Mood Indigo
Jazz of Desolation: Unraveling the Melancholy in Joe Jackson's 'Mood Indigo'
Lyrics
You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You have never experienced sadness or melancholy;
You ain't never been blue,
Reiteration of the absence of feeling blue;
Till you've had that mood indigo.
True sadness is not known until one has felt "mood indigo," a metaphor for deep melancholy;
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
The profound emotion descends through the speaker's being, reaching down to their shoes;
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
While the speaker remains passive, the emotion lingers, and they express resignation with the phrase "Go 'long blues";
I always get that mood indigo,
The speaker consistently experiences this mood indigo after parting with their lover;
Since my baby said goodbye.
Attributed to the departure of the speaker's baby (lover), leading to a prolonged sense of sorrow;
And in the evenin' when the lights are low,
During the evening when the atmosphere is subdued, the speaker feels intense loneliness;
I'm so lonely I could cry.
The speaker is overwhelmed with a sense of isolation, reaching a point of potential tears;
'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
No one shows concern or empathy for the speaker's emotional state;
I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
The speaker describes themselves as a deeply despondent fool, surpassing the typical level of sadness;
When I get that mood indigo,
A repetition of the recurring mood indigo, emphasizing its persistence;
I could lay me down and die.
The depth of the speaker's despair is such that they contemplate the possibility of laying down and dying;
You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
Reiteration of the idea that without experiencing mood indigo, one has not truly felt sadness;
You ain't never been blue,
Restates the absence of having felt the described level of melancholy;
Till you've had that mood indigo.
Repeats the assertion that true sadness comes with experiencing mood indigo;
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
The profound emotion permeates the speaker's being, reaching down to their shoes (repeated metaphor);
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
The speaker remains in a passive state, sighing and acknowledging the presence of the blues.
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