Mood Indigo
101 Strings was an umbrella term for a highly successful easy listening sym… Read Full Bio ↴101 Strings was an umbrella term for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding a hundred albums and a creative lifetime of roughly thirty years. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence", a puffy cloud logo and sepia-toned photo of the orchestra. According to the photograph, the 101 Strings orchestra was composed of 124 string instruments (all male except for the harpist) and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan. The orchestra's famous official photograph was taken in the Musikhalle Hamburg. In reality, of course, the recordings also featured a full brass, woodwind and percussion section, and not quite as many strings as are shown in the photograph. In later years (right up to the 80's), the recordings were made by a session orchestra in London, with a line-up including a modern "pop" rhythm section. In the late 1990's, the 101 Strings Orchestra was revived with "The New 101 Strings Orchestra" for a series of modern recordings.

Mood Indigo
101 Strings Orchestra Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You ain't never been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".

I always get that mood indigo,
Since my baby said goodbye.
And in the evenin' when the lights are low,
I'm so lonely I could cry.
'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
When I get that mood indigo,
I could lay me down and die.

You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You ain't never been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.




That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Mood Indigo" by 101 Strings Orchestra is a poignant reflection of heartbreak, loneliness, and despair. The song talks about the blues that come with missing someone deeply, and the feelings of emptiness and sadness that linger after a breakup. The song expresses that the singer has never experienced true sadness until they have experienced the "mood indigo," a deep melancholy that consumes them entirely. The haunting melody and the lyrics create a melancholic atmosphere that seems to encapsulate the unrelenting anguish of the singer's heart.


The song's opening line, "You ain't never been blue," sets the tone of the entire song. The line suggests that the singer understands that most people might not comprehend their level of anguish. The second line, "Till you've had that mood indigo," serves to intensify the feeling that comes with heartbreak. The singer then talks about how the feeling of hurt and despair stole down to their shoes, leaving them feeling helpless, and all they can do is sit and lament. The song goes on to explain how heartbreak has made the singer feel like there is nobody who cares for them, and they are "bluer than blue can be."


Line by Line Meaning

You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You have never truly felt sadness until you've experienced the overwhelming emotion of mood indigo.


You ain't never been blue,
You may have felt sadness before, but it cannot compare to the deep-seated feeling of mood indigo.


Till you've had that mood indigo.
Mood indigo is a unique and intense form of sadness that surpasses all other varieties.


That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
The sensation of sadness creeps into every fiber of my being, leaving no part of me untouched.


While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
All I can do is sit and lament the overwhelming feeling of sadness, begging it to leave me alone.


I always get that mood indigo,
The feeling of mood indigo is a constant in my life.


Since my baby said goodbye.
The cause of my mood indigo is the loss of my beloved.


And in the evenin' when the lights are low,
During the quiet of the night, when all is still, my sadness is strongest.


I'm so lonely I could cry.
My loneliness is so palpable that it brings me to tears.


'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
The root of my sadness is the feeling of being utterly alone, with no one to care for me.


I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
I am a hopeless, foolish person who is overcome with the deepest form of sadness.


When I get that mood indigo,
Whenever I experience the sadness of mood indigo,


I could lay me down and die.
I feel so overwhelmed by this emotion that I could cease to exist altogether.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, IRVING MILLS, BARNEY BIGARD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found