Comfortably Numb

Pink Floyd, 1979. Solo by David Gilmour.

Stitched together from several takes, yet it sounds inevitable. Gilmour's bends land a fraction late on purpose, and the tone, huge and fuzzed but never harsh, is the most chased sound in guitar.

There are two Gilmour solos here, a measured one after the first chorus and the long outro that most people mean when they name this song. He cut five or six complete takes, charted his favourite phrases and assembled the final version with James Guthrie, yet it flows as if played in one breath. The outro opens with slow, vocal bends that seem to arrive a hair behind the beat, then builds into fast, cascading lines over the stripped-back backing. His Stratocaster through a Big Muff, delay and Hiwatt gives a sound that is enormous but smooth at the edges. Listen for how much space Gilmour leaves between the early phrases; the restraint is what makes the later rush feel earned.

Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd is ranked #2 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by David Gilmour and the song was released in 1979. It appears on 60 lists, placing as high as #1 (Intermediate Guitar).

The story of Comfortably Numb

The music came from David Gilmour, who wrote a wordless demo while working on his first solo album in 1978. That sketch was in E minor; when it was adapted for The Wall, Roger Waters asked for the verses to be moved to B minor, which gives the song its sombre, heavy-lidded mood. It ended up as one of only three songs on the double album carrying a Gilmour writing credit, and it is often cited as the last significant piece the two wrote together.

Waters's lyrics drew on a night in 1977 at the Philadelphia Spectrum, when he was suffering severe stomach pains before a show and a doctor injected him with a tranquilliser so he could go on. He also mined memories of childhood fevers. The working title was 'The Doctor', and within the album's story it depicts the rock star Pink being sedated before a concert, with Waters singing the doctor's verses and Gilmour the drifting choruses.

The recording became a battleground. Waters wanted a lush orchestral arrangement, while Gilmour favoured a leaner, band-centred sound. Michael Kamen arranged strings recorded in New York under Bob Ezrin's supervision, and the two musicians argued over competing mixes. The compromise used the orchestral treatment for much of the song and Gilmour's sparer mix for the closing solo. Gilmour later called the episode among the last embers of their creative partnership.

The song closed side three of The Wall, released in November 1979, and was issued as a single on 23 June 1980 with 'Hey You' on the B-side. It also soundtracks a key sequence in the 1982 film of The Wall, depicting Pink's breakdown. The single edit trimmed the track to just under four minutes. Rather than a chart hit, it became one of the album's most enduring pieces through FM radio play and the band's concerts, where the closing solo grew into a highlight of every tour Gilmour led.

The solo

Comfortably Numb contains two David Gilmour solos: a lyrical, measured one after the first chorus and the long, soaring outro that is regularly voted among the best ever recorded. Gilmour used a Fender Stratocaster with a maple neck, played with a heavy pick, through a Big Muff distortion and delay into Hiwatt amplification and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet. He has said he cut five or six complete solo takes, marked his favourite phrases on a chart, and assembled the final version from those pieces with engineer James Guthrie. The outro builds from slow, vocal-like bends into fast, cascading phrases, using the space left by Gilmour's stripped-back mix. Live, it became a showcase often stretched well past the studio length.

Legacy

The song is widely regarded as a high point of Pink Floyd's catalogue and of Gilmour's playing. Planet Rock listeners voted its closing solo the greatest of all time in 2006, and Guitar World readers placed it fourth. Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 179 in its 2021 list of the 500 greatest songs, and Billboard called it a small masterpiece of arrangement and performance. It remained a set centrepiece for Gilmour and Waters after they split, and inspired covers from disco to metal.

Top 10 facts about Comfortably Numb

Waters's lyric came from a 1977 show in Philadelphia, when a doctor sedated him for stomach pains so he could perform.
Wikipedia
The song's working title was 'The Doctor'.
Wikipedia
Gilmour's original demo was written during sessions for his 1978 solo album and was in E minor before being moved to B minor.
Wikipedia
Gilmour recorded five or six solo takes and used a marking system to pick the best phrases for the final composite.
Songfacts
His solo rig included a Big Muff and delay, a Hiwatt amp and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet.
Songfacts
Session guitarist Lee Ritenour played acoustic guitar on the choruses, using a variant of Nashville tuning.
Wikipedia
On The Wall tour, Gilmour was lifted high atop the stage wall to play the solo while Waters sang below.
Songfacts
David Bowie sang the verses with Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2006, one of his final UK live appearances.
Wikipedia
Scissor Sisters' 2004 disco version reached No. 10 in the UK and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.
Wikipedia
Waters released a darker 'Comfortably Numb 2022' in A minor, dropping the guitar solos entirely.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988) Gilmour-led Pink Floyd version with extended outro; its video reached MTV's countdown.
Pulse (Earls Court, London) (1994) Roughly ten-minute performance, slightly trimmed for the official release.
The Wall – Live in Berlin (1990) Waters's staging with Van Morrison singing Gilmour's part; later used in The Departed.
Live 8, Hyde Park (2005) Reunited classic line-up closed their set with it, played close to the studio arrangement.
Live in Gdańsk (2006) Gilmour with the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra at the Gdańsk Shipyard.

Notable covers

Scissor Sisters (2004) Falsetto disco reinvention; UK No. 10 and No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart.
Body Count (2024) Metal version with extra Ice-T lyrics and David Gilmour on guitar.
Van Morrison (1990) Sang it with Waters at the Berlin Wall concert.
Eddie Vedder (2012) Sang Gilmour's parts with Waters at the 12-12-12 Sandy relief concert.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #21
The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #36
Genre Champions — #24
The 25 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Solos — #5
The 25 Greatest Prog Guitar Solos — #1
The 1970s — #2
Ballad Solos — #1
Epic-Length Solos — #2
Best of David Gilmour — #1
Played on a Stratocaster — #1
Most Agreed-Upon — #2
Critics' Picks — #4
Fans' Picks — #1

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Comfortably Numb?

David Gilmour played the solo on Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb (1979).

What guitar was used on the Comfortably Numb solo?

A fender stratocaster through a Hiwatt amp, with Big Muff, delay, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Comfortably Numb rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#2 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 60 of them.

Who wrote Comfortably Numb?

David Gilmour wrote the music and Roger Waters wrote the lyrics.

What album is Comfortably Numb on?

It is on Pink Floyd's 1979 double album The Wall.

What guitar did David Gilmour use for the Comfortably Numb solo?

A maple-neck Fender Stratocaster through a Big Muff, delay, Hiwatt amp and Yamaha rotating speaker.

What is Comfortably Numb about?

It depicts a doctor sedating a detached rock star before a show, drawing on Waters being sedated for illness in 1977 and childhood fevers.

How was the Comfortably Numb solo recorded?

Gilmour recorded several full takes and the best phrases were edited together into one solo.