1979 · Behind the Songs
A doctor, a feverish patient — and the two most famous guitar solos in rock.
“Comfortably Numb” is the emotional peak of The Wall, the double album Pink Floyd released in November 1979. The music was written by David Gilmour — originating as a demo from the sessions for his 1978 solo album — and the lyrics by Roger Waters, recalling the night he was injected with a tranquilizer before a 1977 show in Philadelphia when he was too ill to perform. The song is structured as a dialogue between a doctor and a feverish patient.
The recording features an orchestral arrangement by Michael Kamen and was produced with Bob Ezrin. Gilmour’s two guitar solos — one in the middle, one carrying the song to its close — are routinely ranked among the greatest ever recorded. Though never released as a single, “Comfortably Numb” became the album’s most enduring track and a permanent concert finale.
What to listen for: the contrast between the verses’ medicated numbness and the solos’ soaring release — detachment giving way to feeling.