Behind the song “Comfortably Numb”

This song is about a lost soul and doctors’ foolish attempts to heal his physical body, thereby ignoring the whole human experience, and forcing him to move further away from what is real and true for him.

There are two ways out: to deal with your pain, which without exception involves extreme suffering, or to anaesthetise it so as to function in this society and simply do what is expected of you. This song portrays our society (the doctor) and, I dare say, most of adults today. Many of us turn to “being comfortably numb” by adopting certain coping mechanisms, such as meditation, “newly introduced spirituality and forced positive thinking”, and when the pain is too much to handle, we turn to antidepressants, sedatives, alcohol or drugs. Rare are those who choose to face and conquer their fear from internal pain, simply because it is a very lonely and excruciating process. Authenticity and sticking to what is true for us on many occasions determine us as eccentrics and weirdoes. And since nobody wants to be alone, feel misunderstood or secretly banished from the society, we turn to coping mechanisms and ultimately become “comfortably numb”. 🙁 So, here goes:

HELLO, IS THERE ANYBODY IN THERE?

JUST NOD IF YOU CAN HEAR ME.

IS THERE ANYONE AT HOME?

The doctor asks, unknowingly juxtaposing the phrases of “out there / in there” and thereby highlighting the separation between the reality of the outside world and the “patient’s” dream-like inner sanctum. He goes on to ironically mirror the person’s own existential questions about his own sanity in “Nobody Home,” as well as hinting at his journey to reevaluate his “fading roots,” which has been abruptly interrupted by the intrusion of the doctor and other outside (“out there”) forces.

COME ON NOW, I HEAR YOU’RE FEELING DOWN.

WELL I CAN EASE YOUR PAIN AND GET YOU ON YOUR FEET AGAIN.

This is is something of a comical understatement, with the subsequent assurance that harking back to the very root of the wall – the person’s desire to ease himself from the pain of life. Just as the person in pain was reaching some sort of epiphany in his journey to reclaim his roots, the outside world bursts in and unwittingly promises to dull the pain with which he was trying to connect.

RELAX, I’LL NEED SOME INFORMATION FIRST.

JUST THE BASIC FACTS; CAN YOU SHOW ME WHERE IT HURTS? 

To highlight the irony, the doctor concludes the verse by asking the man to “show me where it hurts.”

THERE IS NO PAIN, YOU ARE RECEDING.

A DISTANT SHIP SMOKE ON THE HORIZON..

YOU ARE ONLY COMING THROUGH IN WAVES;

YOUR LIPS MOVE BUT I CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SAYING…

It hurts nowhere and everywhere; that is, the pain is not physical, not something that can be pointed out, poked at, and remedied. Rather, it is deeply seeded within my mind, buried at the core of my being. The world is dulled for me. I am lost, isolated and helpless. I feel as if I were a ship adrift on the sea with help visible but equally out of reach.

WHEN I WAS A CHILD I HAD A FEVER,

MY HANDS FELT JUST LIKE TWO BALLOONS;

NOW I’VE GOT THAT FEELING ONCE AGAIN,..

I am weak, light and fragile like a ballon, just like a sick child. I have been this way since I was a child; I have managed to construct and complete my wall and this is how I have remained. I have nearly always been distant, uncommunicative and disordered and will continue to remain here until I destroy my wall and progress into life without being “comfortably numb” – that is without dulling the pain and past trauma by whatever means necessary.

I CAN’T EXPLAIN, YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND..

THIS IS NOT HOW I AM.

The real me is still here beneath the surface.

I HAVE BECOME COMFORTABLY NUMB….

I HAVE BECOME COMFORTABLY NUMB!

I can’t handle the pain. It’s easier this way!

O.K.
JUST A LITTLE PIN PRICK;

THERE’LL BE NO MORE AAAAAAAH!;

BUT YOU MAY FEEL A LITTLE SICK…

The doctor really wants to give him just a small sedative. He warns him that the pill might have some small side effects, but reassures him that it will keep him moving.

CAN YOU STAND UP?

I DO BELIEVE IT’S WORKING, GOOD!

THAT’LL KEEP YOU GOING THROUGH THE SHOW..

COME ON, IT’S TIME TO GO.

The people who are trying to help here severely reinforce his built up wall, rather than help deconstruct it. They, themselves are comfortably numb and do not have the ability to empathise.

THERE IS NO PAIN YOU ARE RECEDING;

A DISTANT SHIP SMOKE ON THE HORIZON;

YOU ARE ONLY COMING THROUGH IN WAVES;

YOUR LIPS MOVE BUT I CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SAYING..