Just been showing my wife the 3 men in a boat episode,where the drop in on David Gilmore & his boat/recording studio,then see your post 😆Yep great words
I haven't watched 3 Men in a Boat, or read the book, guess I missed something good. I'm not a fan of Pink Floyd, but when I was shown the words to their song it just really it me.
Oh yes I know it very well and knew all of the words. Lost count how many times I have listened to that song.
I have been a Pink Floyd fan since the 1960s. A friend put a set of headphones on my head and played "A saucer full of Secrets". That was first time I really appreciated Stereo.
Then I met my wife who had been at The Hyde Park Concert in 1969 and also saw them live at The Brighton Dome in 1968.
We have seen the Aussie Pink Floyd at Bournemouth twice and David Gilmour twice.
David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall - What a concert Hall architecturally beautiful.
Unfortunately I found that my heart was beating in time with the beat of the music and that combined with strobe lighting unfortunately was not good for my old rhythm problem. I can't say I can blame my AF on my music taste. Sitting here working listening to Bach right now very calming.
David Gilmour co wrote the song and also sung the song with Roger Waters.
It comes from "The Wall" if you remember the words "We don't need no education" which of course they did as their grammar was not 100%🙂.
Thanks for that story - I read it with warm nostalgia. A visit to the Albert Hall in those days was out of my budget but their concert at De Montfort Hall in the late 1960s Leicester was simply wonderful. I have had a lifelong fascination with the night sky and you can imagine the song that goes through my mind each time I do, even after all these years! Like you, I have wonderful memories of their concerts. Their use of quadrophonic sound effects in the concert hall was, for a young teenager, simply mind bending. Syd Barrett was such a major influence and their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, sits in my mind as something unbelievably special - what an evocative title it is, and a memorable album cover, too. That late 60s and early seventies period was outstanding for music.
ohhh I remember sitting on a wall outside High Wycombe town hall waiting to go in to their concert, an old man came by and asked if we were the ‘Pink Fairies’ 🤣
You won't believe this but I'm listening to Pink Floyd right now as I read your post - got Wish you Were Here on right now. Great album. The words above show that as people grow older they often feel a sense of disconnection from the world. However, the words also suggest that the disconnection can be overcome by using imagination and vitality.
I guess because I worked in a nursing home, elderly people sprang to my mind. Sometimes prescribed drugs or old age can confuse the mind. Some old people just take whatever the doctor hands out and ask no questions. Can you explain your last sentence and what words made you see that?
'The child is grown / The dream is gone'. Before then the words 'can you stand up? I do believe it's working, good. That'll keep you going through the show'.
To me, they are in the wrong order. They suggest something positive to me.
'Can you stand up? I do believe it's working, good'.
You thinking of the people given a ‘medical cosh’ so they don’t cause trouble? Or oldies who have just opted out of feeling? I believe the ability to feel deep emotion is supposed to fade with age, didn’t notice that after my husband died! Maybe I’m not old enough or just an oddball 😕
I can see you have totally heard those words the way I did. Guess I'm thinking both the medical cosh and those that have opted out of feeling. I see these people down the town who can hardly put one step in front of the other and wonder why there isn't any help for them. Many years ago I was a founder member of starting a group in my town for people who needed company. It's now so big that 35 years later when I retired and went to offer help in their office, they said they didn't need anyone. I felt like saying, "Don't you know who I am!" I guess I need to start a group who will get or help with shopping for any age person who's not feeling up to it.
What is it about? I don't understand it. I'm 86 and, fortunately, am all there - or at least I think I am. If I got to that stage I would want out and it is frustrating that there are some people who would want to deny me the right to make that choice.
It's all because some do-gooders are worried that people might be pressured into letting go. They want to deny the right to everyone else who would then have to stick it out to the bitter end.
It's my choice and I have made my family aware that I wouldn't want to be kept alive when I have, to all intents and purposes, already gone.
I totally agree with you Physalis. My family know what I want too.
Because I used to work in a nursing home, to me the words appeared to be about confused elderly people sedated by drugs prescribed for them. I've written in answer to a previous reply to my post about an elderly gentleman, this was fairly recently, telling me he took a lot of tablets but when I asked him what they were for he didn't know.
When I tried the tablets Digoxin for my AF they made me feel as though I was going mad and I felt confused. Thank goodness I'm not one to keep quiet about anything.
My grandfather was prescribed Digoxin for his AF (only thing on offer then!) and hated the effect so much he announced he would ‘throw them in the Duzi’ (local river in Africa). He died of a massive stroke at 81 but not the worst way to go I think. My grandma died earlier of the same, family was advised she’d be severely disabled if she survived but as she (former nurse) had given strict instructions that she didn’t want to ‘be a cabbage’ she wasn’t treated and had a fatal stroke the next day.
Oh the 'Duzi - my son has paddled the 'Duzi 20 times and the one day 'Duzi 5 times - now it's so polluted he will not do it - but a large percentage of paddlers have AF - my son had an ablation 17 years ago in Cape Town -even today there is only one EP in KZN! he has never had an episode since and takes no medication! My cardiologist told me one of his largest group of patients is canoeists (must get it from the Duzi, ha, ha, ha, )
Reading it again after seeing it was Pink Floyd ( the vid hadn't downloaded when I read the words the first time) I am inclined to suspect it is more about non prescription "help" to get the author through the rigours of performing !
Pink Floyd always remind me of being involved with the ‘wrong’ man and a difficult time in my life. He struggled with depression probably brought on by substance mis use but he loved this. Probably not the one for me to relate to but I’m sure the words are really powerful for some going through a certain ‘season’ 😄😁
In "Comfortably Numb", Pink is medicated by a doctor so he can perform for a show." So I don't think it is about old age at all.
"The song was inspired by Waters' injection with a muscle relaxant to combat the effects of hepatitis during the In the Flesh Tour, while in Philadelphia".
I read it too as being numbed to go on stage and that the bubble of fame had 'grown up'. But the wonderful thing about music And words is they can mean such different things to different people.
When I first read it, I didn't understand what it was about. The word show didn't seem to apply to old people so I googled it.
What do old people feel? I would like to be able to say in advance that if I get to that stage I would like to be put to sleep but this is not allowed. You can't just leave.
People will talk about palliative care but one of my grandsons works in a hospice and feels the same way as I do about the right to die. I've felt strongly about it since I was in my twenties and now I think that, soon, certain people will be allowed to leave and not stay on till the bitter end.
The Select Committee process is just the beginning but it is promising.
It's a song that can apply to any age, any stage of life. That's the genius of a good song, open to interpretation. Had new hearing aids the other day - they asked about my tinnitus and I put it down to those early Pink Floyd concerts - wonderful with Syd Barret but uncomfortably deafening!
Nice memories for you to hear this then. I was a Tamla Motown fan, now a Leonard Cohen one. Yes, the words in this particular song can certainly be interpreted differently.
No I don't watch Netflix, or much tv at all. Would love to see that film though. I think Hallelujah was rejected by everyone to start with wasn't it .
I still have the recording of the documentary about him that was made for t.v. I love most of his songs but my favourite is That's No Way to Say Goodbye. I go on YouTube and play them all. The words to his songs are just wonderful and so full of meaning Will P.M. you and his praises we will sing.
Ah yes, I can see that now. I related it to elderly people where you can see the joy has gone from their lives as they struggle with living alongside the burden of not feeling well and taking medication.
Those words are so true. Many people have become numb with misinformation. I read where hospitals receive $39000 from medicare if the patient died and only 13000 for treatment. A videoed nurse explained how they let millions die for money. 80-89% died if they got the tube down the throat.
My afib was corrected with cardioversion then med Tikosyn, which is banned in Europe, been on it for 4 years with no problem since then. My ejection fraction has risen from 21 to 56, almost normal after stopping Entresto and cutting back on meds, plus walking and stretch band exercises..had covid two variants, cured myself at home with the protocol from flccc.org no vaccines.
I know that many elderly are scared of going into hospital in the UK and for good reason as it is so stressful.
I know I was “in” for 3 days recently.
I was in a ward where 3 patients coughed all night and one man who had only just come round from an induced coma decided to crash his table and all the contents across the ward.
I was told I was not allowed out of bed and must have 100% bed rest and therefore had to ask permission to be wheeled to the toilet.
The food was almost inedible all down to outsourcing the provision of patient’s food.
I therefore had sleep deprivation for two nights hardly bed rest.
However if I had thought there would have been a bonus of $39000 for the hospital if I died there, I would have been terrified.
We have a lot of family worries with sick grandchildren and yet when I hear of troubles around the world I do wonder what it is all about.
We are at best only here for 100 years. The first 15 and the last 20 of which we rarely have any influence. All we can do is what my mum used to often say:
"Do unto others what you would wish for yourself".
This was probably prompted by Charles Kingsley's fairytale. In the book there was a character called Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By.
One of my favourite songs Jean. I saw Pink Floyd perform this live when I was 23. It is a mix on Roger Waters being very ill and also a nod to the original band member Syd Barrett who became mentally ill from drug abuse ( to cut a long story short). I even sing it in my band!!But you are so right the words are so poignant it could very well also have meaning for many situations including ageing.
Hope you are well after your difficult year last year and I wish you a happy 2023!
I’m currently reading “The Race Against Time” by Richard Askwith. A glorious treatise on the joy and benefits of competitive/ dedicated exercise in old age.
I suggest everyone reads it.
I once played David Gilmour’s black Strat. Only briefly, . It was much like any other Strat. That’s my Pink Floyd story.
Jean this is the morning of my 85th birthday and I opened my tablet to find this song you had found, Yes it is sad and poinient but despite all the ups and downs of life I've made it this far and nature and the world is so beautiful and the family I have made so precious that I think I'll stay a bit longer to enjoy it.!!!
Life is wonderful, more so if you have the outlook to appreciate it and it sounds like you certainly do. I love the beauty of nature in our world it's my joy.
I too have a Pink Floyd story. When I was at Poole College in the 1965-7 era, I was Secretary of the Students Union and Rag week Committee secretary. We used to hire Pink Floyd for our end of year dances, they were headliners with Amen Corner as supporting act. In 1967, however Pink Floyd were the supporting act and we had Cream as our headliners! Wonderful times.
Hey Jean. This is my most favourite song ever! I've even said I want it played at my funeral ( but not too soon for that occasion) ☺️ The words are sad and very apt even for today considering how long ago this was written, but Dave Gilmore's guitar playing is sublime and I never get tired of it. To anyone that agrees out there and loves the track, I think the best version of it is on the Live in Gdansk double album. 💖
In a radio interview around 1980 with Jim Ladd from KLOS in Los Angeles, 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.
My mum was in a home many years ago, and these words make me think of the people in that home. Not my mum, she was feisty and always had plenty to say for herself, but some of the others who just sat there, as if they were ‘numb’. I used to go round and talk to them, and a twinkle would appear in their eyes, and they seemed to come alive. The carers didn’t have time to give them as much time as they needed, and I always felt so sad for them.
Yes, for some people it's as though they give up on living and live with numb emotions. The nursing home I worked in was lovely, we took residents out to so many different places. Also I organised entertainment to come in like a man who would bring along unusual pets, a sanctuary nearby brought along a donkey, the Salvation Army band at Christmas, a weekly exercise class - cunningly disguised as singing old time songs and waving flags or tambourines, a petting dog, the list goes on. I was proud to be part of it. Oh yes, I also held a monthly discussion group, I read a newspaper cutting to them and then asked what they thought, some bits I read were funny. A lady was paid to come in once a week to talk to those residents who had no relatives. One of the young carers would burst into old time songs and the residents loved it.
However, no matter how much entertainment you offered, there were some residents who just wanted to stay in their rooms. I guess every person isn't comfortable with being social.
That job must have given you a lot of satisfaction Jean, and no you certainly can’t please everyone. As for waffling on, I could listen to stories like that all day.
Going back to my query about my tiredness. I don’t (thankfully) have thyroid problems. Acceptance of change can be a problem and I think I have that problem. I have to accept that Bisoprolol has slowed me down somewhat and start getting on with my life as a tortoise. The Tortoise always gets there in the end. 😊
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to message me. I very much appreciated the helpful comments.
This can povoke many many different memories or illusions of what it’s about depending on your life events - I worked in the medical field many years ago and it made me think of those in the unconscious state either medically induced coma or as a result of trauma - just watching the trigger of vital signs on a machine to determine did that mean they were in pain etc there by giving pain relief - still all the time talking to them incase they could hear or wonder what what was happening!
This link I found which goes with what Physalis says in a reply below
Oh so remember this song! Pink Floyd! My husband and I were fans in our youth! We are now fans of Jesus Christ! The Joy of knowing our Savior and as followers the joy it brings to know our eternal life will be with Him in a beautiful eternal Home brings much peace.
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Ramblings after a bad day!
Saying hi from the southern hemisphere
CONDOLENCES TO ALL SUFFERING A LOSS.......
Just out after Ablation
