Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home (1969)

As you may remember from our post a while back, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce of Cream did not get along ever since their days playing together in The Graham Bond Organisation. While in Cream, the bickering between the two was usually mediated by their bandmate Eric Clapton; but, it eventually took its toll on the band, causing them to split up in1968. In the subsequent months, Clapton found himself frequently playing with Steve Winwood, who had just recently, in January 1969, parted ways with Traffic due to differences in opinion about the band’s musical direction. While jamming on one particular day in early 1969, Ginger Baker sat in to play the drums. Impressed with the chemistry the three of them had together, Winwood presented Clapton with the idea of asking Baker to form a new band with them. At first, Clapton had whole-heartedly decided against it, as he had promised Jack Bruce that if any new projects had been started he’d invite him. But given that Ginger Baker was a part of this new project, Clapton felt it would basically be restarting Cream nine weeks after breaking it up. Winwood eventually persuaded Clapton to ask Baker to join without approaching Jack Bruce at all. In May 1969, the newly formed trio then persuaded bass player Ric Grech to leave his current band, Family, mid-tour and join them in their collaboration. Word of mouth quickly spread to the public about a new “Super Cream” that was being formed. Before the band had even released any material, although they had been recording their first album, they were touring and playing to crowds of up to 20,000 people. Not having penned enough material of their own yet, they found themselves playing a lot of Cream’s and Traffic’s songs. This is exactly what Clapton wanted to avoid. After the release of their one and only album in 1969, the band finished their tour and returned to the UK, where they soon decided it best to split up. Ginger Baker went on to form Ginger Baker’s Air Force; Steve Winwood reformed Traffic with Ric Grech; and Eric Clapton passionately escaped the limelight by playing as a guest of the Plastic Ono Band and Delaney & Bonnie and Friends.

Written by Steve Winwood, this song appeared as the second track on the band’s one and only album, Blind Faith, released in 1969. The album was met with a stark criticism, as it artistically featured an underage nude female model. Although the girl and her parents both consented to her appearance on the album art, rumors circulated that it was Ginger Baker’s daughter or a groupie held hostage by the band. In the United States, an alternate album cover, seen below, was released.



Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home (1969)

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Lyrics:

Come down off your throne
And leave your body alone
Somebody must change
You are the reason I’ve been waiting so long
Somebody holds the key

But I’m near the end and
I just ain’t got the time
And I’m wasted and I
Can’t find my way home

Come down on your own
And leave your body alone
Somebody must change
You are the reason I’ve been waiting all these years
Somebody holds the key

But I’m near the end
I just ain’t got the time
Oh, I’m wasted and I
Can’t find my way home

But I can’t find my way home
But I can’t find my way home
But I can’t find my way home
But I can’t find my way home
But I can’t find my way home
And I ain’t done nothing wrong
But I can’t find my way home