Blues

[snargmcnarf]

why/how did the word Blues come about to refer to what is now Blues music?
Thanks for any answer

[Booldawg]

Just a theory; The lyrics to alot of Blues contains stories of hardship and strife, especially the struggle of the black man living in the Mississipi Delta around the early part of the century.

I'm guessing the name comes from 'feeling blue' about life. Which begs the question, why is feeling unhappy sometimes referred to as feeling 'blue'.

[snargmcnarf]

yes, thats part of what I mean. Why Blue. I guess blue is a slightly melancholy colour, but maybe there is another reason?

[Mortartube]

Wiki suggests this under the topic for the colour blue.

In the English language, blue may refer to the feeling of sadness. "He was feeling blue". This is because blue was related to rain, or storms, and in Greek mythology, the god Zeus would make rain when he was sad (crying), and a storm when he was angry.

[johnny37]

None of these answers the question, which might be better posted in the phrases and sayings section. Everyone knows it means to be sad or melancholy but why? The term is actually from the Elizabethan saying 'to be in the grip of blue devils', meaning melancholy. Dont know when the link to blues music came about but I would guess the slaves in America adopted from their Elizabethan masters.