Whats "Comfortably Numb" about?

Is it possible, and has anyone considered, that RW created Pink in the image of none other than Sid. It must be tremendously difficult to watch someone close go off the deep end. I'm sure there is a great deal of thought, and even obsession in attempting to see the world through Sid's eyes. Don't forget that Pink couldn't differentiate between the war and his show.

Pink is basically Roger himself, the parts about his father, his wife, the rock'n'roll audiences, they're all about Roger's own experiences. Other parts and bits are inspired by Syd's story, and the rest comes from general observations of life and society (the school part, for example). And don't forget that overall Pink is a fictional charachter, anyway.
CN is actually about what you see in the movie, the illness of the rockstar, "dr Feelgood", and memories from the past... just a part of the story, matter of fact.

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"Don't you know there ain't no devil, it's just god when he's drunk." Tom Waits

I dont understand why Pink asks If he had been guilty all this time? in track 11 in "the Wall"
guilty oh what and why? Im not sure.

Guilty of having "feelings" of an "almost human nature"?

Guilty of building a "wall" to shut out everyone?

That's why he was sentanced to be "exposed before your peers" and to have the Wall torn down.

BTW, Welcome, Rebecca!!

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Taking away from you for the greater good. (The Audacity of Socialism).

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery." -Winston Churchill

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant" - Omar Ahmad (founder, C.A.I.R.)

Guilty of basically being an ass toward the poeple who mean the most to him. His wife ( he was divorced), his mother (tho Rog claims to have a good relationship with his mother, he says he threw this character in for good measure), the fans, and basically everyone else.

By the way, welcome Rebecca.

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stchrissie is not me.

thank u stratman, u actually made me realise that what I thought was right.
Im 14. I just started to hear this album and I think I get it...
And now the wall is my favorite

Well it's obvious, from the scene in the movie, he was either revived from an overdose or a sickness, but from what I'm guessing it was a sickness and here are my two theories.

On the movie when Pink cuts his hand on the glass his bleeding hand plays a big part in the next few scenes. In the swimming pool, while he's sitting in the chair, etc. and I think that, mixed with his depression, gave him the 'swollen hand blues' he talks of, which is properly just a generic sickness used for symbolism as opposed to a real one. I just recently been thinking that it might play a big part in that scene, but here's my other theory which is very similar...

You know when you get depressed with that 'sick to your stomach' feeling and you don't even want to be hugged, have sex or even be bothered by people? Well I think Pink had that x10 and the whole thing with the cut hand probably brought back the symptoms of the sickness he had as a child and as he was a prisoner to himself, in his mind, he was also physically dying.

For some reason I also think that the whole "There must've been a hole in the wall..." lyric is related to this song and situation as well.

Sometimes when I think of this I don't think of it word-for-word how I did above, I usually pick it apart differently everytime I think of the scene or see it/hear the song.

As was mentioned by Roger in many BBC interviews on the subject, Copmftorably Numb (and to a lesser extent In the Flesh) was inspired by real-life experiences he had had, including being revived from drug stupors by doctors to give shows. Really, though, as far as the movie, I dont take it too seriously, as it was more of 3 individuals (Roger, Alans Marshall & Parker) trying to interpret an original work 3 difrent ways. Sides 3 & 4 were just more influenced by Rog's autobiographical vision then most parts. Remember, to analyze anything, you must examine the original (and ONLY) the original works; a lesson learned well by most warsies when Lucas signed all those book deals.

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"Sitting on my own, not by myself
Everybody's here with me"

Yes Rog needed a booster to perform, but like the wall the song is about many things.

Rogers hands swelling up like 2 balloons when he was young and had a virus.

There is no pain you are receding - when Rog broke up with his wife he had a mini breakdown (in the EMI canteen)where he felt he was receding away from reality but there was no pain involved, he discribed a sensation of looking down a tube and reality was a the end of it, fortunately he snapped out of it, after a soothing jam on the piano. (didn't you Rog? I know you browse these forums)

Its also about Syd being catatonic.

Its also a portrayal of how the band felt at the time, churning out music they didn't really want to do and playing it to people who had no understanding of what it was all about. - they felt a numbness.

Guilty about not helping someone he loves as much as he probably could have.

Queen of all my dreamssssssssssssssyyyd.

One great thing about Floyds work is that there are multiple possible meanings to many of their songs and lyrics. Obviously, there is the literal meaning communicated by the author of whichever song, but also there are the perceivable or inferred
meanings, which are subject to interpretation by the listener. Comfortably Numb, to me, is about how we all can get when we've just had enough of all the bullshit this world can dish out.
Sometimes it's an endless barrage of pain, trouble, and boredom.
Other times, it's an actual occasional GOOD event. Life is confusing and difficult to say the least. When one is overwhelmed
by it, one can find themselves detaching from the reality of their
existence, attempting to escape into a fantasy, if at least for a
little while. That can be both positive and negative, in that it may
tend to alienate others from you.

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If I go insane, please don't put your wires in my brain....

Ditto!

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If you want to find the source,
you have to go up, against the current.

From what I've heard is this..

Roger had to have an adrenaline shot before a show because he was so messed up on some drugs.

Just a little pin prick.

Eh, just what I've heard Roger said.

From watching the movie itself, i believe that it is definitely a call of the past, as well as a mixture of depression and the act of drug use.