Roger Waters Releases "Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined": "I've Never Been Antisemitic"

Roger Waters has released “Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined“, a new version of the classic by Pink Floyd, made together with Palestinian singer Mona Miari. The track, which reworks in a completely different key the “Comfortably Numb” originally released in 1979 on “The Wall“, becomes a manifesto of solidarity with the Palestinian people through new lyrics in English and Arabic and a roughly nine-minute video that alternates the two artists' performance with footage shot in the Gaza Strip (see below).
Among the most significant changes is the chorus: the famous line “I have become comfortably numb” gives way to “I will never become comfortably numb”, underlining a refusal to remain indifferent in the face of suffering. The track also includes a new section, “Hind’s Lullaby”, written by Mona Miari and dedicated to Hind Rajab, the six-year-old Palestinian girl killed along with her family in Gaza in January 2024. Proceeds from the release will go to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

In an interview with Wired, Waters explained that he hopes the song's meaning will remain relevant in the years to come: "I hope they'll understand it was prophetic: there is a right and a wrong. It's not complicated, and this song is on the right side of history. I hope they'll say: 'Thank goodness!'. They were part of the resistance, and we are part of the resistance. Ṣumūd." The Arabic term ṣumūd evokes the concept of perseverance and steadfastness associated with the Palestinian people's resistance.
Mona Miari added: "I hope that in 10 years, whoever listens to 'Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined' will also be able to experience a free Palestine and look back on it as a testament to the truth and to what happened, and hold on to that sense of resistance and urgency for freedom."

During the same interview, Waters also addressed the accusations of antisemitism that have followed him in recent years, reiterating his position: "I don't have an ounce of antisemitism in me. I never have, and I never will. Frankly, I couldn't care less what your religion is. It doesn't interest me." The former ink Floyd member has repeatedly stated that his criticism is directed at the policies of the Israeli government and at Zionism, not at the Jewish people.
The release of "Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined" comes just days after the release of "We Will Dance Again", the controversial track by Boy George inspired by the October 7, 2023 attack on the Nova Festival in Israel. The song, which opens with the line "You say genocide, I say war", was presented by the singer as the result of his visit to the immersive Nova Festival Experience exhibition in London, dedicated to the victims of the Hamas attack.

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