Ice-T’s Body Count Updates Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ With David Gilmour

Body Count recorded a version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” with updated lyrics by frontman Ice-T. The track features Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, who co-wrote the song for the legendary British band’s 1979 album The Wall.

“Body Count’s version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ is quite radical, but the words really struck me,” Gilmour said of the song whose lyrics were originally written by Roger Waters. “It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They’ve made it relevant again. The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics, they’re talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary. Ice-T and Body Count played in London recently, sadly I couldn’t make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I’d jump at it.”

Along with the arrival of “Comfortably Numb,” Body Count confirmed their new album entitled Merciless will be released on November 22. The pending LP will be the group’s first since 2020’s Carnivore, which earned the band the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Body Count, whose self-titled debut album came out in 1991, currently boats a lineup consisting of original members Ice-T, Ernie C. and Sean E Sean, along with bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will “Ill Will” Dorsey, guitarist Juan “Juan of the Dead” Garcia and backing vocalist Little Ice.

“For me ‘Comfortably Numb’ is an introspective song—it’s me acknowledging that I’m older now,” veteran rapper Ice-T said. “I’m telling the younger generation, you’ve got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up. It’s me trying to make sense of what’s happening, but also pointing out that we’re all in a place where we don’t have to face reality. We’ve got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it’s a TV show. It doesn’t feel real until it shows up at your door. I’m a little numb, too — we all are.”

Stream Body Count’s version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” featuring David Gilmour on guitar and Ice-T’s updated lyrics below: