Coming Back to Life

"Coming Back to Life"
Song

"Coming Back to Life" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1994 album The Division Bell, and is credited solely to David Gilmour.

Composition

Gilmour has said (as can be heard on the David Gilmour in Concert 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.

Personnel

• David Gilmour – vocals, guitar
• Richard Wright – Kurzweil synthesisers, Hammond organ
• Nick Mason – drums, percussion

with:

• Guy Pratt – bass guitar
• Jon Carin – additional keyboards

Live performances

The song has been a staple in Gilmour's performances from 1994-2006. It was featured at every show during the 1994 Division Bell Tour, at every one of Gilmour's semi-acoustic shows in 2001 and 2002, at Gilmour's performance at the Fender Stratocaster 50th anniversary concert in London in 2004, and was played at most shows during his solo 2006 On an Island Tour. It has currently been played at a handful of shows only during the current 2015-16 Rattle That Lock Tour.

Live personnel

Pink Floyd, 1994 tour

David Gilmour - electric guitar, lead vocals
Richard Wright - organ
Nick Mason - drums

with:
Guy Pratt - bass
Tim Renwick - acoustic guitar
Jon Carin - synthesiser, backing vocals
Gary Wallis - percussion
Sam Brown - backing vocals
Claudia Fontaine - backing vocals
Durga McBroom - backing vocals

David Gilmour, 2006 and 2015-16 tours

David Gilmour - electric guitar, lead vocals
Richard Wright - organ (2006 only)
Phil Manzanera - electric guitar
Guy Pratt - bass
Jon Carin - synthesiser, backing vocals
Steve DiStanislao - drums
Kevin McAlea - organ (2015-16 only)
Bryan Chambers - backing vocals (2015-16 only)
Louise Clare Marshall - backing vocals (2015-16 only)

Live releases

The song appears on the following live albums, DVDs or Blu-rays:

• Pulse (album) (Pink Floyd, 1995)
• Pulse (VHS/DVD) (Pink Floyd, 1995 [VHS], 2003 [DVD])
• David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) (David Gilmour, 2002)
• Remember That Night (DVD/Blu-ray) (David Gilmour, 2007)
• Live in Gdańsk (album, deluxe edition bonus CD) (David Gilmour, 2008)