Blues is a genre of music that features a lot of sad songs and some happier songs.
The song “The Blues Is All Right” starts in a sad way but quickly becomes a happy song.
There are many types of emotions delivered in blues music.
Blues music is both happy and sad.
There are many blues songs that are very sad and will actually cause some people to cry.
Other blues songs are a happy celebration of life.
The attraction of blues music is that it can create emotions of diverse types in the people who listen.
Is Blues Music Linked to Sadness?
Blues music is called blues music because it is built on the blues musical scale which is built on the minor pentatonic scale with some added flatted notes called “blue notes,
A lot of people tend to think of blues as sad because the term “feeling blue” has come to mean” feeling sad”.
Actually, Blues music is not necessarily sad music.
The song “Saint James Infirmary”, by many artists, talks about seeing a man in a barroom who has just returned from a mortuary to see the love of his life who has died.
On the other hand, Hootchy Cootchy Man, originally by Muddy Waters, is a joyous, happy song.
Is Blues for Sad People?
Blues can certainly be for sad people.
There is a certain comfort when a sad person can find someone with whom to identify.
It helps them realize that they are not alone in their sadness.
I think when we feel down, it seems that we are all alone in our misery.
A sad blues song helps us feel that others can be in the same boat.
B.B. King sang “No one loves but my mother and sometimes I think she might be jivin’ too”.
You can’t get much sadder than that.
There are many sad songs in other types of music also.
For instance, Folk and Country music have many sad songs.
Why Does Blues Music Make Me Happy?
Blues music makes me happy because it speaks directly to my soul.
At one time, I was serving an apprenticeship to become an electrician.
The company I worked for decided to require all electricians to attend a night school class that taught a type of electronics that I knew the company would not allow the electricians to practice.
They had some very good electronic technicians to do that job,
I was angry and every night that we had class, I would leave when we took a break halfway through the class.
By the time I snuck out I was seething.
This was in the days of cassette tapes and I had put together a tape of some of my favorite blues songs.
It was about 30 miles to my home from the school and every time I left class I played the tape on the way home.
By the time I got home, I was in a much better mood and did not take out my frustration on my wife and children.
The Blues made me happy or at least happier.
By the way, I never became an electrician, either.
Can Blues Music Be Upbeat and Cheerful?
Blues music can absolutely be upbeat and cheerful.
Listen to “MY Babe” by Little Walter or “Boom. Boom, Boom” by John Lee Hooker.
These songs are upbeat, cheerful, and entertaining.
There are many blues songs that are not sad.
Conclusion
While there are many blues songs that are sad, there are just about as many that are not.
Blues is a down-to-earth music that reaches out to all human emotions and situations.
Just listen to a set of blues songs and you will feel a variety of emotions.
That is what the blues is all about.