The first demo for Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ reveals David Gilmour’s original lyrics
It’s very rewarding being a fan of Pink Floyd. Where some bands are praised for being vulnerable and complex, laying emotion on the line with every track, Pink Floyd matches those qualities and expands upon them. Their music is more than just a sad or a happy song; it’s a complicated reveal of the human psyche, going into heavy detail and providing layers in songs that listeners still dissect to this day.
There isn’t much agreement amongst Pink Floyd fans other than a mutual understanding that they are a great band. When songs go into such detail, and albums have such a range to offer, there are a lot of people to sink their teeth into and enjoy. Subsequently, they don’t have “fan favourites” like other artists per se, as there is simply too much choice for fans to select one specific song universally.
That being said, while Pink Floyd’s versatility sets them apart from other bands, a few songs pierce the veil and are recognised as stand-out hits. One of these tracks is ‘Comfortably Numb’, which is one of the most devastatingly haunting numbers available throughout the band’s discography.
The song is an incredibly melancholy number. It almost feels as though you’re floating when you listen to it, as a state of delirium is described, one that sees the singer completely separated from reality and struggling to come to terms with what is real and what’s in his imagination. A lot of people misinterpret the song, saying that it is about drugs and being high; however, Roger Waters, who was responsible for the lyrics, has dismissed this.
When speaking about the meaning behind the song, he said that it was inspired by a fever he had as a child, which led to him getting incredibly sick. “I remember having the flu or something, an infection with a temperature of 105 and being delirious,” he said, “It wasn’t like the hands looked like balloons, but they looked way too big, frightening. A lot of people think those lines are about masturbation. God knows why.”
Before Waters had the chance to sit down and work out what he wanted the song to mean, David Gilmour had put together the chord sequence and had a vague idea for a tune. In a video, he reveals these original recordings, which are incredibly stripped back and hardly resemble what ‘Comfortably Numb’ ended up being; however, you can hear traces of the classic running throughout the recording.
It sounds as though Gilmour had also written some lyrics for the demo. While many of the words and noises are in a rhythm, when he does put words to them, they are also melancholy. Lines like “Nothing to live and nothing to die for” are filled with a hopeless sense of dread and longing.
It’s interesting that even though Gilmour had placeholder lyrics on the recording, they followed a similar theme to Waters’. The tune clearly invokes feelings of dread and dissociation, and the theme of the track is only going to go in one direction.
