Blues and melancholy

In my daily routine, after meditation I usually open up Google to see if they have an interesting ‘Doodle’ and this one caught me off guard. It was a tribute to the late great B.B King along with an animation to his most well known songs ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ and listening to it, took me back to a different time. It made me think really about what the blues are but how it created something from this state of melancholy.

For those who don’t know, I learnt to play guitar at 16 years old. I used to listen to loads of different artists as I tried to find my own voice on guitar. Went through Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters but I settled on B.B. King because of his unique blend of feel, finesse and technique which seemed simple but actually very hard to master. I was amazed by how he can have really deep, melancholic songs that touch deep to the black experience then come back with strong, soulful and uplifting songs the next time around.

Then I really thought of Blues as really a metaphor for life in general. It has ups and downs, but it always how you take those feelings and be honest with them. Its about taking all the pain and melancholia and pouring it into a creative form, rather than letting it sit and fester possibly becoming bitter.

Finally, while looking up what the meaning for melancholy I got a lot of feedback beyond the dictionary definition of sadness, but a deep introspective lean that isn’t attached to depression but an awareness of the pain. That in some way for me, really describes the blues. Its not just being in pain, its sitting with it, letting it flow in and out rather than resist it. There is pain, but there is a different kind of joy in the learning and growth left behind.

Until next time, #embraceinfinity