From a purely scientific point of view, blue is one of the pure spectral colors having a wavelength of about 450-475 nm and a frequency of about 631-668 THz. As an amateur photographer, I am aware the blue of the sky has a correlated color temperature of 5600 on the Kelvin scale and is a "cool" color. The sky is also blue due to "Rayleigh scattering" of the sunlight from the atmosphere which tends to scatter blue light more than red light. Blue is also considered one of the additive primary colors on the traditional Red, Yellow, Blue color wheel.
The word blue comes from the Middle English word bleu or blewe, words of Germanic origin which appears to have meant "pale, pallid, wan, light-colored; blond; discolored; blue, blue-gray ". Few words in the English language are as idiomatic as the word blue. In addition to the idiom "feeling blue", consider the following:
Once in a blue moon
Blue in the face
Out of the blue
Blue blood
Talk a blue streak
Black and blue
A bolt from the blue
Blue collar
The boys in blue
Blue eyed boy
Blue blazes
Baby blues
To blue pencil something
Blue chip
Give up the blue line
Blue around the gills
Vanished into the blue
I actually found over 100 idioms that used the word blue. Why do you suppose we love to use the word blue so much?
Blue is one of the most popular colors of both men and women. It is a color that is associated with trustworthiness, dependability and commitment; perhaps the reason police uniforms are blue? Blue is the color of the sky and of the sea. It is perceived as constant in our lives. It is the color of calm and coolness. It is a favorite color of spas because it calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity. The color blue is known to lower the pulse rate and body temperature. As for myself, I find it utterly impossible to feel sad when I stand on the beach in Lahaina and look out upon the blue ocean. I can only feel peace and contentment as I sit on my patio and look up into the clear blue skies of late spring. And is there anything more comfortable and familiar than an old pair of blue jeans?
In Hindu mysticism, the color blue represents the 5th chakra, Vishuddhi. Vishuddi is the chakra of the throat. It is known as the purification center and is the chakra of communication expression and judgement. It also associated with the god Vishnu, the preserver of the world. In Christianity the color blue is associated generally with purity and in Catholicism in particular it is the color of the Virgin Mary. In Islam blue is the color or religion and is often used in decorating mosques.
As a Jew, I am aware of the strong connection that the color blue has to my religious history and customs. The Torah commands us wear tzitzit (those long fringes on the corners of tallit) on the corners of our garments and to weave within these fringes a "twisted thread of tekhelet (blue)". The great Rabbi, Maimonides claimed blue was "the clear noonday sky, the Rabbi Rashi said it was the evening sky. Several other rabbinic authorities point to blue as the color of God's Glory. When my ancestors were wandering in the desert with Moses, many of the items in the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary the tribe carried from place to place) such as the menorah and other sacred vessels were covered in cloth of blue. The Ark of the Covenant was likewise covered in cloth of blue when it was transported. Blue is the color of Hannukah. When Israel achieved statehood she chose blue for the Israeli flag and the Israeli coat of arms.
There are a number of blue foods that I enjoy. While I don't really care much for blueberries on the whole, I do love a fresh from the oven blueberry muffin. Blue M&M's are my favorite. Blue corn chips are funky and fun and fun when served with black (which are really blue) bean dip. Blue Gatorade is great when I am sick. Blue jello shots are a wonderfully wicked memory from my single days. And if one really needs a blue food fix, one can always break out the blue food dye. . .blue mashed potatos anyone?
I have blue, in some form or another, in almost every room in my home. It figures largely in the rooms were I spend the most time doing the things I most like to do. It makes me feel happy and relaxed and creative. I like blue. I like it a lot. If I redecorated my house, blue would still be part of the landscape.
So, back to the original question. Why do we say we are "blue" when we are sad. Why has that empty aching loneliness associated with lost love become an entire genre of music called "the blues". Billie Holliday describes it best when she sang:
Am I blue?
Am I blue?
Aint these tears, in these eyes telling you?
How can you ask me am I blue?
Why, wouldn't you be too -
If each plan
With your man
Done fell through?
There was a time
When I was his only one
But now im
The sad and lonely one...lonely
Was I gay
Until today
Now he's gone, and we're through
Am I blue.......
Am I blue?
Aint these tears, in these eyes telling you?
How can you ask me am I blue?
Why, wouldn't you be too -
If each plan
With your man
Done fell through?
There was a time
When I was his only one
But now im
The sad and lonely one...lonely
Was I gay
Until today
Now he's gone, and we're through
Am I blue.......
It is true that blue is linked to rain and storms and in Greek mythology, the god Zeus was sad, he would cry causing it to rain and he would send down a storm when he was angry. Maybe that is the origin. Or it could be from the "Blue" laws which were designed to enforce religious standards, especially the observance of Sunday as day of worship and rest and a restriction on Sunday shopping - now that would make me really blue! I am sure the color blue put Marie Antoinette in a serious funk as it was the color of the French revolutionary forces! She definitely had a case of the Breton blues. But, the nearest I can come to an explanation for the term is from a custom among old deep-water sailing ships. If the ship lost her captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along the entire side of her hull as she returned to her home port. The crew was said to be "blue". Why they chose the color blue - that I haven't been able to learn.
None of this will likely cause me to stop saying that I am feeling blue when, in fact, I am. But I really think the color blue has gotten a bad rap. It is a great color. I adore it. I am wearing it as I type this. I just wanted the color blue to know that I don't think it is a sad color. Quite the contrary. I would be very, well blue, if there were no blue in the world.
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