Lyrics: https://genius.com/Nick-lowe-whats-so-funny-bout-peace-love-and-understanding-lyrics
I was watching an episode of “The Great” the other night on Hulu—an “anti-historical” dramedy loosely based on the rise and reign of Catherine the Great of Russia. It’s a great show. And while sometimes I’m annoyed of what I believe to be unnecessary creative liberties in regards to the actual historical narrative, the series does tell a story that’s both fun and educational, and strikes a masterful balance between the comical and the captivating. At the end of this particular episode, Catherine (played by Elle Fanning) is despondently staring out one of her palace windows at what looks to be a forest fire, but what viewers know is the burning of a serf village (serfs included!) that was suffering from an outbreak of smallpox. This burning was ordered by Catherine’s despotic emperor husband, who rather than testing Catherine’s “enlightened” solution of variolation, decided to murder an entire village (classic antivaxxer behavior). The scene concludes with Catherine’s tear-filled eyes “searching for light in the darkness of insanity” midst Sharon Van Etten’s cover of (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?”
This cover by Van Etten and Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme (I know, right?!?), was released in May of 2020 during the heart of the first COVID lockdowns. The artists “wanted to share something universal…A feeling of home, safety, insecurities and love. That we are all in this time together. All of us, doing what we can to be our best—even during hard times.” They certainly picked an apropos tune.
The original, of course, was written and performed by Nick Lowe (who makes a brief cameo in the above video), in 1974. The song is a product of its time. According to Lowe, the song started out as a kind of a joke—a 1970s post-mortem of the decade prior when “everyone sort of slipped out of the hippie dream and into a more cynical and more unpleasant frame of mind.” And it’s pretty easy to picture—the jaded, used-to-be Woodstocker mockingly laughing at the naivete of his dreamer buddy still clinging to the tie-dye, flower power, and “sweet harmony” of the 1960s, as Nixon resigns and Saigon falls. But as the song began to materialize, Lowe realized that what was “originally supposed to be a joke song” had to be something more. That “there was a little grain of wisdom in this thing, and not to mess it up.”
The genius of the song is its simplicity. As Lowe said, “The one clever thing I did with that song was to not mess it up in the verses by making it too complicated. I thought to myself, This is a great title. Let the title do all the work for you.” He was right.
And despite its ironic idealism, the song is also relatable and true. We’ve all “felt like this inside.” We’ve all felt it “slippin’ away”. We’ve all had moments where the world or our world seems to be a place solely defined by “pain, hatred, and misery.” But like the song, the solution is simple. The world is a complicated place, but it’s hard to imagine a problem that is immune to the medicine of “peace, love, and understanding.” Three things we all want. Three things we’re all capable of. Three things that if universally embraced, really would make this world a better place to be in for the brief moments we’re here.
And what’s so funny about that?
P.S. Following the example of Van Etten and Homme, here’s my own home movie set to this song featuring a compilation of videos I made over the last two weeks while stay-at-home-dad-ing and starring my beautiful daughter, Lenin.
P.P.S. I cannot conclude this blog without sharing the cover that made the song famous. Take it away, Elvis:
Big Cat's Kitty Shed 
When is the blog about Afghanistan and the failures and deaths biden is responsible for? 7 months in is all too you kids are useful idiots pawns and you are too daft to even grasp it?
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-Using the CDC to spread his totalitarian rule over your children, your body and corporations.
-Empowering terrorists worldwide
-Allowing Americans to be slaughtered.
-In bed with China (and blaming Russia to distract you)
Biden is 100% who you claimed trump was 😂 💩 idiots vote for idiots!
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Deff got blood on your hands pal! This mom of slain soldier calls it that way even!
https://mobile.twitter.com/stillgray/status/1431708111862001664
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Get. A. Life. Clint.
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Clint? Is that CPK real name?
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? Hello? Anon? You there? Seriously curious if those are the same people? And why they live rent free in your 🧠?
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Here is some more of that bloid on your hands i mentioned before!
https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/bidens-drone-strike-killed-an-entirely-innocent-family-of-9/
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When ya dropping the post about the great job Biden and crew are doing?
Now we know what they meant by Build Back Better:
Vaccine mandates
Massive inflation
Invasion at southern border
Attack on civil liberties
Booster shots
Soaring gas prices
Housing shortage
Firing healthcare workers
Botched Afghan withdraw
Destroying relationships with allies
YES! The adults are back in charge!
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Lol hahahaha this is who you voted for and advocated others vote for bwahahaha unreal you dumb dumb dumb gullible idiots not like he didn’t say pertain to de segregation that he did not want it because his kids he didn’t “want in a racial jungle “ god you have to feel so dumb 😂 💩
https://mobile.twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1458853700726890509
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Is your wage as a teacher keeping up with joes inflation?
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Whom ya voting for next election cycle? Need to know so i can just not think and vote for whom you do and tell me too! as far as thinking and looking into people their past and policies that is hard and hurts my brain….you obviously have it all figured out and can just think for me clearly from your post and content i need not worry I’m in the best of the dip shit liberals hands here! you advocated for joe biden before in previous post! I’m so glad I listened to you on the last election and all those smart non biased celebrities that also advocated for biden like you did again fuuuuck thinking and using the inter webs is hard! I’m so happy you got me to blindly vote for biden! Not like that decision didn’t hurt people here or abroad what did i read 1 million kids will starve in Afghanistan this year after his stellar pull out. Also so glad this guy fixed covid and made things more attainable and affordable for me at my low wage job! Thank god for joey biden and his agenda and building back better!
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