Here's some background on the song
Comfortably Numb from a
Comfortably Moderate poster.
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Pink Floyd's movie "The Wall" has also added to the perception that the song is about drug use or a mental breakdown. In the movie, Bob Geldof's character, a fictional rock star named Pink, is in an unproductive incoherent state due to his drug use and feeble mental health. He hallucinates upon being injected with a drug to prep him for show time.
On the album itself, the story of Pink is told track by track, and "Comfortably Numb" is the narrative of a conversation between Pink and his doctor. Gilmour acts as the voice of Pink and Waters acts as the voice of the doctor. Pink is given a shot that is meant to clear his weakened mental state so he can perform in concert. The lyrics depict an account of Pink's experience after his injection and the patient/doctor dialogue that occurred.
So, did Roger Waters really write the song while stoned? We really don't know. However, Waters himself has stated in interviews that "Comfortably Numb" is a recount of two life-altering (not mind-altering) experiences he endured. Waters often thinks back to an illness he had as a child where he ran an excessively high fever and was delirious. There is also an experience that he had in 1977 where he fell ill prior to a concert in Philadelphia. He was suffering from abdominal cramps, which may or may not have been brought on from undiagnosed hepatitis, and a doctor injected Waters with tranquilizers to ready him for the show. The experience left Waters "comfortably numb." It's easy to see how the pre-show injection administered to Pink's character on the album and in the movie could have been inspired by Waters' real-life experience when he became sick prior to a concert.
Read more:
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb - Lyrics Meaning - Song Descriptions, Song Meanings, Music Videos
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Comfortably Numb is my all time favorite song. Great lyrics and absolutely the best guitar riffs ever.