Roger Waters & Mona Miari Rework ‘Comfortably Numb’ For Palestine

Roger Waters has teamed up with Palestinian singer-songwriter Mona Miari to reimagine Pink Floyd’s classic ‘Comfortably Numb’ as a tribute to Gaza. 

Originally released as part of the band's iconic 1979 album, The Wall, and released as a single the following year, the track's lyrics were reportedly inspired by Waters' experience of being injected with tranquilisers for stomach cramps before a performance in 1977 and stands as one of the band's most popular songs.

Transforming one of rock’s most iconic songs into a meditation on grief, solidarity and resistance, the new rendition features a more tuned-down version of the track’s original arena-rock grandeur, trading soaring guitar solos for sparse acoustic instrumentation, Arabic vocal arrangements and Middle Eastern motifs. The rework reframes the song’s enduring themes of alienation and apathy through the lens of Gaza, turning its message into a direct rejection of indifference in the face of ongoing genocide committed by the Israeli occupation. 

Both Miari and Waters contribute newly written verses that deepen the track’s emotional and political scope. Miari crafts a haunting Arabic passage dedicated to six-year-old Hind Rajab under the title of ‘Hind’s Lullaby’, presented as an imagined dialogue between Hind and her mother. Meanwhile, Waters’ lyrics for the track reflect on memory, accountability and the sanctity of human life. Throughout the song, the original refrain is inverted into a clear statement of intent: “I will never become comfortably numb.”

The track premiered at New York City's SVA Theatre, where Waters and Miari unveiled both the song and its accompanying nine-minute short film. Directed by David Barron, the film incorporates footage shot in Gaza by Suhail Nassar and was produced by Yasmin Almokhamad-Sarkisian. The screening also featured a live performance and a wider discussion on art, censorship and Palestine.

Released through a wider multimedia campaign centred on Gaza, all proceeds from ‘Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined’ will be donated to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund’s emergency aid efforts in Gaza.