The Story of BLIND FAITH’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” (1969)

Eric Clapton was part of many outstanding collaborations throughout his long and prolific career. Where do I even begin? It all started with The Yardbirds, then Cream, then John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers. Before he moved on to Derek & The Dominos – a project we all know quite well due to that “little” album “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs”, Eric Clapton, along with Steve Winwood, Ric Grech and ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker formed the short-lived band, Blind Faith.

The blues-oriented Blind Faith has often been referred to as one of the first ever supergroups. Not only that but they crafted the perfect sound fusion between rock and blues, which influenced many young musicians in the years to come. Despite releasing only one, self-titled album in 1969, Blind Faith still remain one of the most essential English-blues acts, at least in my book. That album generated a huge commotion not only because of its unique sound but because of its controversial album artwork, featuring a young topless girl, holding a silver space ship. It was still the ‘60s after all…what else could you expect?

“Blind Faith” offers a superb playlist; each and every song on that album is a true masterpiece and deserves our praises. After all, it did peak at #1 in three different countries (UK, USA, Canada) so you can expect nothing but the best from this album. Nevertheless, I’ve always been attracted to “Can’t Find My Way Home” the most. As a matter of fact, it’s one of my personal favorite blues songs of all time. It’s immensely comforting and definitely a song I can play every time I feel like I need a break. I do hope there are people out there who appreciate it as much as me and are interested to know a little bit more about this not only beautiful but historically relevant song. Here we go!

• “Can’t Find My Way Home” was written and sang by the legendary Steve Winwood who is regarded as one of the most influential blue-eyed soul and rhythm and blues musicians of all time. Throughout his career, he made history as a notorious member of bands such as The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Go and of course, Blind Faith.

• Eric Clapton played acoustic guitar on this song, which was highly unusual for him. As a member of CREAM, Clapton was famous for his lengthy and complex guitar solos, from which he obviously wanted to take a break. Many fans consider his gentle guitar performance on “Can’t Find My Way Home” as one of the best of his career.

• Many have speculated about the true meaning behind the lyrics of the song. Some say this Steve is singing about break-up or the meaning of life while others claim that it’s about war and death. The most well-known interpretation of the “Can’t Find My Way Home” is that it’s merely a song about drugs.
  I am inclined to believe that it’s a song about drugs. I mean if we look carefully, “Come down off your throne and leave your body alone” might be saying “get down from that grand illusion and just stop taking drugs and doing this to your body!”. The following lines, “You are the reason I’ve been waiting all these years, somebody holds the key” can be interpreted as “drugs were the reason why I can’t move on and I need someone to help me!”
  Of course, what do I know? I didn’t write the song. It might as well be a track about self-rediscovery and trying to change your life after you made a series of bad choices. Drugs might be just one small part of it. We all make mistakes, take wrong turns and as a result, can’t find our way back home; the important thing is to be sane, realize what is wrong and try to seek help.

• “Can’t Find My Way Home” was (and still is) Blind Faith‘s most beloved song. It was an irreplaceable part of every one of their (relatively few) live performances (and later of Clapton‘s).

• Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton performed “Can’t Find My Way Home” during the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007, along with Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall.

• “Can’t Find My Way Home” is one of the most covered songs in the history of music. From House of Lords to Joe Cocker, from Styx to John Wetton – various musicians of different genres, including hard rock, soul and pop, recorded their own interpretations of this song. We can easily conclude that “Can’t Find My Way Home” turned out to be an inspiration for many younger generations of musicians.
  
  Below is my favorite cover of the classic by House of Lord (“Sahara”, 1990)

• “Can’t Find My Way Home” often makes an appearance on TV. More recently, the famous CW TV Series, Supernatural, featured it during seasons 1 and 9.

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“Can’t Find My Way Home”

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References:

“Can’t Find My Way Home” Lyrics, retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/stevewinwood/cantfindmywayhome.html
“Can’t Find My Way Home” Official Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can’t_Find_My_Way_Home
P.S. I don’t own any audio or visual material used in this publication. All the rights and credits go to the owners and/publishers.
The publication expresses my personal opinion and in no way is trying to make a generalized statement. Please be kind and considerate when you read and/or comment.

Cheers~