40-Year-Old Songs Top Ten: Comfortably Numb (#1)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86919)
United States
August 31, 2020 10:30am CST
The end of the month brings with it the end of this countdown that showcases songs that many people know and love today, but in actuality are 40 years old. Here’s the top song on my list.
#1: Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
I know, it’s played to death (along with “Another Brick in the Wall” and “Money”). I don’t hear it unless I want to. And I frequently want to!
I quote this to my dentist when he gives me Novocain. Last time, the dental tech didn’t know this song. I told her not to get anywhere near my mouth, because she was too young to work on me. 
The Wall was a rock opera/concept album, quite autobiographical in places. The star of the show is “Pink,” which comes from a line in “Have a Cigar” (“By the way, which one’s Pink?”, something that some bone-headed record exec actually said to them once upon a time). In this song he needs medication to get to the stage in order to perform. That also happened: the reality behind the song happened in 1977, when co-writer Roger Waters was suffering from severe stomach cramps. Instead of canceling the show, he got an injection of tranquilizers to ease the pain. According to Picky Wedia, he said that concert was “the longest two hours of my life.”
This song also has the distinction of being the last song Pink Floyd ever performed together, at the Live 8 benefit in 2005.
Despite the frequently bitter disagreements between Floyd front men Roger Waters and David Gilmour, they did reunite on one of Waters’ tours to perform this song. There’s a video of it on You Tube. It’s magical, especially watching Waters becoming a fan while Gilmour is singing his part from the top of the wall.
I’m not a big Pink Floyd fan, but dang this is a fabulous song. And a fabulous album.
Thanks for reading.
Comfortably Numb
Written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour
Recorded by Pink Floyd
From The Wall, 1979
There is no pain, you are receding:
The Wall was a rock opera/concept album, quite autobiographical in places. The star of the show is “Pink,” which comes from a line in “Have a Cigar” (“By the way, which one’s Pink?”, something that some bone-headed record exec actually said to them once upon a time). In this song he needs medication to get to the stage in order to perform. That also happened: the reality behind the song happened in 1977, when co-writer Roger Waters was suffering from severe stomach cramps. Instead of canceling the show, he got an injection of tranquilizers to ease the pain. According to Picky Wedia, he said that concert was “the longest two hours of my life.”
This song also has the distinction of being the last song Pink Floyd ever performed together, at the Live 8 benefit in 2005.
Despite the frequently bitter disagreements between Floyd front men Roger Waters and David Gilmour, they did reunite on one of Waters’ tours to perform this song. There’s a video of it on You Tube. It’s magical, especially watching Waters becoming a fan while Gilmour is singing his part from the top of the wall.
I’m not a big Pink Floyd fan, but dang this is a fabulous song. And a fabulous album.
Thanks for reading.
Comfortably Numb
Written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour
Recorded by Pink Floyd
From The Wall, 1979
There is no pain, you are receding:
***overdubed version*** Matched video with audio from another concert.
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