Roger Waters and Palestinian singer-songwriter Mona Miari have re-recorded “Comfortably Numb” as a tribute to Gaza. The two share vocals on the track, with Miari singing in Arabic.
The Pink Floyd co-founder and Miari began corresponding after a film project they were involved with about artists in Gaza died in development. “After the demise of the previous project we got together and said, ‘How about Comfortably Numb?,” Waters recalls in a YouTube video. “Is there some way you and I could reimagine this and make it relevent for today?”
They re-wrote much of the song’s lyrics going back and forth with one another via email. “It became almost like penpals with her writing in Arabic and me responding in English,” he explains.
Miari’s lyrics focus on the plight of the Gazan people. “‘I feel your pain from New York City.’ Those were the first eight words I wrote down,” Waters says.
The new recording is available on streaming platforms, with proceeds to be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The video will be posted to YouTube June 17.
