"Comfortably Numb" is a song by English rock band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

from their eleventh album, ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

'' (1979). It was released as a single in 1980, with " Hey You" as the B-side. The music was composed by guitarist

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

. The lyrics were written by bassist

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-s ...

. "Comfortably Numb" is one of Pink Floyd's most well-known songs, notable for its two

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular ...

s. In 2004, it was ranked number 314 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of

the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. It was re-ranked number 321 in 2010, and re-ranked number 179 in 2021. In 2005, it became the last song ever performed by Waters, Gilmour, keyboardist

Richard Wright Richard Wright may refer to: Arts * Richard Wright (author) (1908–1960), African-American novelist * Richard B. Wright (1937–2017), Canadian novelist * Richard Wright (painter) (1735–1775), marine painter * Richard Wright (artist) (born 19 ...

, and drummer

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation i ...

together. An early version was included on the 2012 ''Wall'' "Immersion Box Set". The song was covered by

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) ...

with a radically different arrangement, which was a UK top ten hit.

Composition

''The Wall'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...

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 A muscle relaxant is a drug that affects skeletal muscle function and decreases the muscle tone. It may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. The term "muscle relaxant" is used to refer to two major therap ...

to combat the effects of

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...

during the ''In the Flesh Tour'', while in Philadelphia. The verses are in

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes n ...

, while the chorus has been described as using a modal interchange of that key's

relative major In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures ( enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair of majo ...

, D major, and D Mixolydian. The song, together with "

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

", is one of two tracks on ''The Wall'' that are not connected with an adjacent track. It is also the longest on the album at 6:21, followed by "Mother", which is 5:32.

Writing

Guitarist

recorded a wordless Demo (music), demo while working on his debut solo album in 1978. He did not use the chord sequence for that album, but kept it for future work. Bassist

listened to the demo during sessions for ''The Wall'' but was reluctant to use it as he wanted to take sole responsibility for writing the album. Producer

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

suggested that Waters should reconsider, agreeing that Gilmour's demo needed fleshing out. Subsequently, Waters asked Gilmour to change the chord structure for the verses from E minor (as on the Immersion box set of ''The Wall'') to B minor and David Gilmour also added a few bars of music for the “I have become Comfortably Numb” line, and Roger wrote lyrics inspired from an experience of being injected with tranquilizers for stomach cramps before a 1977 performance in Philadelphia on the In the Flesh Tour. "That was the longest two hours of my life," Waters said, "trying to do a show when you can hardly lift your arm." The song's working title was "The Doctor". Ezrin looked at the completed lyrics and said they "just gave me goosebumps". For the chorus, Gilmour and session player

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

used a pair of acoustic guitars strung similarly to Nashville tuning, but with the low E string replaced with a high E string, two octaves higher than standard tuning. This tuning was also used for the arpeggios in " Hey You". The band disagreed about how to record the song. Waters and Ezrin preferred a mix containing numerous orchestral overdubs, overseen by

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was bor ...

, while Gilmour preferred a stripped-down mix with heavier rock elements. Gilmour later said: "We argued over 'Comfortably Numb' like mad. Really had a big fight, went on for ages." In the end, a compromise was reached where the main portion of the song would include the orchestral elements, while the final guitar solo would contain the stripped-down mix preferred by Gilmour. Ezrin later said he was happy with the final mix as it provided a good contrast, while Gilmour said it represented "the last embers of mine and Roger's ability to work collaboratively together". To write the two

s, Gilmour pieced together elements from several other solos he had been working on, marking his preferred segments for the final take. He used a Big Muff distortion and

delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * '' The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and ac ...

effects on the solos. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said that "Gilmour's guitar cries out eloquently."

Live performances

Pink Floyd

During the 1980/81 ''The Wall'' tour, where a giant wall was constructed across the stage during the performance, the song was performed with Roger Waters dressed as a doctor at the bottom of the wall, and David Gilmour singing and playing guitar from the top of the wall on a raised platform with spotlights shining from behind him. It was the first time the audience's attention was drawn to the top of the completed wall. According to Gilmour, the final solo was one of the few opportunities during those concerts that he was free to improvise completely. Gilmour said: After Waters left the band, Gilmour revised the verses to suit his "grungier" preference for live performances. Verse vocals were arranged for three-part harmony. In both 1987–88 and 1994, these were sung by

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary Moo ...

and

Jon Carin Jon Carin (born October 21, 1964) is a musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has been a longtime collaborator with the bands Pink Floyd and The Who, and the solo careers of David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, ...

. In December 1988, a video of the live performance from ''

Delicate Sound of Thunder ''Delicate Sound of Thunder'' is a live album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was recorded over five nights at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in August 1988 and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in September 1988. It was ...

'' reached number 11 on MTV's Top 20 Video Countdown. The video was two minutes shorter than the album version and the video clip had different camera angles from the home video version. Pink Floyd performed the song at Knebworth Park on 30 June 1990, published on Knebworth: The Album (CD) and on Live At Knebworth 1990 (DVD). A 10-minute version of "Comfortably Numb" was performed at

Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

, London on 20 October 1994, as part of ''The Division Bell'' tour. The ''

Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...

'' video release edited out approximately 1:20 minutes of the ending solo, whereas the original pay-per-view video showed the unedited version. Pink Floyd, complete with Waters, reunited briefly to perform at the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

concert in Hyde Park, London in July 2005. The set consisted of four songs, of which "Comfortably Numb" was the last.

Roger Waters

After leaving Pink Floyd, Waters first performed "Comfortably Numb" at the 1990 concert staging of '' The Wall – Live in Berlin'' on 21 July 1990. The event's purpose was to commemorate the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...

. Waters sang lead,

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

sang Gilmour's vocal parts backed by

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

and

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

of The Band, with guitar solo by Rick Di Fonzo and

Snowy White Terence Charles "Snowy" White (born 3 March 1948, Barnstaple, Devon) is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy (permanent member from 1980 to 1982) and with Pink Floyd (as a backing guitarist; he was first invited to tour ...

, and backup by the Rundfunk Orchestra & Choir. This version was used in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning 2006 film ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film '' Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Win ...

'', directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

. It is also played in the TV show episode of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'', titled " Kennedy and Heidi", when

Christopher Moltisanti Christopher Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. He is Tony Soprano's protégé and a member of the DiMeo crime family, rising from associate to captain over the course of th ...

plays ''The Departed'' soundtrack on his car stereo before a serious accident. Van Morrison's 2007

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

, ''

Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits ''Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits'' is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 2007 comprising 19 songs as featured in various movies. The album was released on 12 February 2007 in the Un ...

'' includes this version. Waters subsequently performed the song at the " Guitar Legends" festival in Spain in 1991 (with White on guitar solos, Waters playing acoustic guitar during the second solo and guest vocals by

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

), and at the Walden Woods benefit concert in Los Angeles in 1992 with guest vocals by

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as " Witchy Woman", "Des ...

. During 1999–2000,

Doyle Bramhall II Doyle Bramhall II (born December 24, 1968) is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Early life Bramhall was born i ...

and

stood in for Gilmour's vocals and guitar solos; a role carried out by Chester Kamen and White in 2002 with Andy Fairweather Low on bass while Waters played acoustic guitar in unison with Jon Carin with Andy Fairweather Low on bass; whose role was carried out by Harry Waters in 2002. In 2006–2007 Gilmour's vocals were performed by

and

Andy Fairweather-Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's ...

(while both playing acoustic guitar and Waters playing bass) with

Dave Kilminster David Kilminster (born 25 January 1962) is a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and music teacher, who has toured as a sideman to several prestigious musicians, including progressive rock artists Steven Wilson and Roger Waters. ...

and White performing the guitar solos. During Waters' The Wall Live tour, Robbie Wyckoff sang Gilmour's vocals, and Dave Kilminster performed the guitar solos with G E Smith on bass, both of them atop the wall, as Gilmour had been in the original tour. During the performance of 12 May 2011 at the London O2 Arena, David Gilmour appeared as a guest during this song, and both sang the choruses and played guitar from the top of the wall, echoing the original Earls Court performances. The song contains one of the show's most memorable moments, when, at a specific point of the final guitar solo, Waters steps toward the wall and pounds it with his fists, triggering both an explosion of colours on the previously dark-grey screen projections and a collapsing wall. Waters performed the song with

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

singing Gilmour's vocals at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief. During Mexico City and Desert Trip shows Waters performed with the same band setup as The Wall tour. During the

Us + Them Tour The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Gilmour's vocals were performed by Jonathan Wilson with guitar solos by Kilminster and bass by Gus Seyffert. In November 2022, Waters released a new version as a single, "Comfortably Numb 2022", recorded during the COVID-19 lockdowns, to use as an opener for his

This Is Not a Drill This Is Not a Drill is the seventh concert tour by English songwriter Roger Waters. The tour, originally scheduled to take place between July and October 2020, was suspended after the COVID-19 pandemic advance, and rescheduled to take place in ...

tour. The song was later included on the '' Lockdown Sessions'' EP.

David Gilmour

Gilmour has performed the song during each of his solo tours. In his 1984 tour to promote his album '' About Face'', the set list referred to the song as "Come on Big Bum". The vocals during the verses were performed by band members

Gregg Dechert Gregg Dechert (born May 11, 1952, in Listowel, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian keyboardist and guitarist. He was the keyboardist for Uriah Heep between July 1980 and March 1981, replacing Ken Hensley. He also performed keyboards and vocals with Davi ...

and Mickey Feat (in harmony). In 2001 and 2002, the verse vocals were performed on different dates by guest singers:

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming pa ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

Durga McBroom Durga McBroom is an American singer who has performed backing vocals for Pink Floyd and is a member of the house music band Blue Pearl, best known for their hit single "Naked in the Rain". She works as an actress, dancer, and singer in the Unite ...

, and

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part o ...

, who had played Pink in the film version of ''The Wall''. Geldof, who had not memorized the verses, read the lyrics as he sang. On 29 May 2006, at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, in a guest appearance, sang the verses. The next day, 30 May, Richard Wright sang the verses, by himself (as per the rest of the tour), at the same venue. Both performances were included on Gilmour's ''

Remember That Night ''Remember That Night'' is a live concert recording of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on 29, 30 & 31 May 2006 as part of his On an Island Tour. The title is taken from a line in the song "On an Island ...

'' concert video, compiled from all three of his shows there on 29, 30 and 31 May 2006, which were part of his " On an Island" Tour to promote his new album of the same name. In 2006, Gilmour performed the song in a concert, with the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra providing the orchestral parts that had usually been done with backing tapes or multiple synthesizers. This version would be released on ''

Live in Gdańsk ''Live in Gdańsk'' is a live album by David Gilmour. It is a part of his ''On an Island'' project which includes an album, tour, DVD, and live album. It was released on 22 September 2008. A David Gilmour Signature Series Fender Stratocaster w ...

.'' On the 2016 ''

Rattle That Lock ''Rattle That Lock'' is the fourth solo studio album by former Pink Floyd singer and guitarist David Gilmour. It was released on 18 September 2015 via Columbia Records. The artwork for the album was created by Dave Stansbie from The Creative Cor ...

'' tour, the verses were sung by

(on legs 1–3),

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

(on leg 4) (this version can be seen and heard on ''

Live at Pompeii ''Live at Pompeii'' is a live album and film by David Gilmour, the guitarist of Pink Floyd. It was recorded at the Amphitheatre of Pompeii. It documents his 2015–16 world tour to promote his album, ''Rattle That Lock'' (2015). The concert wa ...

'') and Bryan Chambers (leg 5). They were also performed by Benedict Cumberbatch on 28 September 2016 at the Royal Albert Hall. During a performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 24 April 2016, Gilmour and his band incorporated the final refrain of the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

song "Purple Rain" into the song as a tribute to that artist, who had died three days earlier.

Personnel

Pink Floyd *

– lead vocals (verses), bass guitar (verses) *

– lead and harmony vocals (chorus), acoustic guitar (verses), electric guitar, bass guitar (chorus),

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with f ...

synthesiser *

– drums *

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

Additional personnel *

– orchestral arrangements *

– acoustic guitar (chorus)

Reception

In 2011, the song was ranked fifth in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

's listeners'

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

choices. Gilmour's solo was rated the fourth best guitar solo of all-time by ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' magazine, in a reader poll. In August 2006, it was voted the greatest guitar solo of all time in a poll by listeners of digital radio station Planet Rock. Gilmour's guitar tone in the song was named best guitar sound by ''

Guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

'' magazine in November 2010. The two guitar solos were ranked as the greatest guitar solos of all time by Planet Rock listeners. In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' and '' Paste'' both ranked the song number four on their lists of the greatest Pink Floyd songs.

Certifications

Scissor Sisters version

American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

band

recorded a radically re-arranged disco-oriented version released in January 2004 on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

, with the B-side "Rock My Spot (Crevice Canyon)". This release reached number 10 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. David Gilmour and

expressed a liking for the group's version, and Roger Waters is said to have congratulated the Scissor Sisters on the version, although a lyric was changed, from "a distant ship's smoke on the horizon" to "a distant ship floats on the horizon". Jake Shears, the band's lead singer, was invited by Gilmour to sing "Comfortably Numb" with him in some 2006 shows, but the idea was dropped at the last moment to Shears' public disappointment. This cover received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for Best Dance Recording but lost to "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a sub ...

" by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

Track listings

US 12-inch single :A1. "Comfortably Numb" (ATOC dub remix) :A2. "Comfortably Numb" (original extended) :B1. "Comfortably Numb" ( Tiga remix) :B2. "Comfortably Numb" (Tiga dub) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Comfortably Numb" ( Fatboy extended mix) – 5:01 :A2. "Comfortably Numb" – 4:25 :B1. "Comfortably Numb" (

Paper Faces Paper Faces are British electronic music producers Adam Blake and Stuart Price. They have remixed tracks for their band Zoot Woman as well as other established recording artists such as Madonna, Scissor Sisters, Armand Van Helden, Chromeo and ...

remix) – 8:25 UK 12-inch picture disc :A1. "Comfortably Numb" – 4:25 :A2. "Comfortably Numb" (Hughes & Spier remix) – 6:58 :B1. "Comfortably Numb" (

Tommie Sunshine Tommie Sunshine (born Thomas Lorello; March 26, 1971) is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternat ...

mix) – 7:40 UK CD single # "Comfortably Numb" – 4:25 # "Comfortably Numb" ( Fatboy extended mix) – 5:01 # "Rock My Spot (Crevice Canyon)" – 3:37 # "Comfortably Numb" (video) European CD single # "Comfortably Numb" – 4:25 # "Rock My Spot (Crevice Canyon)" – 3:37 Australian CD single # "Comfortably Numb" – 4:25 # "Comfortably Numb" (Fatboy extended mix) – 5:01 # "Comfortably Numb" (Paper Faces remix) – 8:25 # "Comfortably Numb" (Hughes & Spier remix) – 6:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

Bibliography

* * * * Fitch, Vernon. ''The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia'' (3rd edition), 2005.

External links

Rolling Stone article 2004-12-09

Breakdown of Key, Scale & Chord Structure
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comfortably Numb Pink Floyd songs 1979 songs 1980 singles 2004 singles Columbia Records singles Harvest Records singles Hard rock ballads Scissor Sisters songs Van Morrison songs Songs about drugs Songs written by David Gilmour Songs written by Roger Waters 1970s ballads Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin Song recordings produced by David Gilmour Song recordings produced by Roger Waters