My interpretation begins halfway through the song at "Just a little pin prick..." a reference, I suspect to heroin use. That suspicion is reinforced by the next two lines: "there'll be no more aaaaaaah but you may feel a little sick.' For those who don't know, many Heroin users experience nausea during the drug's onset, especially when injected intravenously. After a brief period of nausea comes the euphoria-the comfortably numb state.
The first half of the first verse to me is a sort of personification of the drug speaking to the user: I can ease your pain, get you on your feet again. A description of the seductive properties of narcotics.
The second half of the first verse seems to come from the user's experience, comparing the physical effects of the drug to a fever: the numbness, tingling, and sensation of weightlessness.
Finally, the chorus: "There is no pain, you are receding...a distant ship, smoke on the horizon..." It paints a colorful picture of how YOU are still YOU, even when you are high, but you are sort of detached and distant from your body; a body which is damaged and in pain. It's a wonderful feeling to pull away from it.
"I can't explain...you would not understand" --to those who have not experienced Heroin (or any drug that produced this sort of effect) for themselves, the effects are poorly understood and for a user, almost impossible to describe without a common frame of reference.
My interpretation begins halfway through the song at "Just a little pin prick..." a reference, I suspect to heroin use. That suspicion is reinforced by the next two lines: "there'll be no more aaaaaaah but you may feel a little sick.' For those who don't know, many Heroin users experience nausea during the drug's onset, especially when injected intravenously. After a brief period of nausea comes the euphoria-the comfortably numb state. The first half of the first verse to me is a sort of personification of the drug speaking to the user: I can ease your pain, get you on your feet again. A description of the seductive properties of narcotics. The second half of the first verse seems to come from the user's experience, comparing the physical effects of the drug to a fever: the numbness, tingling, and sensation of weightlessness. Finally, the chorus: "There is no pain, you are receding...a distant ship, smoke on the horizon..." It paints a colorful picture of how YOU are still YOU, even when you are high, but you are sort of detached and distant from your body; a body which is damaged and in pain. It's a wonderful feeling to pull away from it. "I can't explain...you would not understand" --to those who have not experienced Heroin (or any drug that produced this sort of effect) for themselves, the effects are poorly understood and for a user, almost impossible to describe without a common frame of reference.