Anatomy of a Song: "Comfortably Numb" Quiz

Answer: Nod

The song opens with:

"Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me"

According to www.songfacts.com: "Roger Waters wrote the lyrics. While many people thought the song is about drugs, Waters claims it is not. The lyrics are about what he felt like as a child when he was sick with a fever. As an adult, he got that feeling again sometimes, entering a state of delirium, where he felt detached from reality".

Answer: Get you on your feet again

"Come on, now
I hear you're feeling down
Well I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again"

Answer: Basic

"Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?"

If it's anything like my Doctor, it hurts more when you get the bill!

Answer: Smoke

"There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon"

According to www.songfacts.com: "Dave Gilmour wrote the music while he was working on a solo album in 1978. He brought it to "The Wall" sessions and Waters wrote lyrics for it".

Answer: Had a fever

"When I was a child I had a fever"

Of the four choices presented, this one seemed like the most desirable...

Answer: Two

"When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons"

According to www.songfacts.com: "In a radio interview around 1980 with Jim Ladd from KLOS in Los Angeles, Roger Waters said part of the song is about the time he got hepatitis but didn't know it. Pink Floyd had to do a show that night in Philadelphia, and the doctor Roger saw gave him a sedative to help the pain, thinking it was a stomach disorder. At the show, Roger's hands were numb "like two toy balloons". He was unable to focus, but also realized the fans didn't care because they were so busy screaming, hence "comfortably" numb. He said most of "The Wall" is about alienation between the audience and band".

Answer: Pin prick

"O.K.
Just a little pinprick
There'll be no more (aaaaaaaaah!)
But you may feel a little sick"

According to www.songfacts.com: "In the movie "The Wall", this plays in a scene where the main character, a rock star named "Pink" loses his mind and enters a catatonic state before a show. It was similar to what Syd Barrett, an original member of the band, went through in 1968 when he became mentally ill and was kicked out of the band".

Answer: Finger

The last lines of the song are:

"When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb"

Answer: Because the child is grown

"The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb"

According to www.songfacts.com: "This was the last song Waters and Gilmour wrote together. They have not spoken to each other since Gilmour kept the band going in 1986. Waters left the band and felt there should be no Pink Floyd without him".

Answer: The Wall

A double album, "The Wall" was released in 1979. It featured such memorable tracks as "Another Brick In The Wall", "Mother", "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell".