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.
Peace Love & Understanding
Robben Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This wicked world
Searchin for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
Theres one thing I wanna know:
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding?
And as I walked on
Through troubled times
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony.
cause each time I feel it slippin away, just makes me wanna cry.
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding?
So where are the strong?
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony.
cause each time I feel it slippin away, just makes me wanna cry.
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding?
Robben Ford's song "Peace Love and Understanding" is a profound reflection on the current state of the world, with its chaos and darkness, and the need to seek light, peace, and love in the midst of these struggles. The opening lines poetically describe the singer's journey through the wicked world, where he is searching for light in the darkness of insanity. Although he is surrounded by pain, hatred, and misery, he keeps asking himself whether all hope is lost.
The singer's search for hope, peace, and love is evident in the chorus, where he questions the irony of why peace, love, and understanding are elusive virtues. He wants to know why these virtues elude the world, despite their capacity to transform it. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the central theme of the song and highlights the urgency of the singer's plea.
The second verse repeats the same questions posed in the first verse, as the singer tries to make sense of his struggle. The lines "where are the strong, and who are the trusted?" and "where is the harmony, sweet harmony?" suggest the singer's longing for strong, trustworthy leaders who can unite the world in a harmonious, peaceful way. The final repeat of the chorus emphasizes the singer's frustration that these virtues of peace, love, and understanding are still not valued in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
As I walk through
As I journey through this path of life
This wicked world
This world that is filled with evil
Searchin for light in the darkness of insanity.
Searching for hope in the midst of a chaotic and irrational world
I ask myself
I question within
Is all hope lost?
Has all hope vanished?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
Is there nothing but suffering, hate, and sadness?
And each time I feel like this inside,
And every time I feel this way internally,
Theres one thing I wanna know:
There is only one thing I need to understand:
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What is so absurd about having peace, love, and understanding?
And as I walked on
And as I continued walking
Through troubled times
Through difficult moments
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
Sometimes, my soul gets discouraged
So where are the strong
So who are the ones who have the strength
And who are the trusted?
And who are the ones that can be relied upon?
And where is the harmony?
And where is the perfect blend?
Sweet harmony.
The harmony that brings peace.
cause each time I feel it slippin away, just makes me wanna cry.
Because whenever I feel like it's fading away, it makes me want to cry.
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What is so silly about having peace, love, and understanding?
So where are the strong?
So who are the ones who have the strength?
And who are the trusted?
And who are the ones that can be relied upon?
And where is the harmony?
And where is the perfect blend?
Sweet harmony.
The harmony that brings peace
cause each time I feel it slippin away, just makes me wanna cry.
Because whenever I feel like it's fading away, it makes me want to cry.
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What is so ridiculous about having peace, love, and understanding?
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What is so absurd about having peace, love, and understanding?
Whats so funny bout peace love & understanding?
What is so strange about having peace, love, and understanding?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Nicholas Lowe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind