He was born in Woodlake, California and raised in Ukiah. He taught himself guitar when he was 13 and considered his first influence to be Mike Bloomfield. At 18 he moved to San Francisco to form the Charles Ford Blues Band (named after his father, who was also a guitarist) featuring his brothers Mark (mouth harp) and Patrick (drums).
Robben was soon hired to play with Charles Musselwhite for nine months. Robben Ford played with Jimmy Witherspoon (1972-1973), the L.A. Express with Tom Scott (1974), George Harrison and Joni Mitchell. In 1977 he was a founding member of the Yellowjackets, which he stayed with until 1983, simultaneously having a solo career and working as a session guitarist.
In 1986, Ford toured with Miles Davis and he had two separate periods (1985 and 1987) with Sadao Watanabe, but he seemed to really find himself in 1992 when he returned to his roots: the blues. Ford formed a new group, the Blue Line, and subsequently recorded a couple of blues-rock dates for Stretch that are among the finest of his career. In 1999, he released Sunrise on Rhino and Supernatural on Blue Thumb. Ford signed to the Concord Jazz label in 2002 and released Blue Moon that same year, followed by Keep on Running in 2003 and Truth in 2007. Robben Ford whilst continuing to record solo albums has been touring in 2007 with guitar legend Larry Carlton.
Hand In Hand With The Blues
Robben Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wait but I know you'll never come
The world goes passing by
People laugh and babies cry
Never knew I had so much to lose.
You introduced me to a new companion
When you left me standing in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the blues
Hand in hand with the blues.
I watch the streets outside my window
I wait but I know you'll never come
Night falls and I draw the blinds
The will to live gets harder to find
I can't bring myself to face the truth
Another king of the brokenhearted
Someone to share my pain
Anyone looking would've watched me go
Walking hand in hand with the blues
Hand in hand with the blues.
The empty hours they move so slowly
Cold sorrow sinks into my bones
Night seems to never end
Pour a drink from a new found friend
Trying to drown the pain of losing you.
We're gonna go down that road together
And I'll never see you again
Anyone looking would've watched me go
Walking hand in hand with the blues
Hand in hand with the blues.
Hand in hand with the blues.
Hand in hand with the blues.
The lyrics of Robben Ford's song "Hand In Hand With The Blues" express a deep emotion of loss and despair. The singer is watching the streets outside his window waiting for someone who will never come. He has lost love and is alone, feeling disconnected from the world that passes him by. The pain of loss is so great that he seems to have lost the will to live, and he tries to replace it with alcohol, hoping to find solace in a new companion.
The second verse talks about how he has found another companion, but this time it's not love, it's the blues, a personification of his pain. The image of the singer walking hand in hand with the blues is a powerful one, and it shows how he has accepted his fate and is now a slave to his sorrow. He is aware that he has become the king of the brokenhearted, and he seems to have embraced this new identity as it's the only thing that makes sense to him now.
The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is willing to go down the road of pain with the blues by his side. He knows that he will never see the person he has lost again, and he has accepted that this is his destiny, to walk hand in hand with the blues.
Line by Line Meaning
I watch the streets outside my window
I'm sitting inside my home, gazing out the window
I wait but I know you'll never come
I'm expecting your arrival, but I realize it's not going to happen
The world goes passing by
People and things are moving and changing quickly around me
People laugh and babies cry
Life is full of happiness and sadness simultaneously
Never knew I had so much to lose.
I never realized how much I could miss you until you were gone
You introduced me to a new companion
Since you left me, I've been accompanied by pain and sorrow
When you left me standing in the rain
When you walked away from me and left me soaking wet in the rain
Anyone looking would've watched me go
Anyone who saw me would've seen that I was leaving with a heavy heart
Walking hand in hand with the blues
I'm emotionally linked with the blues, moving forward together
I watch the streets outside my window
I'm still observing the world from my window
Night falls and I draw the blinds
As the night grows darker, I close my window blinds
The will to live gets harder to find
Each day it feels tougher to find the energy to continue living
I can't bring myself to face the truth
It's difficult for me to confront the reality of our separation
Another king of the brokenhearted
Someone else who feels just as shattered as I do
Someone to share my pain
Someone with whom I can commiserate
The empty hours they move so slowly
Time passes very gradually when I'm feeling lonely
Cold sorrow sinks into my bones
My sadness is seeping deep inside my body
Night seems to never end
The darkness of the night feels like it will never pass
Pour a drink from a new found friend
Drinking is becoming my new way to cope with the pain of losing you
Trying to drown the pain of losing you.
I'm attempting to conceal my agony by indulging in substance abuse
We're gonna go down that road together
Me and my companion, the blues, are going down the same path
And I'll never see you again
I know I'll never get the chance to gaze upon you again
Hand in hand with the blues.
I'm inextricably linked, emotionally, with the blues
Hand in hand with the blues.
As I walk down this path, I'm still accompanied by the blues
Hand in hand with the blues.
The blues and I will remain linked as I move forward
Contributed by Alice B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.