💖No matter where you are in your journey, you have a safe place here to share your struggles and accomplishments without judgment, but please make sure you are having that same respect and non-judgment for others too. This is how we shatter the mental health stigma.💖 Follow/say hi on IG (@mentalamanda) and if you need some direction and would like me to be your Happiness teacher, you can sign up for my Happiness Boost course here: amandawebsterhealth.com/happiness-boost/
Well most of my life iv been the shoulder to cry on/support for my friends, well one day they got a harsh talking to, because as I finally got the courage to talk about my secret hell (depression), they did not listen...
the song refers to an illness suffered by one of the band members before a concert which was cured with a prick by a doctor which made the patient comfortably numb and able to play
@@andrea-v2s This is what the band says the song was about, but it should be noted. They were trying to distance themselves from drug use allegations because of the mental health issues most likely exacerbated by the overuse of Psychedelics, which caused their creative leader )Syd Barrett( to recede from the record business and enter into a self-imposed cage.
Good I got to read the messages, Pulse concert version of this song is the best, she should get netter recomendations, but anyway it is good she just didi this it was ok!!!!
The person who recommended this didn't suggest a version. That was my decision and, going in blind, I don't know which to choose. Also, Patreons get PRIORITY, but less than a third of my videos are Patreon requests. The others are mostly songs with the highest number of requests in the comments with a small percent being songs I'm just curious about or want to share because they are special to me.
The whole album, ''The Wall'' is the story of ''Pink'' a rock star who's coming apart mentally and emotionally. It's deeply moving and highly tragic, the entire album is flawlessly done, a true masterpiece!
If you can, watch the movie. This will explain a lot of what is going on in the music. The full movie was posted on RUclips. ruclips.net/video/yvG3WPYAXHM/видео.htmlsi=P9IxmMQXr18YD4Bs
As a recovering addict who adored this song for decades, im astounded as to how clueless i was all those years of just listening to this piece as a jam. After getting off multiple drugs, i cant hear this without breaking down. I had myself become numb to my own failing life to the point of being comfortable in my depression and failures. Age has given me a true and realistic interpretation of this song and im so lucky to be alive to understand it. Im still comfortably numb, but i feel enough to keep moving on.
Same here , had listened to this this song 1000s of times but until I recuperated from my su!c!de attempt , I finally understand this beautiful song and there's not a single day since that dreadful day I attempted against my life that I don't listen to this beautiful song !! .... ✌🏻🥰✌🏻 .... Ps. Stay strong and luvs ya my beloved friend !! ✌🏻😬✌🏻
Yeah bro totally. People love to get F-ed up to this song without realizing its actual meaning. They aren't saying comfortably numb is a good thing (or bad directly), but with the themes its clear.
@@Sonic-gy7kq yessir! My new addiction is roller coasters. I can't get enough and the thrill makes the numb go hasta la bye bye like nothing for me personally. Ya just gotta find your happy and run with it. 😁🥹😶🌫️
Même si cette version vous touche au plus profond de votre âme, visualiser et entendre la version live du concert Pulse de 1994 vous submergera totalement.... aucune comparaison d'avec la version studio :)
Definitely correct, the non-remastered version (all remastered versions seem to be worse to me). With the live version (Pulse-Concert) you get exactly the feeling you need and an absolute master class guitar solo.
This song usually breaks people into tears. Given your background how you held it together on the line "You would not understand, this is not how I am" is pretty remarkable.
I was in college in 1979 when this album was released. Our psych professor brought his stereo from home and we analyzed every word of each song on this double album for 3 weeks! It tells the story of a boy who's father is killed in war and raised by his over protective mother. It describes a textbook decent into madness for the principal character. This song is from the section in which he is now a rock star and battling his mental demons and cannot go onstage to perform. His manager instructs his doctor to inject him with heroine or whatever, backstage just to get him through the show and the agreed contract to perform. Needless to say, the show doesn't go quite as planned! If you're interested in this, skip the live versions as recommended by others and watch the movie that was made! It stars Bob Geldhoff of the band Boomtown Rats. It is a jaw dropping masterpiece!
One of the members Rodger Waters was sick before a concert. A doctor gave him a shot for the pain. This song is about that experience and the way he felt. And compares it to way he felt when he was a kid and sick.he said after the shot he was so numb he could barely feel his hands and it was one of the most difficult shows he ever did. As for the Pulse version. If you haven't watched it you should. Get the biggest screen that you can. The laser and light show is incredible. Turn the lights down keep your eyes open and enjoy.
I also highly recommend The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd. It has a guest singer that speaks straight to the heart about dying without needing words.
“The Great Gig In The Sky” has no lyrics, per se. It’s a lengthy vocalization by the exceptional Clare Torry, who was reportedly asked to sing the five stages of grief. And as a side note for anyone not familiar, the song came from Floyd’s legendary album, “The Dark Side of the Moon”, which lived on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 200 album list for more than NINE HUNDRED WEEKS.
Ironically, Ms Torrey went over twenty five years, unaware that her take was even used on the album. Or that she was featured on one of the best selling albums, ever. You would think *somebody* would be like “Hey. I know that name!”
Really? Over 25 years? That seems a little bit remarkable. You'd think that the royalty checks would have given her a clue long before that and even sooner with a sibling or cousin or teen child or friend of those who would start out like, "how come you never told me your, mom sister, aunt,...Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon?" It seems almost implausible they would be like "whaaaat are you talking about?!" Or that she wouldn't have been informed by a colleague fan or the Band. But what do I know?! I have always loved respected and appreciated the gift of this band since I first heard: Piper at the Gates of Dawn Umaguma Animals Atom Heart Mother Obscured by Clouds {made the year I was born}. I think Dark side of the Moon may have come out pretty recently or close to that time. It was during a recovery from a {late 70s era street race} car accident that prolly should have killed all 3 of us in the car, when I was still no bigger than a bowtruckle lol, nah like 5y old. Extracted from the remains using a new device called the "jaws of life" and with parts of the engine firewall glass and dash board still sticking out of us as we were loaded into the ambulances. It was...traumatic and difficult... learning how to feed myself, talk walk, write and learn my ABC's & 123's. How to use the bathroom, shower or get dressed by myself, tie my shoes and read.. again. But with a lil bit of a different type of perspective that second time round. Gratitude
Thanks for listening to the studio version, Pink Floyd is a good band to listen to LIVE but that's really for when one wants to appreciate the perfomance of a song one already knows. Good call, and the "soothing effect" is not just this song, it's David Gilmour's guitar which in reality is a portal to other dimensions.
A lot of songs are much better on the studio versions. I saw Steely Dan live once, my favorite band. I didn't care for the show at all. Very disappointing. But their studio work is genius in my eyes.
Yep, listen offline if you must. No need to involve the Wizard of Oz as that's kind of a gimmick. The album itself is all you need. Be aware that it's somewhat autobiographical and just sit back and enjoy.
You should be careful who you recommend this album to. If the person is suffering from depression, it can carry them further down the hole. I speak from experience.
The thing that makes this song perfect is not just the lyrics, but the beautiful melodic guitar solos by David Gilmour, that itself tells a story, the guitar cries, this for me is the greatest guitar solo by the greatest guitarist of all time, I should point out, the live pulse version tops the studio version by a long long way
I prefer the studio version myself. The live version is phenomenal but the solos are far more effective without the same pattern being played for 2 or 3 minutes straight during the disco ball UFO thing. That's just for my personal tastes. The second solo reminds me a lot of a song that came out not long before this one called "Beyond the Realms of Death" by Judas Priest and its very possible that David Gilmour had taken at least some inspiration from Glenn Tipton there
One of the best things about this band that honestly not very many bands then or now have to their advantage is that Pink Floyd live and Pink Floyd on record and Pink Floyd on film are all vastly different things but they are all incredible pieces of work separately and together as a whole. They were really good at adapting their stories to multiple forms of media and it translating properly. Again, I don't think very many bands or artists have been able to do that successfully and certainly none that I can recall from memory that have done it as well as this band did for the length of time that they did
For sure, the live performance from the Pulse concert is the best i've ever seen. David Gilmour is a man who is able to show emotions with his guitar. Long solo but worth to watch it.
Great insights, especially with the personal experience of being calmly "coached" through an overdose! The song came about after one of the band got sick on tour and had to get an injection to be able to go on stage, and the lyrics are his direct experience of the blur that followed. But they knew the lyrics worked well as a metaphor, too: when played from start to finish The Wall is a concept album that tells a personal story about mental health, alienation, and isolation, which the warm hazy detachment of the song fits to a T despite originally coming from a very literal place.
Yeah sure... he got "sick" while on tour. Remember this was at a time when drug use would land you in prison. So that interview you're referencing is telling a tale that isn't quite correct. I think this reactor nails it. He was the one OD'ing on the floor and a doctor gave him something that brought him around enough to shove him out on stage.
One of the greatest albums ever....but to truly understand the story you either need to listen to the whole album from start to finish or watch the movie....so many things get missed...
“The Wall” is a concept album and needs to be listened to, from beginning to end, nonstop. And yes, the concept dives deeply into mental health, specifically the repression of emotions to conform to expected societal norms. For proof of this, listen to the next-to-last track in the set, “The Trial”. (But listen to everything else first, in sequence. It’s much more comprehensible to mere mortals that way.) Gilmour’s guitar solos are memorable because they are very close to singable by themselves. He doesn’t shred, he doesn’t pack as many notes as possible into a small space…he makes every note matter. Other examples that made it to airplay are “Wish You Were Here”, “Learning To Fly”, “Keep Talking”, “High Hopes”, and “On The Turning Away”.
This song was written after one of the band members, who was very ill at the time, was "medicated" to enable him to perform for one of their concerts and this is the way that the medication made him feel. I believe that it was some time in 1977.
@@2ridiculous41exactly. Roger Waters was experiencing excruciating abdominal pain and cramps just hours before a sold out show was scheduled to begin They rushed him to the emergency hospital where tge doctors gave him a shot containing medication that relaxed his contracted muscles and killed his pain throughout his entire body. He felt like a distant ship smoke on the horizon. He said he thought he was talking yet nobody could hear his words yet, comfortably numb.
@@ragtie6177yes, but the song is not just that. I thought the doctor came to him, but so many years later it is a story. If you think the song is just about him you could do with a little context.
NEVER EVER listen just 1 song, ALWAYS listen a hole album from beginning to the end because Pink Floyd are telling stories with their masterpieces, 1 album 1 story. I know every album, every song, every note of every song, it took some time but still, today , they are never boring, you just enter Pink Floyd world
As stated by others, The Pulse Live version is the epitome of this song. The light show and the ensemble of extraordinary musicians compliment the 3 original PF members. I have seen this concert in Indy, and I have never seen a concert better than Pulse before or since (I have been going to concerts since I was thirteen and I was born in the 40's, so that is saying something.)
Thank you for your reaction. Thank you again for using the correct album cover and listening to the album version first (that satisfies my OCD!). I thought your thoughts were right on. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to Floyd and I’ll continue enjoying them till I die. I first heard them in the 70s as a child when I’d see my dad laying eyes closed on the sofa listening to Dark Side and I’ve taken over the enjoyment and disbelief from him. As already mentioned, watch the film The Wall. It’s dark at times but well, well worth it. Carry on doing what you are doing……any previous downturns in your life will fade to become a very distant memory 🙏
My goodness! First time viewer here. Girl, you are spot on! Never used heroin but other stuff. I was never really "addicted ", but know many who lost everything. Love you!
Great choice of songs, and great reaction. When you find the time, watch/listen to the DVD " The Wall "; the entire album plays out, and the visual depictions will explain so much more to you. 40 years addict, 4 years clean here...life is a battle, lol.
Stunning reaction. I could see on your face just how much you felt and connected with every line of the song. I'm sorry that you had the personal experiences to find it so relatable and am glad that you are able to consider yourself as recovering. Hope you are continuing to do well.
Wow Amanda!! I've been away from your videos for a while now. You really helped me out of a bad place. Thank you for that. Comfortably Numb has always been my favorite Pink Floyd son. This has to be the biggest comment section I've ever seen on your channel. Congratulations 🎊 I hope you gained a lot more subs.
The song is about his addiction to HEROIN and his using it on tour and had to have a shot before he did a show and he finally realized he could t do a show without it. Its the inner pain of accepting what he has become as an.addict
Man, when I saw this pop up that you did this song, I knew this was gonna be a roller coaster ride for you. It definitely tossed you up against the wall as I expected it to as prior memories of yours would pop into that brain of yours... BUT, what I did not expect was how it seemed that you took hold of some of those old demons and threw them up against the wall as if it was a reminder to the demons that they are no longer welcome in your world. As to the second solo, once again I was not prepared for what I saw. What ever happened inside you, that's your time and I will leave it at that. Bless you on your journey, and thank you for allowing us this moment.....
When this came out I would listen to this front to back with headphones LOUD. The Movie is a MUST watch for you now if you want the entire story. (You won't need drugs but it won't hurt) 😎 Happy belated 4/20+
The Live Pulse version can mesmerize you with that last solo. David Gilmour's guitar play takes you to the barriers of the Universe then breaks through that barrier. It's such an emotional ride. Also, Great Gig In The Sky, Learning to Fly, Sorrow and On The Turning Away are all good from the Pulse concert. Actually, the entire concert is fantastic. Thank you for diving into Pink FLoyd. Their music is indeed a treasure. Bless you, Amanda!
You are incredibly brave, this is tough subject matter for everyone who has been there. Kudos for your courage. The calming effect is a deliberate creation of the tones used and the patterns of the repetition in the orchestrated sections. It can lead you to feel that time has changed its pace.
Same song from the live Pulse concert...simply mind blowing. Also listen to Time (with the lyrics), Shine On you Crazy Diamond, Wish You were Here, High Hopes, On The Turning Away (live) and many more.
One of the most powerful songs ever. To fully understand the song, you have to understand the whole album. All the songs are connected. Must watch The Wall the movie.
I can’t Thank you enough for what you’re doing here. I have lived with clinical depression my entire life. To have someone here who understands helps me take that one more step into tomorrow. Your Comfortably Numb reaction hit me in a way that l really can’t explain. I’m clean now, but used hard drugs for many years in that vain attempt to become comfortably numb. I too overdosed on cocaine in the late 1980s. I was alone at home and ingested an insane amount in a few hours time. I think l stopped breathing, at least l had to sit upright in a corner and force myself to breathe. Come dawn l was breathing normally again, swearing l would never touch the stuff again. Within an hour l was on the phone buying more. Comfortably Numb is my story, right down to the fever. I spent over a week hospitalized with a mystery illness and a temperature of over 104 degrees. And yes, my hands felt just like two balloons. I am many years clean now, but that old devil depression still haunts me. I just wanted you to know how much your Comfortably Numb reaction meant to me. To see that someone else understands takes a weight off my shoulders. Thank you for the wonderful work you are doing. It is greatly appreciated. God bless you Amanda.
This is a great song, but it is also part of an overall story told in The Wall - which is a concept album. The story is rock singer Pink has gone insane- is sitting catatonic in his hotel room and has to get to a concert. In this song, a "Dr. Feelgood" has been brought in to revive him using drugs. Roger Waters, the chief song writer, said this happened to him many times when he was given meds so overcome pain and perform. That being said - this is my all time favorite song and all time favorite guitar solo from my all time favorite band with my all time favorite guitarist.
The movie they produced for this album really tells the story in a way the album doesn't. Hearing one or two songs out of order doesn't tell the story of the album, and the album can't touch the visuals Pink Floyd put into the movie. It's a must watch. Even in the concert, there's so much going on visually that the band didn't want the audience focusing on them, but on the story they were telling.
As lots of people have pointed out, the PULSE Live version is truly incredible, but my personal favorite live version is from Pompeii 2016. This album came out when I was a Jr in high school and it’s even more powerful now than it was then!!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year for tomorrow night....one of the best thigs i did online this year was to find you and this channel,thankyou for giving all hope that the future will get better....i hope everybody reading this has a great New Year
All l can say is l know you understand. This song is my story, including the childhood fever which put me in hospitalized isolation for several weeks. I recognize a fellow recovering soul. May your journey be successful.
The song is actually a personal experience of Roger Waters (The bassist). Waters' lyrics were inspired by his experience of being injected with tranquilizers for stomach cramps before a performance in 1977 during Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh" Tour. He said, "That was the longest two hours of my life, trying to do a show when you can hardly lift your arm." Roger Waters was pretty much medicated by a doctor so he can perform for a show.
First time coming across your channel. Glad to see you overcame addictions. Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands. I suggest watching more of their stuff, I like “time” because I am at that point where it really starts to have much more meaning than it use to. Though if you do listen to it, I would turn your headphones down for the intro. Not sure if you have ever listened to Metallica “master of puppets” but I would suggest that one. I have never really struggled much with addiction, I did at one point drink quite heavily but it was mostly a weekend social thing for me. There is an artist from the U.K. Lucy Spraggan who has a song called “last night” that reminded me of those days but a couple years ago, she released a song called “sober”. I guess she had some issues that she had to overcome as well.
Love it. Deffinetly need to watch/listen live version from Pulse or TLOR (i think), longer versions but worth every second of it. Just relax, close your eyes, and enjoy music perfection Pink Floyd are.
When he says, "a distant ship's smoke on the horizon", he's giving an example of how they're "receding". "You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying". The lines, "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" really resonates with me. When I was a child, I had a type of vision (that's the only way I know how to describe it). Every answer to every question was answered. Our existence, our purpose, everything you need or want to know was in that vision. When it was over however, it faded away like a dream upon waking. The only thing I could remember is the calmness and euphoria of the experience. (and NO, I wasn't on drugs. This happened in my childhood, before I ever knew what drugs were).
Those advocating for the live Pulse version do so on the basis of the guitar solo and light show. This song is so much more, and the best version of any Pink Floyd song, is the one with Waters and Gilmour.
I've just discovered you, and I'm impressed. Your honesty is refreshing, particularly in the world of reactions. I'm 76, English, and i went through the whole madness of the 60s. I started reading Kerouac, Genet, Huxley - the whole 9 yards of Beat writers and poets - when i was about 14, and i wanted nothing more than to leave school and go on the road. So i did. The only drug I took was an occasional joint, but I was drunk all the time. I eventually dropped out so far I became so inward looking i was no longer a fully functioning human. Inevitably this led to a massive breakdown. Fortunately some good people helped me through, but it took years to become strong again. I learned so much from it though, as you obviously have. Regarding Floyd and this track in particular, one of their main themes is mental health. Their original singer and songwriter, Syd Barratt, took too much acid and lost himself to the point of being unable to perform. One day they simply didn't pick him up for a gig. But he was sorely missed. Their bass player, Roger Waters, took over songwriting, and wrote Wish You Were Here and Shine On You Crazy Diamond about him. However, he also had his own problems, which led him to writing The Wall, the story of Pink, a rock star whose childhood, education and life on the road have led him into a breakdown in which he imagines himself building a wall between him and the audience/world. In Comfortably Numb he is too sick to go on stage, so a doctor is called in to give him an injection to enable him to carry on.
Not to be _that_ guy, but alcohol is not only a drug, it's one of the more destructive ones. Which leads me to your claim that Syd "lost himself" due to taking too much LSD. Assuming that you're referring to long-term effects rather than just being intoxicated on-stage, there's no actual scientific support for the often repeated claim that LSD can make you lose your mind. It's a common assumption very much coloured by the War on Drugs and demonisation of the hippie movement, which "happened" to consist of Nixon's most vocal opponents. Mind you, millions of doses are consumed every year without it leading to overpopulated psychiatric hospitals. At this time, classic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin are receiving an increasing interest from researchers for their apparent ability to _heal_ mental issues, which is in many ways a revival of how these substances were viewed before the War on Drugs made research within this field very difficult.
Thank you for reacting to the studio version, as it seems like everyone else goes with a rendition from perhaps their top concert. I’m sure the live show is amazing, but the studio recording is some unmatched rock music to me. And yes, as far as I understand it, the subject of the song lyrics is substance abuse. Both original singer Roger Waters and his vocal successor David Gilmour perform on this version, two different lead voices. And those guitar solos are revered, considered some of the best in rock, particularly the second lead with its notes and emotions soaring more and more.
The song has nothing to do with substance abuse, it was about anti nausea medication administered to Roger Waters prior to going on stage after he fell ill It made him delusional and hallucinogenic. They wove element that into the film version where the main character was suffering and emotional and physical breakdown
Loved your reaction and your insights. I would like to add another vote for listening to the to live 'Pulse' concert version of this song. It brings the emotional punch to another level and the guitar solo at the end is much longer and is (IMHO) one of the greatest guitar solos ever. Also I think 'On the turning away' would be a great fit for you & your channel.
In the 80s there were certain albums I tended to listen to based on where I was emotionally. Two of the biggies were "Quadrophenia" when I was angry and frustrated, and "The Wall" when I was feeling disconnected. You might think that would just make matters worse (and it did feel like I was diving deeper during the listen) but it actually helped, I think because it reminded me I was not alone in feeling like this! The Wizard of Oz thing was a different album, "Dark Side of the Moon". I have done it and it's interesting in a "lazy afternoon experiment" kind of way, but nothing to do with this one as far as I know.
You have to listen to the whole album The Wall, of which Comfortably Numb is a track. The whole album is a concept album following the story and mental health of a fictional member of the band called Pink. The concept being how he puts up these psychological "Walls" in his head (hence the name of the album) based on the experiences and influances of his life, he built these walls to protect himself but them it backfires and the walls just end up isolating him and hurting his mental health. The whole album is amazing and well worth a listen too. Also, in the The Wall concert, they build an actual massive wall in front of the band while the band is playing. Sadly there aren't many great recordings of it, the best version you probably going to get it Rodger Waters (a member of the band) the Wall live in Berlin. Also, for another great song about addiction, listen to The Needle and the Damage done by Neil Young as well as Cold Turkey by John Lennon.
This song - the guitar speaks to my soul. As someone dealing with CPTSD, ADHD, late in life autism diagnosis, lifelong anxiety and depression, this song does something special - it gives me peace. I can't explain how but the guitar lifts me up out of the current web of fear/pain/numbness (you can feel pain and be numb at the same time) and takes me away from it all and gives me a place to rest and achieve some sort of balance even if it is only for a short while.
Pink Floyd is amazing!!! They are one of the few bands I have ever heard that are able to create such an amazingly ethereal quality to their music, and their lyrics just touch your heart. I really recommend you check out On The Turning Away remastered version. It is an achingly beautiful song and has a message that I believe we all need to hear in these times. I love your reactions and as a sufferer of depression, PTSD and BPD I always find your support and empathy so heart warming and inspiring. Much love.
Your comments about the disconnect are bang-on. A great reaction, especially considering you came into it knowing next to nothing about the song or the band. The song is loosely based on a time when the singer was really sick and one of the crew gave him a shot of pharmaceuticals so he could do the show. There was no caring about him as a person, just a "this will get you through the show" sort of thing. Their only interest was him doing the show and nothing else. He found it so dehumanizing, and he was going through a lot a mental hell at the time, too, and I'm sure it led to his on-stage breakdown (which led to him writing this album). Great job!
I am at the moment enduring a full blown episode. I came upon your page by way of subjecting my empathic self to reaction videos. Reaction videos I have found has my emotions on a super rollercoaster. The amount of tears baffles me. I think it might be my new addiction being that I am 18 months into sobriety which is something new to me. I am 50 and started my demise when I was 14. It's not the high I am use to but it gives me the feeling that I dont want to have but at the same time I want more of it for some reason. This weekend and the last few days I have really struggled with urges and cravings. I have secluded myself as much as possible for the outside world and all the people and places I use to frequent for the last 15 months sense being out of rehab. I have an enormous amount of emotions and thoughts with no outlet. I don't do meetings because I don't feel safe in the rooms. I am extremely lonely but I have given myself to people to many times and have been shit on by them that I just can't let go of my bubble. I will shut up now. This is my first video of yours. I am hooked for the moment. Thank you for having the courage to produce your videos.
I am so proud of you for taking the time for yourself and prioritizing your safety and wellbeing as you navigate through these intense emotions and urges. You've got this! 💖
Really excellent reactions, you picked up immediately on the impact of several addiction-centered lyrics. The context of this song is a (corrupt) medical doctor giving a performer something to "help them get through the show", and the performer being drugged willingly, since he's no longer in control of his own life. Couple this lyric scenario with two of rock's most memorable guitar solos in one song, and you get Comfortably Numb.
This is a good version to start your journey. Next, and for context, watch the version from the film, 'The Wall'. And then you're ready for the live 'Pulse' version - darker, slower but with a wonderfully uplifting cameo guitar solo in the middle, followed by what is largely felt to be the best rock guitar solo ever recorded (I share that sentiment).
i've seen mention of you needing to listen to two songs..."Time" and "Great Gig in the Sky"...and you most certainly should check them out; HOWEVER, they are absolutely linked together and MUST be listened to together...Time and then Great Gig...if you want to get any of the true impact. if you want the truest impact, listen to the Dark Side of the Moon album in one sitting, all the way throught. it will alter your life...in a good way. read the lyrics along with those songs (although Great Gig technically has no lyrics, it doesn't need them when you have the vocals Clare Torrey provided) or the whole album.
One of the best songs ever. The live version is a beast with a great light show. Thats what pink floyd is good at. Just letting you drift away to the music. I believe its dark side of the moon album that goes with the wizard of oz.
The live version at Pompeii is 4extra minutes of beautiful light show worth seeing, my family has been touched by mental issues so I hope life gets better for you keep up the good work you rock.
The entire album is a character arch for someone experiencing pain in childhood. Then it follows with his coping mechanisms as an adult. He realizes the only thing that seems to work to shut out the pain is isolation. Then he feels how empty the isolation is. By the end, he recognizes the need to heal and connect with the world again but that means exposing himself to those he built the wall to keep out. Comfortably Numb does reference a Rockstar in an overdose. His manager is trying to bring him back around by countering the effects of the drugs with other drugs so the Rockstar can perform his duties and make revenue.
From all the stories I have heard from the band on interviews this is really the story of Sid Barrett's mental break down. And the portions of the song is about the treatments during the late 60s and 70s. I mean listen to welcome to the Machine. Left a part time in the war for a lead role in a cage is clearly about Sid leaving the band to go try to recover from his childhood demons and his time in a the Sanitorium
Comfortably Numb, in the movie "The Wall", does make reference to an individual on drugs as I'm sure you've read in other comments. However, Roger Waters' lyrics were inspired by his experience of being injected with tranquilisers for stomach cramps before a performance in 1977 during Pink Floyd's In the Flesh Tour among other childhood experiences.
Please check out Comfortably Numb LIVE at the PULSE CONCERT. The extended guitar solo and spectacular light show combine for an unforgettable performance.
Most people go right to addiction with this song. Fun fact. In reality it was Roger Waters who was suffering from hepatitis which caused him stomach pain and vomiting. A doctor injected him with a sedative, right before going on stage, which caused his arms to become numb… Comfortably Numb. He said that was the longest 2 hr concert ever.
If you get into Pink Floyd you will find they always take you on an emotional journey with the music and the brilliant lyrics always being deep with double meaning and double entendres!! The music is almost always hypnotizing and will take you on that journey!
I love this album because to me it's like he's talking to a therapist about his mental health problems from lose of his dad to being sick to his mother and school everything built up this wall between him and the rest of the world then at the end he sees the sun once the wall falls
Pink Floyd is my go to music when I need to retreat and look after myself. They are all excellent albums and the movie of the wall (even the live version) is a way to escape and just chill. The Syd era and Roger era are iconic albums and then when Roger left the music changed again but I love listening to it and my kids know all of these end to end. The wall helped me through my recovery from A&D and I have been clean and sober every day since. I even saw them twice - with and without Roger so I feel very privileged. Stay strong, be well and keep up the great work. .
I remember hearing this song for the first time when I was a young teenager. No song hade ever connected with me and my longing for numbness before or since. I think because this one also calls on childhood and the longing to feel like a child. Not the innocents that we all feel as a loss later but the not knowing how innocent I was. I think the only thing that keeps me sober now is the glimpses I get of this new/old way of seeing the world and how they keep growing in duration. I love your breakdowns of how you experience music. Much love to everyone here in the comments and to you Amanda.
Glorious music that you cannot overestimate the significance of; made at a time when there was no video or social media to promote. It had to be good. This was that good. Production costs in the millions of dollars, the finest audio engineers and studio equipment then available. Enjoy it; you will never hear this quality again.
The version you played cut that song in half. The guitar solo at the end of this song at his live performances are life changing. I my battles against PTSD, Pink Floyd has touched emotions not felt in 50 years.
I'm glad you listened to the studio version first. The live version mentioned several times below is certainly great and highly recommended, but I grew up listening to the guitar solo on the studio version. The guitar solo is a little different every time David Gilmour plays it live, so it never sounds quite the same as the way I always knew it. The way I heard it first (and many times afterwards), like you did, will always be my favorite!
First, I’m a very big mental healthcare activist and I want to thank you for this RUclips channel. The reason why I can speak so confidently to this is that I was born in 1970 and I’m a drug addict. Pink Floyd was and still is the greatest outlet for teenagers to rebel; in the history of being a teenager. Most of us it took 50 100 200 times to understand the album It is also a song about self medication. Staying right close to the line of up and down. Your interpretation is outstanding. It’s really impressive. It’s complex music. So I can tell from your reactions to the video that you are just as complexes and blessed with a good ear and big heart. Your initial reaction with regard to drug use is very accurate. The other thing you said about being found on the floor is also correct in a very detailed manner actually. That voice in the beginning is what both heroin and their road manager both with their own agendas would say to you to manipulate you to keep going. The other voice is the lead singer : the addict.. sometimes the voice is the drug itself. All open for interpretation and as I said, your interpretation is spot on “ if you’re going to drug me to go on stage well I’ve finally found a comfortable way of doing that” there’s a sense of hopelessness and all of that stuff, drug withdrawal and addiction The title is an accurate depiction of the song. Sometimes things are very basic, but rarely things very basic with Pink Floyd. Thank you again for the video and supporting the mental health community.
Pink Floyd are my guys when I need to crank the volume and lay down and relax. I can't figure out most of their lyrics, but that's ok. Sorry I can't offer any more of an in depth comment. I just love their music. Thanks for your reaction video.
Very good to hear your reaction to the song in relation to your own personal experiences. People love to argue over the 'meanings' of Pink Floyd songs, but there rarely is a single true meaning. The beauty of their music is that it invokes a personal reaction from the listener and this will not be the same for everybody. You very clearly had a very personal reaction to this - it was written in your face. That is the true meaning for you.
This is such an emotional song for so many people. I've seen several comments recommending the love version from the Pulse show. I totally agree it's amazing. But you should watch the crowd when the 2nd guitar solo begins. They're almost hypnotized by what they are witnessing.
The Dark Side of Oz is an experience. You start the album “Dark Side of the Moon” when you see the lion roar, and it syncs pretty well. The album is only 45 minutes long, so it doesn’t cover the whole movie. I highly recommend listening to the whole “The Wall” album. “The Happiest Days of our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” is the track that got me interested in them. It’s about abusive teachers.
💖No matter where you are in your journey, you have a safe place here to share your struggles and accomplishments without judgment, but please make sure you are having that same respect and non-judgment for others too. This is how we shatter the mental health stigma.💖
Follow/say hi on IG (@mentalamanda) and if you need some direction and would like me to be your Happiness teacher, you can sign up for my Happiness Boost course here:
amandawebsterhealth.com/happiness-boost/
Well most of my life iv been the shoulder to cry on/support for my friends, well one day they got a harsh talking to, because as I finally got the courage to talk about my secret hell (depression), they did not listen...
the song refers to an illness suffered by one of the band members before a concert which was cured with a prick by a doctor which made the patient comfortably numb and able to play
@@andrea-v2s
This is what the band says the song was about, but it should be noted. They were trying to distance themselves from drug use allegations because of the mental health issues most likely exacerbated by the overuse of Psychedelics, which caused their creative leader )Syd Barrett( to recede from the record business and enter into a self-imposed cage.
@@Glaaki13 it sounds like you were important to someone, a shoulder at a bad time can mean the world the next day, hope you are doing well mate!
@@benvanwessel1984 well I kinda was, but when I moved 3 hours away, some drop away. which showed who my real friends was
If you enjoyed the guitar solo, check out the live version, from the PULSE concert. Best solo I have ever heard, and it never gets old.
I saw it live in the Superdome in New Orleans. Epic show
Hope you're a Patreon member otherwise she will ignore great recommendations which is likely why she ended up watching this version.
@@36814 yeah, very disappointed she did not watch the 'Pulse' version, she missed out on a great experience.
Good I got to read the messages, Pulse concert version of this song is the best, she should get netter recomendations, but anyway it is good she just didi this it was ok!!!!
The person who recommended this didn't suggest a version. That was my decision and, going in blind, I don't know which to choose. Also, Patreons get PRIORITY, but less than a third of my videos are Patreon requests. The others are mostly songs with the highest number of requests in the comments with a small percent being songs I'm just curious about or want to share because they are special to me.
Thank you for being here. This song is my story, and it’s clear that you understand too.
The whole album, ''The Wall'' is the story of ''Pink'' a rock star who's coming apart mentally and emotionally. It's deeply moving and highly tragic, the entire album is flawlessly done, a true masterpiece!
If you can, watch the movie. This will explain a lot of what is going on in the music. The full movie was posted on RUclips. ruclips.net/video/yvG3WPYAXHM/видео.htmlsi=P9IxmMQXr18YD4Bs
I had NO idea,@@kevin34ct... Thanx!
🌈
As a recovering addict who adored this song for decades, im astounded as to how clueless i was all those years of just listening to this piece as a jam. After getting off multiple drugs, i cant hear this without breaking down. I had myself become numb to my own failing life to the point of being comfortable in my depression and failures.
Age has given me a true and realistic interpretation of this song and im so lucky to be alive to understand it. Im still comfortably numb, but i feel enough to keep moving on.
Same here , had listened to this this song 1000s of times but until I recuperated from my su!c!de attempt , I finally understand this beautiful song and there's not a single day since that dreadful day I attempted against my life that I don't listen to this beautiful song !! .... ✌🏻🥰✌🏻 .... Ps. Stay strong and luvs ya my beloved friend !! ✌🏻😬✌🏻
Good luck with both of your journeys, and keep on keepin' on!
Yeah bro totally. People love to get F-ed up to this song without realizing its actual meaning. They aren't saying comfortably numb is a good thing (or bad directly), but with the themes its clear.
@@vbxtc625 thank you, and likewise. Enjoy the little things and fart out loud in public frequently. Just because a good laugh is true medication.
@@Sonic-gy7kq yessir! My new addiction is roller coasters. I can't get enough and the thrill makes the numb go hasta la bye bye like nothing for me personally. Ya just gotta find your happy and run with it. 😁🥹😶🌫️
Definitely need to check out the “Live” version to really experience this song!!
Easily one of the best live shows to watch.
On the Pulse album. That and Wish You Were Here too 👍
Même si cette version vous touche au plus profond de votre âme, visualiser et entendre la version live du concert Pulse de 1994 vous submergera totalement.... aucune comparaison d'avec la version studio :)
Definitely correct, the non-remastered version (all remastered versions seem to be worse to me). With the live version (Pulse-Concert) you get exactly the feeling you need and an absolute master class guitar solo.
If the studio version doesn't do it for ya then nothing will.
This song usually breaks people into tears. Given your background how you held it together on the line "You would not understand, this is not how I am" is pretty remarkable.
I was in college in 1979 when this album was released. Our psych professor brought his stereo from home and we analyzed every word of each song on this double album for 3 weeks! It tells the story of a boy who's father is killed in war and raised by his over protective mother. It describes a textbook decent into madness for the principal character. This song is from the section in which he is now a rock star and battling his mental demons and cannot go onstage to perform. His manager instructs his doctor to inject him with heroine or whatever, backstage just to get him through the show and the agreed contract to perform. Needless to say, the show doesn't go quite as planned! If you're interested in this, skip the live versions as recommended by others and watch the movie that was made! It stars Bob Geldhoff of the band Boomtown Rats. It is a jaw dropping masterpiece!
One of the members Rodger Waters was sick before a concert. A doctor gave him a shot for the pain. This song is about that experience and the way he felt. And compares it to way he felt when he was a kid and sick.he said after the shot he was so numb he could barely feel his hands and it was one of the most difficult shows he ever did. As for the Pulse version. If you haven't watched it you should. Get the biggest screen that you can. The laser and light show is incredible. Turn the lights down keep your eyes open and enjoy.
I also highly recommend The Great Gig in the Sky by Pink Floyd. It has a guest singer that speaks straight to the heart about dying without needing words.
“The Great Gig In The Sky” has no lyrics, per se. It’s a lengthy vocalization by the exceptional Clare Torry, who was reportedly asked to sing the five stages of grief.
And as a side note for anyone not familiar, the song came from Floyd’s legendary album, “The Dark Side of the Moon”, which lived on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 200 album list for more than NINE HUNDRED WEEKS.
Yes, BUT, after listening to Time. Peace/JT
Ironically, Ms Torrey went over twenty five years, unaware that her take was even used on the album. Or that she was featured on one of the best selling albums, ever.
You would think *somebody* would be like “Hey. I know that name!”
Another tear jerker for me! 😢
Really?
Over 25 years?
That seems a little bit remarkable.
You'd think that the royalty checks would have given her a clue long before that and even sooner with a sibling or cousin or teen child or friend of those who would start out like, "how come you never told me your, mom sister, aunt,...Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon?"
It seems almost implausible they would be like "whaaaat are you talking about?!"
Or that she wouldn't have been informed by a colleague fan or the Band.
But what do I know?!
I have always loved respected and appreciated the gift of this band since I first heard:
Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Umaguma
Animals
Atom Heart Mother
Obscured by Clouds {made the year I was born}.
I think Dark side of the Moon may have come out pretty recently or close to that time.
It was during a recovery from a {late 70s era street race} car accident that prolly should have killed all 3 of us in the car, when I was still no bigger than a bowtruckle lol, nah like 5y old.
Extracted from the remains using a new device called the "jaws of life" and with parts of the engine firewall glass and dash board still sticking out of us as we were loaded into the ambulances.
It was...traumatic and difficult... learning how to feed myself, talk walk, write and learn my ABC's & 123's.
How to use the bathroom, shower or get dressed by myself, tie my shoes and read.. again.
But with a lil bit of a different type of perspective that second time round.
Gratitude
Thanks for listening to the studio version, Pink Floyd is a good band to listen to LIVE but that's really for when one wants to appreciate the perfomance of a song one already knows. Good call, and the "soothing effect" is not just this song, it's David Gilmour's guitar which in reality is a portal to other dimensions.
I think Richard Wright's swirly keyboards contribute to that too.
A lot of songs are much better on the studio versions. I saw Steely Dan live once, my favorite band. I didn't care for the show at all. Very disappointing. But their studio work is genius in my eyes.
She needs to watch the movie, "The Wall". It's...different, but it will make "Comfortably Numb" make MUCH more sense.
The entire album The Wall should be listened to.
It's partially based on the lives of two of the band members.
It's iconic as it gets.
Yep, listen offline if you must. No need to involve the Wizard of Oz as that's kind of a gimmick. The album itself is all you need. Be aware that it's somewhat autobiographical and just sit back and enjoy.
You should be careful who you recommend this album to. If the person is suffering from depression, it can carry them further down the hole. I speak from experience.
The best way to enjoy The Wall is to watch the movie.
Like books produce book reports in school, this album should be on the curriculum.
The thing that makes this song perfect is not just the lyrics, but the beautiful melodic guitar solos by David Gilmour, that itself tells a story, the guitar cries, this for me is the greatest guitar solo by the greatest guitarist of all time, I should point out, the live pulse version tops the studio version by a long long way
i love all the layering of all the instruments, especially the strings and horns in the 2nd chorus.
I prefer the studio version myself. The live version is phenomenal but the solos are far more effective without the same pattern being played for 2 or 3 minutes straight during the disco ball UFO thing. That's just for my personal tastes. The second solo reminds me a lot of a song that came out not long before this one called "Beyond the Realms of Death" by Judas Priest and its very possible that David Gilmour had taken at least some inspiration from Glenn Tipton there
One of the best things about this band that honestly not very many bands then or now have to their advantage is that Pink Floyd live and Pink Floyd on record and Pink Floyd on film are all vastly different things but they are all incredible pieces of work separately and together as a whole. They were really good at adapting their stories to multiple forms of media and it translating properly. Again, I don't think very many bands or artists have been able to do that successfully and certainly none that I can recall from memory that have done it as well as this band did for the length of time that they did
For sure, the live performance from the Pulse concert is the best i've ever seen. David Gilmour is a man who is able to show emotions with his guitar. Long solo but worth to watch it.
Pink Floyd is interpreted through our individual lens of experience. Yours is an interesting take on Comfortably Numb; nice reaction.
This song is even better in the context of the album. It's part of a greater story.
Great insights, especially with the personal experience of being calmly "coached" through an overdose! The song came about after one of the band got sick on tour and had to get an injection to be able to go on stage, and the lyrics are his direct experience of the blur that followed. But they knew the lyrics worked well as a metaphor, too: when played from start to finish The Wall is a concept album that tells a personal story about mental health, alienation, and isolation, which the warm hazy detachment of the song fits to a T despite originally coming from a very literal place.
Yeah sure... he got "sick" while on tour. Remember this was at a time when drug use would land you in prison. So that interview you're referencing is telling a tale that isn't quite correct. I think this reactor nails it. He was the one OD'ing on the floor and a doctor gave him something that brought him around enough to shove him out on stage.
WRONG!! This actually happened to Roger Waters before the Philadelphia show ( THE ANIMALS TOUR) in 1977. He had a bout of hepetitis!!@@Mr.Ekshin
I personally love the studio version over the live "pulse" concert version.❤🙏🤘
Same
One of the greatest albums ever....but to truly understand the story you either need to listen to the whole album from start to finish or watch the movie....so many things get missed...
"The child is grown. The dream is gone."
The lines that hit me the hardest out of the entire album.
“The Wall” is a concept album and needs to be listened to, from beginning to end, nonstop. And yes, the concept dives deeply into mental health, specifically the repression of emotions to conform to expected societal norms. For proof of this, listen to the next-to-last track in the set, “The Trial”. (But listen to everything else first, in sequence. It’s much more comprehensible to mere mortals that way.)
Gilmour’s guitar solos are memorable because they are very close to singable by themselves. He doesn’t shred, he doesn’t pack as many notes as possible into a small space…he makes every note matter. Other examples that made it to airplay are “Wish You Were Here”, “Learning To Fly”, “Keep Talking”, “High Hopes”, and “On The Turning Away”.
This song was written after one of the band members, who was very ill at the time, was "medicated" to enable him to perform for one of their concerts and this is the way that the medication made him feel. I believe that it was some time in 1977.
Thank you sir or ma'am. Yeah this song was about being sick at a concert.
Roger Waters suffered crippling stomach cramp and had to call a doctor who injected a muscle relaxant so he could do the show.
@@2ridiculous41exactly. Roger Waters was experiencing excruciating abdominal pain and cramps just hours before a sold out show was scheduled to begin
They rushed him to the emergency hospital where tge doctors gave him a shot containing medication that relaxed his contracted muscles and killed his pain throughout his entire body. He felt like a distant ship smoke on the horizon. He said he thought he was talking yet nobody could hear his words yet, comfortably numb.
@@ragtie6177yes, but the song is not just that.
I thought the doctor came to him, but so many years later it is a story.
If you think the song is just about him you could do with a little context.
NEVER EVER listen just 1 song, ALWAYS listen a hole album from beginning to the end because Pink Floyd are telling stories with their masterpieces, 1 album 1 story. I know every album, every song, every note of every song, it took some time but still, today , they are never boring, you just enter Pink Floyd world
Much respect for one of the most insightful reactions I've seen. Thank you for taking the time to do this for us. Have a wonderful day!
And i wish you a hopeful and positive 2024. Keep on reacting and i wish you a lot of smiles on your face. Life is worth fighting for, no matter what.
As stated by others, The Pulse Live version is the epitome of this song. The light show and the ensemble of extraordinary musicians compliment the 3 original PF members. I have seen this concert in Indy, and I have never seen a concert better than Pulse before or since (I have been going to concerts since I was thirteen and I was born in the 40's, so that is saying something.)
Thank you for your reaction. Thank you again for using the correct album cover and listening to the album version first (that satisfies my OCD!). I thought your thoughts were right on. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to Floyd and I’ll continue enjoying them till I die. I first heard them in the 70s as a child when I’d see my dad laying eyes closed on the sofa listening to Dark Side and I’ve taken over the enjoyment and disbelief from him. As already mentioned, watch the film The Wall. It’s dark at times but well, well worth it. Carry on doing what you are doing……any previous downturns in your life will fade to become a very distant memory 🙏
My goodness! First time viewer here. Girl, you are spot on! Never used heroin but other stuff. I was never really "addicted ", but know many who lost everything. Love you!
Great choice of songs, and great reaction. When you find the time, watch/listen to the DVD " The Wall "; the entire album plays out, and the visual depictions will explain so much more to you. 40 years addict, 4 years clean here...life is a battle, lol.
The movie sets things more into prospective
Yes yes yes. The movie is a must see in my opinion.
Youre so strong for listening to s song like this and thankyou, you give hope to the rest of us!
Stunning reaction. I could see on your face just how much you felt and connected with every line of the song. I'm sorry that you had the personal experiences to find it so relatable and am glad that you are able to consider yourself as recovering. Hope you are continuing to do well.
Wow Amanda!!
I've been away from your videos for a while now. You really helped me out of a bad place.
Thank you for that.
Comfortably Numb has always been my favorite Pink Floyd son. This has to be the biggest comment section I've ever seen on your channel. Congratulations 🎊
I hope you gained a lot more subs.
The song is about his addiction to HEROIN and his using it on tour and had to have a shot before he did a show and he finally realized he could t do a show without it.
Its the inner pain of accepting what he has become as an.addict
Man, when I saw this pop up that you did this song, I knew this was gonna be a roller coaster ride for you. It definitely tossed you up against the wall as I expected it to as prior memories of yours would pop into that brain of yours... BUT, what I did not expect was how it seemed that you took hold of some of those old demons and threw them up against the wall as if it was a reminder to the demons that they are no longer welcome in your world. As to the second solo, once again I was not prepared for what I saw. What ever happened inside you, that's your time and I will leave it at that. Bless you on your journey, and thank you for allowing us this moment.....
When this came out I would listen to this front to back with headphones LOUD.
The Movie is a MUST watch for you now if you want the entire story. (You won't need drugs but it won't hurt) 😎
Happy belated 4/20+
The Live Pulse version can mesmerize you with that last solo. David Gilmour's guitar play takes you to the barriers of the Universe then breaks through that barrier. It's such an emotional ride. Also, Great Gig In The Sky, Learning to Fly, Sorrow and On The Turning Away are all good from the Pulse concert. Actually, the entire concert is fantastic. Thank you for diving into Pink FLoyd. Their music is indeed a treasure. Bless you, Amanda!
the emotion you talk about vs the emotion your body language tells us vs interpretation of this song is why this is the greatest song ever
I am a U.S. Marine Combat Veteran. This song reminds Me of much! Please check out Nobody Hears by Suicidal Tendencies...
You are incredibly brave, this is tough subject matter for everyone who has been there. Kudos for your courage. The calming effect is a deliberate creation of the tones used and the patterns of the repetition in the orchestrated sections. It can lead you to feel that time has changed its pace.
Same song from the live Pulse concert...simply mind blowing. Also listen to Time (with the lyrics), Shine On you Crazy Diamond, Wish You were Here, High Hopes, On The Turning Away (live) and many more.
61 now and Time hits harder with every listen. Fridays seem to come every other day now...
The studio version is more emotional, much more…
Jeez girl, that's such a mellow version. You've got to see the pulse live to get the full Floyd, it'll blow your mind.
One of the most powerful songs ever. To fully understand the song, you have to understand the whole album. All the songs are connected. Must watch The Wall the movie.
I can’t Thank you enough for what you’re doing here. I have lived with clinical depression my entire life. To have someone here who understands helps me take that one more step into tomorrow.
Your Comfortably Numb reaction hit me in a way that l really can’t explain. I’m clean now, but used hard drugs for many years in that vain attempt to become comfortably numb. I too overdosed on cocaine in the late 1980s. I was alone at home and ingested an insane amount in a few hours time. I think l stopped breathing, at least l had to sit upright in a corner and force myself to breathe. Come dawn l was breathing normally again, swearing l would never touch the stuff again. Within an hour l was on the phone buying more.
Comfortably Numb is my story, right down to the fever. I spent over a week hospitalized with a mystery illness and a temperature of over 104 degrees. And yes, my hands felt just like two balloons.
I am many years clean now, but that old devil depression still haunts me. I just wanted you to know how much your Comfortably Numb reaction meant to me. To see that someone else understands takes a weight off my shoulders. Thank you for the wonderful work you are doing. It is greatly appreciated. God bless you Amanda.
This is a great song, but it is also part of an overall story told in The Wall - which is a concept album. The story is rock singer Pink has gone insane- is sitting catatonic in his hotel room and has to get to a concert. In this song, a "Dr. Feelgood" has been brought in to revive him using drugs. Roger Waters, the chief song writer, said this happened to him many times when he was given meds so overcome pain and perform. That being said - this is my all time favorite song and all time favorite guitar solo from my all time favorite band with my all time favorite guitarist.
The movie they produced for this album really tells the story in a way the album doesn't. Hearing one or two songs out of order doesn't tell the story of the album, and the album can't touch the visuals Pink Floyd put into the movie. It's a must watch. Even in the concert, there's so much going on visually that the band didn't want the audience focusing on them, but on the story they were telling.
Even from the first time I heard this song as an 8 year old in the 80’s the song always gives me literal goosebumps.
As lots of people have pointed out, the PULSE Live version is truly incredible, but my personal favorite live version is from Pompeii 2016.
This album came out when I was a Jr in high school and it’s even more powerful now than it was then!!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year for tomorrow night....one of the best thigs i did online this year was to find you and this channel,thankyou for giving all hope that the future will get better....i hope everybody reading this has a great New Year
All l can say is l know you understand. This song is my story, including the childhood fever which put me in hospitalized isolation for several weeks. I recognize a fellow recovering soul. May your journey be successful.
Yours as well 💖
The song is actually a personal experience of Roger Waters (The bassist). Waters' lyrics were inspired by his experience of being injected with tranquilizers for stomach cramps before a performance in 1977 during Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh" Tour. He said, "That was the longest two hours of my life, trying to do a show when you can hardly lift your arm." Roger Waters was pretty much medicated by a doctor so he can perform for a show.
First time coming across your channel. Glad to see you overcame addictions. Pink Floyd is one of my favorite bands. I suggest watching more of their stuff, I like “time” because I am at that point where it really starts to have much more meaning than it use to. Though if you do listen to it, I would turn your headphones down for the intro.
Not sure if you have ever listened to Metallica “master of puppets” but I would suggest that one.
I have never really struggled much with addiction, I did at one point drink quite heavily but it was mostly a weekend social thing for me. There is an artist from the U.K. Lucy Spraggan who has a song called “last night” that reminded me of those days but a couple years ago, she released a song called “sober”. I guess she had some issues that she had to overcome as well.
I loved your reaction to this song. Keep up the good work
Love it. Deffinetly need to watch/listen live version from Pulse or TLOR (i think), longer versions but worth every second of it. Just relax, close your eyes, and enjoy music perfection Pink Floyd are.
When he says, "a distant ship's smoke on the horizon", he's giving an example of how they're "receding". "You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move, but I can't hear what you're saying". The lines, "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" really resonates with me. When I was a child, I had a type of vision (that's the only way I know how to describe it). Every answer to every question was answered. Our existence, our purpose, everything you need or want to know was in that vision. When it was over however, it faded away like a dream upon waking. The only thing I could remember is the calmness and euphoria of the experience. (and NO, I wasn't on drugs. This happened in my childhood, before I ever knew what drugs were).
Seeing you react to High Hopes by Pink Floyd would be a dream come true. Very emotional lyrically and one of Floyd’s greatest songs 🤘
Those advocating for the live Pulse version do so on the basis of the guitar solo and light show. This song is so much more, and the best version of any Pink Floyd song, is the one with Waters and Gilmour.
I've just discovered you, and I'm impressed. Your honesty is refreshing, particularly in the world of reactions. I'm 76, English, and i went through the whole madness of the 60s. I started reading Kerouac, Genet, Huxley - the whole 9 yards of Beat writers and poets - when i was about 14, and i wanted nothing more than to leave school and go on the road. So i did. The only drug I took was an occasional joint, but I was drunk all the time. I eventually dropped out so far I became so inward looking i was no longer a fully functioning human. Inevitably this led to a massive breakdown. Fortunately some good people helped me through, but it took years to become strong again. I learned so much from it though, as you obviously have. Regarding Floyd and this track in particular, one of their main themes is mental health. Their original singer and songwriter, Syd Barratt, took too much acid and lost himself to the point of being unable to perform. One day they simply didn't pick him up for a gig. But he was sorely missed. Their bass player, Roger Waters, took over songwriting, and wrote Wish You Were Here and Shine On You Crazy Diamond about him. However, he also had his own problems, which led him to writing The Wall, the story of Pink, a rock star whose childhood, education and life on the road have led him into a breakdown in which he imagines himself building a wall between him and the audience/world. In Comfortably Numb he is too sick to go on stage, so a doctor is called in to give him an injection to enable him to carry on.
Not to be _that_ guy, but alcohol is not only a drug, it's one of the more destructive ones. Which leads me to your claim that Syd "lost himself" due to taking too much LSD. Assuming that you're referring to long-term effects rather than just being intoxicated on-stage, there's no actual scientific support for the often repeated claim that LSD can make you lose your mind. It's a common assumption very much coloured by the War on Drugs and demonisation of the hippie movement, which "happened" to consist of Nixon's most vocal opponents. Mind you, millions of doses are consumed every year without it leading to overpopulated psychiatric hospitals. At this time, classic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin are receiving an increasing interest from researchers for their apparent ability to _heal_ mental issues, which is in many ways a revival of how these substances were viewed before the War on Drugs made research within this field very difficult.
Thank you for reacting to the studio version, as it seems like everyone else goes with a rendition from perhaps their top concert. I’m sure the live show is amazing, but the studio recording is some unmatched rock music to me. And yes, as far as I understand it, the subject of the song lyrics is substance abuse. Both original singer Roger Waters and his vocal successor David Gilmour perform on this version, two different lead voices. And those guitar solos are revered, considered some of the best in rock, particularly the second lead with its notes and emotions soaring more and more.
The song has nothing to do with substance abuse, it was about anti nausea medication administered to Roger Waters prior to going on stage after he fell ill
It made him delusional and hallucinogenic. They wove element that into the film version where the main character was suffering and emotional and physical breakdown
Well, thanks for the info. I had read in a book years ago about a certain band, which brought up the song and indicated it was about drug use.
Hey Amanda, Happy New Year! 🎉🎉
Loved your reaction and your insights. I would like to add another vote for listening to the to live 'Pulse' concert version of this song. It brings the emotional punch to another level and the guitar solo at the end is much longer and is (IMHO) one of the greatest guitar solos ever. Also I think 'On the turning away' would be a great fit for you & your channel.
second solo is epic.
In the 80s there were certain albums I tended to listen to based on where I was emotionally. Two of the biggies were "Quadrophenia" when I was angry and frustrated, and "The Wall" when I was feeling disconnected. You might think that would just make matters worse (and it did feel like I was diving deeper during the listen) but it actually helped, I think because it reminded me I was not alone in feeling like this!
The Wizard of Oz thing was a different album, "Dark Side of the Moon". I have done it and it's interesting in a "lazy afternoon experiment" kind of way, but nothing to do with this one as far as I know.
You have to listen to the whole album The Wall, of which Comfortably Numb is a track.
The whole album is a concept album following the story and mental health of a fictional member of the band called Pink. The concept being how he puts up these psychological "Walls" in his head (hence the name of the album) based on the experiences and influances of his life, he built these walls to protect himself but them it backfires and the walls just end up isolating him and hurting his mental health.
The whole album is amazing and well worth a listen too.
Also, in the The Wall concert, they build an actual massive wall in front of the band while the band is playing. Sadly there aren't many great recordings of it, the best version you probably going to get it Rodger Waters (a member of the band) the Wall live in Berlin.
Also, for another great song about addiction, listen to The Needle and the Damage done by Neil Young as well as Cold Turkey by John Lennon.
This song - the guitar speaks to my soul. As someone dealing with CPTSD, ADHD, late in life autism diagnosis, lifelong anxiety and depression, this song does something special - it gives me peace. I can't explain how but the guitar lifts me up out of the current web of fear/pain/numbness (you can feel pain and be numb at the same time) and takes me away from it all and gives me a place to rest and achieve some sort of balance even if it is only for a short while.
Pink floyd always mellows me out
Puts me in a very nice space
Pink Floyd is amazing!!! They are one of the few bands I have ever heard that are able to create such an amazingly ethereal quality to their music, and their lyrics just touch your heart. I really recommend you check out On The Turning Away remastered version. It is an achingly beautiful song and has a message that I believe we all need to hear in these times. I love your reactions and as a sufferer of depression, PTSD and BPD I always find your support and empathy so heart warming and inspiring. Much love.
Your comments about the disconnect are bang-on. A great reaction, especially considering you came into it knowing next to nothing about the song or the band.
The song is loosely based on a time when the singer was really sick and one of the crew gave him a shot of pharmaceuticals so he could do the show. There was no caring about him as a person, just a "this will get you through the show" sort of thing. Their only interest was him doing the show and nothing else. He found it so dehumanizing, and he was going through a lot a mental hell at the time, too, and I'm sure it led to his on-stage breakdown (which led to him writing this album).
Great job!
I am at the moment enduring a full blown episode. I came upon your page by way of subjecting my empathic self to reaction videos. Reaction videos I have found has my emotions on a super rollercoaster. The amount of tears baffles me. I think it might be my new addiction being that I am 18 months into sobriety which is something new to me. I am 50 and started my demise when I was 14. It's not the high I am use to but it gives me the feeling that I dont want to have but at the same time I want more of it for some reason. This weekend and the last few days I have really struggled with urges and cravings. I have secluded myself as much as possible for the outside world and all the people and places I use to frequent for the last 15 months sense being out of rehab. I have an enormous amount of emotions and thoughts with no outlet. I don't do meetings because I don't feel safe in the rooms. I am extremely lonely but I have given myself to people to many times and have been shit on by them that I just can't let go of my bubble. I will shut up now. This is my first video of yours. I am hooked for the moment. Thank you for having the courage to produce your videos.
I am so proud of you for taking the time for yourself and prioritizing your safety and wellbeing as you navigate through these intense emotions and urges. You've got this! 💖
Really excellent reactions, you picked up immediately on the impact of several addiction-centered lyrics. The context of this song is a (corrupt) medical doctor giving a performer something to "help them get through the show", and the performer being drugged willingly, since he's no longer in control of his own life. Couple this lyric scenario with two of rock's most memorable guitar solos in one song, and you get Comfortably Numb.
There is so, so much to unpack with this song and album. The complete album is a story that takes you on wild journey. I think you may enjoy it.
Reviewing one song on TheWall is like reading one chapter in a book , it tells a story , listen to it all
This is a good version to start your journey. Next, and for context, watch the version from the film, 'The Wall'. And then you're ready for the live 'Pulse' version - darker, slower but with a wonderfully uplifting cameo guitar solo in the middle, followed by what is largely felt to be the best rock guitar solo ever recorded (I share that sentiment).
i've seen mention of you needing to listen to two songs..."Time" and "Great Gig in the Sky"...and you most certainly should check them out; HOWEVER, they are absolutely linked together and MUST be listened to together...Time and then Great Gig...if you want to get any of the true impact. if you want the truest impact, listen to the Dark Side of the Moon album in one sitting, all the way throught. it will alter your life...in a good way. read the lyrics along with those songs (although Great Gig technically has no lyrics, it doesn't need them when you have the vocals Clare Torrey provided) or the whole album.
One of the best songs ever. The live version is a beast with a great light show. Thats what pink floyd is good at. Just letting you drift away to the music. I believe its dark side of the moon album that goes with the wizard of oz.
Basically this song is a conversation between a doctor and a patient.
The live version at Pompeii is 4extra minutes of beautiful light show worth seeing, my family has been touched by mental issues so I hope life gets better for you keep up the good work you rock.
The entire album is a character arch for someone experiencing pain in childhood. Then it follows with his coping mechanisms as an adult. He realizes the only thing that seems to work to shut out the pain is isolation. Then he feels how empty the isolation is. By the end, he recognizes the need to heal and connect with the world again but that means exposing himself to those he built the wall to keep out.
Comfortably Numb does reference a Rockstar in an overdose. His manager is trying to bring him back around by countering the effects of the drugs with other drugs so the Rockstar can perform his duties and make revenue.
From all the stories I have heard from the band on interviews this is really the story of Sid Barrett's mental break down. And the portions of the song is about the treatments during the late 60s and 70s. I mean listen to welcome to the Machine. Left a part time in the war for a lead role in a cage is clearly about Sid leaving the band to go try to recover from his childhood demons and his time in a the Sanitorium
@@machtshnel
I was referring to The Wall. I agree about Wish You Were Here. That is my favorite Floyd album.
Wow! What great analysis. I needed to subscribe your channel.
Comfortably Numb, in the movie "The Wall", does make reference to an individual on drugs as I'm sure you've read in other comments. However, Roger Waters' lyrics were inspired by his experience of being injected with tranquilisers for stomach cramps before a performance in 1977 during Pink Floyd's In the Flesh Tour among other childhood experiences.
I wish you all the very best with you sobriety and your struggles. I hope you have all the support you need. With love from a fellow human being.
Please check out Comfortably Numb LIVE at the PULSE CONCERT. The extended guitar solo and spectacular light show combine for an unforgettable performance.
Definitely need to do the live versions..your experience will be quantified!! Great reactions 😊
Most people go right to addiction with this song. Fun fact. In reality it was Roger Waters who was suffering from hepatitis which caused him stomach pain and vomiting. A doctor injected him with a sedative, right before going on stage, which caused his arms to become numb… Comfortably Numb. He said that was the longest 2 hr concert ever.
If you get into Pink Floyd you will find they always take you on an emotional journey with the music and the brilliant lyrics always being deep with double meaning and double entendres!! The music is almost always hypnotizing and will take you on that journey!
The outside will always treat you the same way you treat yourself. 🙏🏻
Pink Floyd on shrooms. An entirely unique experience and understanding. You begin to realize why all is as it should be.
I love this album because to me it's like he's talking to a therapist about his mental health problems from lose of his dad to being sick to his mother and school everything built up this wall between him and the rest of the world then at the end he sees the sun once the wall falls
Pink Floyd is my go to music when I need to retreat and look after myself. They are all excellent albums and the movie of the wall (even the live version) is a way to escape and just chill. The Syd era and Roger era are iconic albums and then when Roger left the music changed again but I love listening to it and my kids know all of these end to end. The wall helped me through my recovery from A&D and I have been clean and sober every day since. I even saw them twice - with and without Roger so I feel very privileged. Stay strong, be well and keep up the great work. .
I remember hearing this song for the first time when I was a young teenager. No song hade ever connected with me and my longing for numbness before or since. I think because this one also calls on childhood and the longing to feel like a child. Not the innocents that we all feel as a loss later but the not knowing how innocent I was. I think the only thing that keeps me sober now is the glimpses I get of this new/old way of seeing the world and how they keep growing in duration.
I love your breakdowns of how you experience music. Much love to everyone here in the comments and to you Amanda.
It’s fascinating to get a completely fresh take on this song that I’ve known for decades.
Glorious music that you cannot overestimate the significance of; made at a time when there was no video or social media to promote. It had to be good. This was that good. Production costs in the millions of dollars, the finest audio engineers and studio equipment then available. Enjoy it; you will never hear this quality again.
The version you played cut that song in half. The guitar solo at the end of this song at his live performances are life changing.
I my battles against PTSD, Pink Floyd has touched emotions not felt in 50 years.
I'm glad you listened to the studio version first. The live version mentioned several times below is certainly great and highly recommended, but I grew up listening to the guitar solo on the studio version. The guitar solo is a little different every time David Gilmour plays it live, so it never sounds quite the same as the way I always knew it. The way I heard it first (and many times afterwards), like you did, will always be my favorite!
You definitely felt the torment and anguish in the 2nd solo!
First, I’m a very big mental healthcare activist and I want to thank you for this RUclips channel.
The reason why I can speak so confidently to this is that I was born in 1970 and I’m a drug addict. Pink Floyd was and still is the greatest outlet for teenagers to rebel; in the history of being a teenager. Most of us it took 50 100 200 times to understand the album
It is also a song about self medication. Staying right close to the line of up and down.
Your interpretation is outstanding. It’s really impressive.
It’s complex music. So I can tell from your reactions to the video that you are just as complexes and blessed with a good ear and big heart.
Your initial reaction with regard to drug use is very accurate. The other thing you said about being found on the floor is also correct in a very detailed manner actually. That voice in the beginning is what both heroin and their road manager both with their own agendas would say to you to manipulate you to keep going.
The other voice is the lead singer : the addict.. sometimes the voice is the drug itself. All open for interpretation and as I said, your interpretation is spot on
“ if you’re going to drug me to go on stage well I’ve finally found a comfortable way of doing that” there’s a sense of hopelessness and all of that stuff, drug withdrawal and addiction
The title is an accurate depiction of the song.
Sometimes things are very basic, but rarely things very basic with Pink Floyd.
Thank you again for the video and supporting the mental health community.
Thank you for your heart felt comment, and even more importantly, thank you for your contribution to awareness.
Pink Floyd are my guys when I need to crank the volume and lay down and relax. I can't figure out most of their lyrics, but that's ok. Sorry I can't offer any more of an in depth comment. I just love their music. Thanks for your reaction video.
Very good to hear your reaction to the song in relation to your own personal experiences. People love to argue over the 'meanings' of Pink Floyd songs, but there rarely is a single true meaning. The beauty of their music is that it invokes a personal reaction from the listener and this will not be the same for everybody. You very clearly had a very personal reaction to this - it was written in your face. That is the true meaning for you.
This is such an emotional song for so many people. I've seen several comments recommending the love version from the Pulse show. I totally agree it's amazing. But you should watch the crowd when the 2nd guitar solo begins. They're almost hypnotized by what they are witnessing.
The Dark Side of Oz is an experience. You start the album “Dark Side of the Moon” when you see the lion roar, and it syncs pretty well. The album is only 45 minutes long, so it doesn’t cover the whole movie.
I highly recommend listening to the whole “The Wall” album. “The Happiest Days of our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” is the track that got me interested in them. It’s about abusive teachers.
Someone has done the sync on RUclips, which takes all of the trial and error out of it. Seemed much easier in my day when we only had turntables.