blue ... why does it mean sad, or the "blues"

[Mikey_219Inc]

what the hell is the origin of "feeling blue" or "the blues" ... what does it have to do with the color ... must come from somewhere ...

[dodger21]

Yeah... my balls....wait thats not funny

[StickyGreen]

some dude probably got his ass beat one day and was all blue. someone asked him whats wrong he's like "i got the blues man..." lol

[Mr. Blue]

Well, its a nautical expression...If a ship went off to sea and during the voyage it lost its captain or any of the officers, it would fly a blue flag or paint a blue mark on the hull before getting to the home port.

[Mikey_219Inc]

Originally Posted by Mr. Blue

Well, its a nautical expression...If a ship went off to sea and during the voyage it lost its captain or any of the officers, it would fly a blue flag or paint a blue mark on the hull before getting to the home port.

well... with a name like mr blue im inclined to take this more seriously than "blue balls" (although that was funny and appreciated )

hmm, is this really the origin of the word - "the blues" ... and "feeling blue" ???????

im off to google. not that it means a fucking thing but im curious because someone asked me about it, and i couldnt answer (a foreigner asked me as an american)

[Mikey_219Inc]

wikipedia does kick ass ...

"The phrase the blues is a synonym for having a fit of the blue devils, meaning down spirits, depression and sadness. An early reference to this can be found in George Colman's farce Blue devils, a farce in one act (1798). Later during the 19th century, the phrase was used as a euphemism for delirium tremens and the police. Though usage of the phrase in African American music may be older, it has been attested to since 1912 in Memphis, Tennessee with W. C. Handy's "Memphis Blues".[1][2] In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood.[3]"

although i still for the life of me cannot understand why the original author of this expression didnt choose green or off-white ...

[Linkster]

Since blue has many different meanings ranging from the "blues" (music) to porn (blue movies) and "blue laws" etc

"the word began to be applied to matters obscene in the 1820s. (There?s an entry for it in The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia by John MacTaggart of 1824: ?Thread o? Blue, any little smutty touch in song-singing, chatting, or piece of writing?)."

"Reverend Samuel Peters, in a work published in London in 1781, The General History of Connecticut. In it, he roundly criticises the ultra-strict puritan laws in that state. He called them blue laws because they were ?bloody laws; for they were all sanctified with whipping, cutting off the ears, burning the tongue, and death.? Why this makes the laws blue rather than red isn?t clear"


"blues
as a music form featuring flatted thirds and sevenths, possibly c.1895 (though officially 1912, in W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues"); meaning "depression, low spirits" goes back to 1741, from adj. blue "low-spirited," c.1385."

[J. Falcon]

Originally Posted by Mikey_219Inc

wikipedia does kick ass ...

"The phrase the blues is a synonym for having a fit of the blue devils, meaning down spirits, depression and sadness. An early reference to this can be found in George Colman's farce Blue devils, a farce in one act (1798). Later during the 19th century, the phrase was used as a euphemism for delirium tremens and the police. Though usage of the phrase in African American music may be older, it has been attested to since 1912 in Memphis, Tennessee with W. C. Handy's "Memphis Blues".[1][2] In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood.[3]"

although i still for the life of me cannot understand why the original author of this expression didnt choose green or off-white ...

Thats some interesting info.