high so it was not about being mentally ill or annything. believe me I checked