Coming Back to Life
Encyclopedia
"Coming Back to Life" is a song from Pink Floyd
's 1994
album The Division Bell
, and is credited solely to David Gilmour
.
DVD) that the song was written about his wife, Polly Samson
.
The song is played in C major
. It opens with a synth droning a C major chord, leading to a slow guitar solo played with a clean sound. The first verse is then sung slowly over synth chords, before the main rhythm of the song appears, and the rest of the band join the arrangement. Another verse is sung, and followed by a guitar solo. After this guitar solo, the last few lines of the verse are sung again, and then a guitar solo is played until the end of the song.
's solo live versions are featured on his live DVDs David Gilmour in Concert
and Remember That Night
as well as on the third CD of the special edition of the Live in Gdańsk
album.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
album The Division Bell
The Division Bell
The Division Bell is the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and in the United States by Columbia Records on 4 April....
, and is credited solely to David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
.
Composition
Gilmour has said (as can be heard on the David Gilmour in ConcertDavid Gilmour in Concert
David Gilmour in Concert is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival. It also features additional footage recorded during three concerts at the same venue in January 2002...
DVD) that the song was written about his wife, Polly Samson
Polly Samson
Polly Samson is a journalist and writer.-Biography:Samson was born to a diplomatic correspondent father and a writer mother of Chinese descent, Esther Cheo Ying, who wrote a memoir, Black Country Girl in Red China, about her time serving as a Major in Mao Zedong's Red Army...
.
The song is played in C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
. It opens with a synth droning a C major chord, leading to a slow guitar solo played with a clean sound. The first verse is then sung slowly over synth chords, before the main rhythm of the song appears, and the rest of the band join the arrangement. Another verse is sung, and followed by a guitar solo. After this guitar solo, the last few lines of the verse are sung again, and then a guitar solo is played until the end of the song.
Live performances
It was also featured on the 1995 live album, Pulse. The version on the audio release is from a show other than that which is on the video and DVD. David GilmourDavid Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
's solo live versions are featured on his live DVDs David Gilmour in Concert
David Gilmour in Concert
David Gilmour in Concert is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival. It also features additional footage recorded during three concerts at the same venue in January 2002...
and Remember That Night
Remember That Night
Remember That Night is a live concert recording of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on 29, 30 & 31 May 2006 as part of his On an Island tour. The title is taken from a line in the song "On an Island". It has been released on both DVD and Blu-ray formats...
as well as on the third CD of the special edition of the Live in Gdańsk
Live in Gdansk
Live in Gdańsk is a live album by David Gilmour. It is a part of his On an Island project which includes an album, tour, DVD, and live album. It was released on 22 September 2008...
album.
Personnel
- David GilmourDavid GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Richard WrightRichard Wright (musician)Richard William Wright was an English pianist, keyboardist and songwriter, best known for his career with Pink Floyd. Wright's richly textured keyboard layers were a vital ingredient and a distinctive characteristic of Pink Floyd's sound...
– KurzweilKurzweil Music SystemsKurzweil Music Systems is a company that produces electronic musical instruments for professionals and home users. Founded in 1982 by Raymond Kurzweil, a developer of reading machines for the blind, the company made use of many of the technologies originally designed for reading machines and...
synthesizers, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard... - Nick MasonNick MasonNicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason is an English drummer and songwriter, best known for his work with Pink Floyd. He was the only constant member of the band since its formation in 1965...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Guy PrattGuy PrattGuy Pratt is a session bassist and also a songwriter, actor and comedian. He is the son of actor Mike Pratt. In Kensington and Chelsea, London, in 1996, Pratt married Gala Wright, the daughter of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jon CarinJon CarinJon Carin is a producer, artist and musician best known for his association with Pink Floyd, and more specifically its guitarist David Gilmour and former member Roger Waters over the last twenty five years. In the early eighties, he gained fame as the front-man for the band Industry...
– additional keyboards