Mood Indigo

This song is especially supposed to feel blue. Although indigo and blue are technically different colors, they can still refer to the same general feeling.

Maybe blue is the color in the middle of this picture where the bass clefs are, and indigo is the color in the corners.

Mood Indigo is one of Duke Ellington's many innovative compositions, and it is especially known for exactly what the title describes. We seem to have had a hard time describing those "down" feelings, as well as many others, so we assign colors to our emotions instead.



For example, blue and green are known for putting you into a calm and peaceful state that helps make you more productive. (Maybe it was a good idea to choose blue for my site background!) Meanwhile, red and yellow are often used to inspire action - that could be the reason why you see it on YouTube so much. But, action isn't always good when it turns to anger.

And, blue isn't always good when it's representing sadness, due to cold and uncaring things that people have done.

The lyrics of this song talk a lot about feeling "blue." They convey a sense of loss and loneliness that I tried to (imperfectly, of course) reproduce on the piano. You don't know what feeling blue is, apparently, until some "mood indigo" hits you.

Of course, happy feelings are something that I'm trying to bring to you with the songs I play, but we all know that we can't be happy all the time. Sometimes, blue is a color that needs to come into our lives every once in a while. There would be no point in emotion, I would say, if it never changed.

Anyways, whether you're feeling blue or yellow, I hope you enjoy this song. And as always, keep filling your teacup with music.

~Liya