Pink Floyd

The relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour is now at an all-time low, marked by a deep, seemingly irreparable rift that makes any potential reunion of Pink Floyd effectively unthinkable, given that their last performance together dates back to the 2005 Live 8. It's a conflict, however, with deep roots, going back to the late '70s, when the bond between the two began to visibly crack. What still held them together in that turbulent period was the extraordinary creative chemistry that still linked them. And in the future, neither Waters nor Gilmour would ever manage on their own to reach the artistic heights they scaled together within Pink Floyd. It was precisely that tension that gave birth to some of their most legendary songs. Take, for instance, “Comfortably Numb”, the masterpiece from the album “The Wall” (1979), born under anything but peaceful circumstances.

The song's genesis dates back to a 1978 recording session, originally intended for Gilmour's solo debut (“David Gilmour”, 1978). The guitarist was looking for a space of his own, feeling increasingly constrained within the band. And yet, despite their differences, that episode produced one of the last true moments of collaboration between the two. As Gilmour himself recounted in Mark Blake's book “Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd”, the song was the product of the “last embers” of their ability to work together.

The track truly took shape when Waters added lyrics to the musical backing composed by Gilmour. But it was over that very backing that a heated clash erupted. In a 2011 interview with Absolute Radio, Waters recalled a fierce argument that took place during the sessions in the south of France: “I'd written a drum part that I loved, but it didn't work for David. He cut it and rewrote the drums, saying, 'That's better now.' But I didn't like it at all.” The album's co-producer, Bob Ezrin, also confirmed the deep divide between the two: Gilmour was pushing for a leaner, more stripped-down version, while Waters envisioned a broader, more dramatic orchestral arrangement. In the end, a compromise prevailed: the song's central structure would follow Waters' approach, while the famous, powerful and poignant closing guitar solo would stay true to Gilmour's version.

It's hard today to imagine “Comfortably Numb” any different from how it is: perfectly balanced between lyrical pathos and musical power. And that very fusion, born out of the clash between two colliding artistic visions, shows how the tension between Waters and Gilmour – for as long as it could be contained – was able to produce genuine masterpieces.

Among the many Pink Floyd classics, “Comfortably Numb” (from “The Wall”, 1979) has always been one of the fans' favorites. Perhaps because of its tones, at once so poignant and unsettled, or perhaps because of David Gilmour's stunning guitar solo. As for the lyrics, endless theories and speculation have circulated, including allusions to drugs and getting high, but the song's author, Roger Waters, has always denied that reading, explaining instead that he drew on a fever he suffered as a child, which made him seriously ill. “I remember having the flu or something like that, an infection with a 105-degree (Fahrenheit) fever, and being delirious,” recalled the former Pink Floyd bassist, who recently reworked the song into a new version titled “Comfortably Numb 2022”, in which, stripped of any lingering '70s sound, of any tie to pop-rock tradition – including, of course, Gilmour's celebrated solo – the sound becomes more contemporary, dominated by synths, harmonium and bass. But before Waters settled on the lyrics and meaning of the song, David Gilmour had already composed the chord sequence and had a rough idea of the melody. In a video, the guitarist revealed the original recordings of this demo, in an extremely bare-bones version that bears little resemblance to the final “Comfortably Numb”. Still, in that recording, one can already make out a few elements of the official version.

In a video recorded at his studio, David Gilmour listened back to the first demo of “Comfortably Numb”, uncovering a curious detail: “I didn't remember writing any lyrics,” the guitarist says. On the instrumental track, over an acoustic guitar backing, Gilmour sings a wordless melody and then a couple of verses touching on alienation, loneliness, despair. Lines like “Nothing to live and nothing to die for” convey a sense of despair and yearning. And it's interesting to note that, even though Gilmour had only placeholder lyrics, they already followed a theme similar to the one Waters would later develop. The melody already evoked feelings of anguish and detachment from reality, and the song's meaning could only follow that same direction.

Watch the video below of David Gilmour retracing the genesis of “Comfortably Numb”.

In 2022, however, Roger Waters decided to release “his” version of the track, titled “Comfortably Numb 2022”. More than an alternative take on the unforgettable song from “The Wall”, it feels like a prophecy. Stripped of every residual 70s sound, of any link to pop-rock tradition – and, of course, of Gilmour's celebrated solo (arguably the very emblem of 70s rock) – the sound becomes more contemporary, dominated by synths, harmonium and bass.

Roger Waters seems keen to underline the importance of his music, still not fully understood today despite its worldwide success. He appears to be telling us, “stop humming my songs without understanding them”. That's why he slows down and deconstructs “Comfortably Numb”, reducing it to its essence and stripping away every element that might allow for a superficial, “entertainment”-style listen.

The atmosphere in the video becomes particularly unsettling. Scenes of war and destruction seem to foreshadow a not-so-distant future. If in the original version it was drugs that numbed Pink, and in “Amused To Death” it was TV that distracted the man-apes, “entertained” to death, now hordes of people move unknowingly through scenes of war, alone and abandoned, heads bowed toward their smartphones, feeling neither anger nor fear, but calm, as if anesthetized to pain. Humanity wanders without awareness toward its end, perhaps toward a third world war, while above, watching over and dominating the scene, flies the usual pig, the symbol of evil and power throughout Waters' entire discography.

“Comfortably Numb 2022” is therefore consistent with the whole of Waters' philosophy, the definitive evolution of the poetics of “Animals”, “The Wall” and “Amused To Death”, a solemn and desperate elegy for a man racing toward his own end that – to attentive eyes and ears – hits harder than a punch in the gut.

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18/01/2026