# Pink Floyd: what are "swollen hand blues?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 2, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216 "2014-07-02T20:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/1 "2014-07-02T20:03:06Z")
In Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall,” the song “Nobody Home” contains the line, “got those…swollen hand blues…”. Later on, in “Comfortably Numb,” David Gilmour sings: “When I was a child, I had a fever…my hands felt just like two balloons…” What is the significance/meaning behind these two lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/2 "2014-07-02T20:08:16Z")
The “Nobody Home” line is possibly a masturbation reference; though some have interpreted it as a symptom of heroin abuse. The line in “Comfortably Numb” just refers to the kid’s fever, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/3 "2014-07-02T20:09:05Z")
The line in “Comfortably Numb” was explained by Roger Waters as a detail recalled from his own life, where his hands swelled up in reaction either to illness or to a medication. No metaphoric significance intended there. “Swollen hand blues” I took to be a reference to masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/4 "2014-07-02T20:09:07Z")
From a 1980 radio show with Jim Ladd interviewing Roger Waters: > [@](#): > > JL : “Got those swollen hand blues.” Every once in a while you come right off of cosmicland into the bathroom. I just got to bust you on that one. > > RW : I don’t know what you think that’s a reference to. > > JL : Masturbation. > > RW : No. > > JL : No? Not at all? > > RW : No, no, no, no. > > JL : What’s it a reference to? > > RW : It’s a reference to another song that comes later on called “Comfortably Numb” that’s about fever. And it says in fact my hands felt just like two toy balloons. But anyway, I like yours better. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/5 "2014-07-02T20:10:23Z")
“swollen hand blues” refers to masturbation. Gilmore (or maybe Roger Waters) copped to that in an interview with Jim Ladd that I heard on the radio shortly after the album was released. As for the other thick hands, just a fever thing on how your body doesn’t feel right undwer those circumstances. Dammit, Biffy. That’s the interview I was thinking of. Guess I remembered wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/6 "2014-07-02T20:11:48Z")
Another Waters quote: > [@](#): > > “‘When I was a child I had a fever/My hands felt just like two balloons’ were autobiographical. I remember having the flu or something, an infection with a temperature of 105 and being delirious. It wasn’t like the hands looked like balloons, but they looked way too big, frightening. A lot of people think those lines are about masturbation. God knows why.” Guess we’re all a bunch of perverts. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/7 "2014-07-02T20:17:27Z")
When this song came out I knew exactly what he meant by: > [@](#): > > “When I was a child, I had a fever…my hands felt just like two balloons…” I had several bouts of really high fever as a child and experienced the same phenomenon. Probably some sensory loss or hallucination caused by the fever. I don’t know if it is common but I recognized the meaning of the phrase immediately. Apparently other people have had the same feeling. > **[HealthBoards Message Boards](https://www.healthboards.com/)** > > Health related message boards offering discussions of numerous health topics including allergies, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, exercise, attention deficit disorder, diet, and nutrition. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/8 "2014-07-02T20:44:28Z")
In my case, it wasn’t just my hands - my whole body swelled up to fill the room. It got all soft and bubbly and spongy, too. Or at least, that’s how it felt. So I knew what he meant in the song. This is that one exception for the rule about rock song lyrics: if you don’t know what it is about, it’s about sex. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/9 "2014-07-02T20:55:33Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > Another Waters quote: > > > [@](#): > > > > “‘When I was a child I had a fever/My hands felt just like two balloons’ were autobiographical. I remember having the flu or something, an infection with a temperature of 105 and being delirious. It wasn’t like the hands looked like balloons, but they looked way too big, frightening. A lot of people think those lines are about masturbation. God knows why.” > > Guess we’re all a bunch of perverts. Y’know, I might be sorry I asked, but yeah, _why_ would anyone think those lines are about masturbation? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/10 "2014-07-02T21:15:16Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Y’know, I might be sorry I asked, but yeah, _why_ would anyone think those lines are about masturbation? Isn’t everything? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/11 "2014-07-02T21:21:32Z")
I thought the whole idea was that once, when “Pink” was a kid, he got sick and either the drugs or the fever made him feel strange, as if his body was inflating and his mind was drifting away. Decades later, grown-up rock star Pink has overdosed on drugs in his hotel room, and is feeling the same kind of sensations. For a moment, he feels as if he’s about to experience some important psychic or spiritual revelation… but then the band’s doctor injects him with a stimulant, bringing him more-or-less back to reality, and ending any hope he had of a grand spiritual breaktrough. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/12 "2014-07-02T21:35:08Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Y’know, I might be sorry I asked, but yeah, _why_ would anyone think those lines are about masturbation? It mentions hands, and… > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > the rule about rock song lyrics: if you don’t know what it is about, it’s about sex. There’s plenty of sex in rock lyrics, but this way of thinking brings about a lot of misunderstandings and weirdness. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/13 "2014-07-02T21:48:44Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > the rule about rock song lyrics: if you don’t know what it is about, it’s about sex. Or drugs. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/14 "2014-07-02T21:54:59Z")
All y’all are sick. 😛 Long time fan of Pink Floyd. It never once occured to me that the line “swollen hands blues” was a reference to masturbation. To me it sounded like a complaint from a tired, worn out blues guitar player, complaining about sore (swollen) hands after a gig. Perhaps due to arthritis setting in after years of play. \ I mean, read the lyrics for the entire song. Doesn’t it paint a picture of a tired old musician who’s done too much hard living? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/15 "2014-07-02T21:55:08Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Or drugs. And in this case, drugs IS correct. “Comfortably Numb” is about rock star Pink (Roger Waters’ alter ego) getting high in his hotel room. All kinds of images go through his head, including a memory of a childhood illness that had given him similarly weird sensations long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/16 "2014-07-03T03:16:35Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > To me it sounded like a complaint from a tired, worn out blues guitar player, complaining about sore (swollen) hands after a gig. Perhaps due to arthritis setting in after years of play. \ > > I mean, read the lyrics for the entire song. Doesn’t it paint a picture of a tired old musician who’s done too much hard living? That’s what I’ve thought all along as well. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/17 "2014-07-03T05:53:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I thought the whole idea was that once, when “Pink” was a kid, he got sick and either the drugs or the fever made him feel strange, as if his body was inflating and his mind was drifting away. > > Decades later, grown-up rock star Pink has overdosed on drugs in his hotel room, and is feeling the same kind of sensations. For a moment, he feels as if he’s about to experience some important psychic or spiritual revelation… but then the band’s doctor injects him with a stimulant, bringing him more-or-less back to reality, and ending any hope he had of a grand spiritual breaktrough. Aye, me too. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/18 "2014-07-03T06:15:49Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > That’s what I’ve thought all along as well. Ditto. The masturbation angle never occurred to me. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I masturbate, it’s not my _hands_ that swell up. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/19 "2014-07-03T12:56:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > In my case, it wasn’t just my hands - my whole body swelled up to fill the room. It got all soft and bubbly and spongy, too. > > Or at least, that’s how it felt. So I knew what he meant in the song. > > This is that one exception for the rule about rock song lyrics: if you don’t know what it is about, it’s about sex. I used to feel like that whenever I was given sudafed as a kid. That was back when sudafed had the ‘good’ ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216/20 "2014-07-03T13:46:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Long time fan of Pink Floyd. It never once occured to me that the line “swollen hands blues” was a reference to masturbation. To me it sounded like a complaint from a tired, worn out blues guitar player, complaining about sore (swollen) hands after a gig. Perhaps due to arthritis setting in after years of play. \ > > I mean, read the lyrics for the entire song. Doesn’t it paint a picture of a tired old musician who’s done too much hard living? That was my uninformed take on it. Seemed to fit the image with nicotine-stained finger and a grand piano to prop up his mortal remains. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-what-are-swollen-hand-blues/692216.md?page=2)