I have always regarded this as by far and away the best lyric ever written and the sad part is, I can totally relate to what the message talks about. I have always been mightily angered by the druggies claiming this as some sort of anthem for ' dropping out ' or getting stoned. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with being stoned.
My interpretation of the lyric is quite simply - one part general society trying to analyse and ' fix ' the narrator who feels great pain arising from the cruelties of life and fate, believing him to be ' wrong ' and minimising the hurt ( I can ease your pain, put you on your feet again, okay okay, just a little pinprick...that will keep you going through the show...) - and the other part the narrator saying to society - I have shut off, you can't hurt me anymore, I have become comfortably numb - retracted completely inwards. The analogies of distant ship smoke on the horizon , hands felt just like two balloons, caught a fleeting glimpse... incredibly emotive. An absolute masterpiece of writing, the only other track that even comes close was Paddy McAloon's ( Prefab Sprout ) Cars & Girls.
I have always regarded this as by far and away the best lyric ever written and the sad part is, I can totally relate to what the message talks about. I have always been mightily angered by the druggies claiming this as some sort of anthem for ' dropping out ' or getting stoned. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with being stoned. My interpretation of the lyric is quite simply - one part general society trying to analyse and ' fix ' the narrator who feels great pain arising from the cruelties of life and fate, believing him to be ' wrong ' and minimising the hurt ( I can ease your pain, put you on your feet again, okay okay, just a little pinprick...that will keep you going through the show...) - and the other part the narrator saying to society - I have shut off, you can't hurt me anymore, I have become comfortably numb - retracted completely inwards. The analogies of distant ship smoke on the horizon , hands felt just like two balloons, caught a fleeting glimpse... incredibly emotive. An absolute masterpiece of writing, the only other track that even comes close was Paddy McAloon's ( Prefab Sprout ) Cars & Girls.