The LA Times said in January 2007 'David Ford digs down deep in the heart-and-soul tradition: an English and male Lucinda Williams? He puts everything into every note, every word.'
Ford recorded his debut album 'I Sincerely Apologise For All the Trouble I've Caused' on his own in his cellar flat in Eastbourne during 2005 thinking he was just "doing a bunch of demos". However, the strength of these recordings led to magnoliaMAM taking him on for management and shortly thereafter licensing the 'demos' as a finished album to Independiente for the UK and then, in April 2006, to Columbia Records in New York for the USA and the 'rest of the world'.
The album was widely acclaimed and featured in the best of lists for 2006 in the LA Times, The Sunday Times, The New York Post, The Word and The Toronto Star - who said 'you have to go back to Dylan's 'Idiot Wind'/'Blood on the Tracks' to find such an impressively sustained, bile-soaked round of invective'.
Ford toured extensively in the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia during 2006. When performing live, Ford makes use of a 'looping pedal' which allows him to build up layers of vocals, guitars, percussion and keyboards to create extremely powerful and beautiful layers of sound; most notably when playing the song "State Of The Union". (live footage can be seen on both his myspace page and his old archived web site - www.myspace.com/davidford & www.davidford.mu - current website is at www.davidfordmusic.com)
2007 saw the release of his critically-aclaimed, yet widely ignored, album Songs For The Road. Ford spent the most of 2008 in the US promoting it.
February 2010 saw the release of his album, Let The Hard Times Roll, coinciding with a tour of the UK, with dates in the US too.
In April 2011 Ford released his autobiography, I Choose This, covering his musical experience from high school through to touring the United States as a solo artist.
Ford's musical honesty and passionately melodic songwriting has seen him compared to the likes of Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, James Taylor and Elton John.
Can't Go Back
David Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wish that I had never done
Yeah, I have regrets
But you are not one of them
And if you feel like going home
You wouldn't recognize it now
All lovers have left town again
And I know we can't go back
There are some people
Who would say that I have lost my mind
But I pay no attention
Despite the fact they are probably right
And now we're closing down the store
And the shutters coming down
And all the lovers have all left town tonight
And I know we can't go back again
But I know we'll be alright
I know you have forgotten me
Before your tears had hit the ground
And there are things I should have said
It really doesn't matter now
And the office [unverified] isn't gold
And the streets are paved with shit
And the lovers have all left town again
And I know we can't go back
There are some things
I wish that I had never done
Yeah, I have regrets
But you are not one of them
No, you are not one of them
You are not one of them
You are not one of them
In David Ford's song "Can't Go Back," the singer reflects on his past mistakes and regrets. He acknowledges that there are some things he wishes he had never done, but the person he is addressing, his love interest, is not one of those regrets. The place they used to call home no longer feels familiar, and all the lovers have left. The singer knows that they can't go back to that time, and even though some people would say he's lost his mind, he pays no attention because he knows they'll be alright.
As the song progresses, the singer hints at a past falling out with the love interest. He acknowledges that they may have forgotten him before their tears had hit the ground, and there were things he should have said. However, he believes that it doesn't matter now, and they can't go back. The office isn't gold, the streets are paved with shit, and all the lovers have left town again. But, the singer assures the love interest that they are not a regret and never will be.
"Can't Go Back" is a beautiful and introspective song that reflects on past mistakes with a sense of acceptance and bittersweet nostalgia. The lyrics can be interpreted in various ways, but the theme of moving on and not dwelling on past mistakes is evident.
Line by Line Meaning
There are some things
There are some actions I’ve taken in the past that I regret.
I wish that I had never done
My remorseful thoughts pertain to kind of things that shouldn't have happened.
Yeah, I have regrets
I am aware of my past mistakes.
But you are not one of them
You are the exception, not part of the things I regret.
And if you feel like going home
If you want to return to where we were before,
You wouldn't recognize it now
You may not identify the place because it looks different now.
All lovers have left town again
All the people who used to love each other have gone again.
And I know we can't go back
I know it's impossible for us to go back to our previous state.
There are some people
Some persons feel that I have lost my sanity.
Who would say that I have lost my mind
Some persons think that I have gone insane.
But I pay no attention
Despite their opinions, I don’t care about their thoughts.
Despite the fact they are probably right
Although they might be right about my current conscience
And now we're closing down the store
were shutting down and closing the store.
And the shutters coming down
The store's door is getting sealed.
And all the lovers have all left town tonight
Everyone who loved each other has left the town again.
And I know we can't go back again
I know that we can never return to how things were in the past.
But I know we'll be alright
However, I believe we will be okay going forward.
I know you have forgotten me
I believe that you have let me slip from your mind entirely.
Before your tears had hit the ground
Before you could even start crying.
And there are things I should have said
I have some matters that I should have talked to you about.
It really doesn't matter now
It's irrelevant now and has no importance.
And the office [unverified] isn't gold
The workplace isn't as luxurious as it seems.
And the streets are paved with shit
The roads are displeasing and full of unpleasant things.
And the lovers have all left town again
Yet again, everyone who was in love has gone.
And I know we can't go back
I know there's no way we can revert to past events.
No, you are not one of them
You’re still not part of everything I regret.
You are not one of them
You’re different from the reasons why I’m remorseful.
You are not one of them
You are the exclusion rather than an inclusion in my remorseful thoughts.
Contributed by Olivia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@blanktv
I can't believe this isn't a 20M view video. I've personally watched it a couple hundred times.
Smitty
BlankTV
@SarahWelstead
I feel like this is one of those OG YouTube videos that I come back to, like, every 2 or 3 years. Can't believe it doesn't have a million+ views.
@ikespoor4796
After all these years...still awesome.
@brrrrharrr
lol. hey from 2018
@EvilEyeWeddings
@@brrrrharrr 2019 :O
@brrrrharrr
@@EvilEyeWeddings you know what's up.
@ikespoor4796
2021 and I still love this. Never gets old.
@Srcsqwrn
Here I am, after all this time, finding this masterpiece again.
@mudjr44
I've been sharing this video since the MySpace days...
@thecassman
Been following David Ford for around 10 years and in that time been to see him live over a dozen times... If you've not been to one of his shows, seriously, get yourself to one! He's superb. There's simply not a songwriter quite like him.