(1) Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the early Romantic period.
Mendelssohn was born on 3rd February 1809 in Hamburg, Germany into a notable Jewish family (his grandfather was the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn). He was a child prodigy, though his family were careful not to allow this to distort his upbringing, and only approved of his following a musical career when it was clear that he was serious about music.
Early success in Germany was followed by travel throughout Europe; Mendelssohn was particularly well received in Britain as a composer, conductor and soloist, and his ten visits there (during which many of his major works were premiered) form an important part of his adult career. His essentially conservative musical tastes however set him apart from many of his more adventurous musical contemporaries such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, and Hector Berlioz. The Conservatory he founded at Leipzig became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook.
Mendelssohn’s work includes symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano works, and chamber music. He also had an important role in the revival of interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, his creative originality has again been recognised, and re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era. He died on 4th November 1847 in Leipzig.
(2) The other Felix Mendelssohn was a popular British crooner of the 1930s and 1940s. He became fascinated with Hawaiian music and became best known performing as Felix Mendelssohn & His Hawaiian Serenaders. See the Wikipedia article about this band and their Last.fm artist profile.
Mood Indigo
Felix Mendelssohn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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.
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".
The lyrics of Felix Mendelssohn's "Mood Indigo" capture the deep sadness and loneliness one feels after a breakup. The opening lines suggest that the listener has never truly experienced sadness until they've felt this type of blue – the "mood indigo." The following lines describe the feeling of this mood indigo that "goes stealin' down to my shoes" while the singer just sits and sighs, wishing the blues would leave.
The second verse reveals why the singer is feeling this way. Their baby has said goodbye, and they are left feeling lonely and unloved. The singer wishes they had someone who cared for them and laments over feeling like a "poor fool that's bluer than blue can be." The final lines of the song express the depth of despair and hopelessness, with the singer saying they could "lay me down and die" because of this overwhelming sadness.
Overall, "Mood Indigo" is a powerful and emotionally charged song, expressing the pain and heartache that can come from losing someone you love. The melody and lyrics work together to create a hauntingly beautiful and melancholic piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You will never understand true sadness, until you've experienced the all-encompassing and debilitating feeling of sadness known as mood indigo.
You ain't never been blue,
No matter how sad you've been before, nothing can compare to the depth of sadness felt under the spell of mood indigo.
Till you've had that mood indigo.
Only those who have experienced mood indigo can truly appreciate how overwhelming it can be.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
The sadness of mood indigo is so profound that it physically affects the artist, causing them to feel it down to their very toes.
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
In the face of such intense sadness, the artist can do nothing but sit and sigh, imploring the blues to leave them be.
I always get that mood indigo,
The singer is not a stranger to mood indigo; in fact, it is a constant presence in their life.
Since my baby said goodbye.
The trigger that leads to the singer feeling mood indigo is the loss of a loved one, specifically their baby.
And in the evenin' when the lights are low,
The feeling of mood indigo is compounded by the stillness and darkness of night, as the world seems to sink into a deeper melancholy.
I'm so lonely I could cry.
The artist is not just sad, but lonely to the point of tears.
'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
The cause of the artist's loneliness is a lack of care and companionship from others; they feel completely isolated.
I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
In the midst of mood indigo, the singer feels like a fool for feeling so sad, but cannot help the intensity of their emotions.
When I get that mood indigo,
The onset of mood indigo is not a choice or something the artist can control.
I could lay me down and die.
The depth of sadness the singer feels is so profound that they contemplate dying rather than living with it any longer.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Barney Bigard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@davidsouthern6029
Interesting coincidence- I was just playing tan LP compilation by him a day or so ago.
I really like your transfer a lot.
@2ndviolinist
Thanks.
@123must
Amazing !
Thanks
@2ndviolinist
You're welcome. Thanks for listening. Entertaining and different.
@Julian9ehp
He died young, like his namesake.
@jazzmessenger123
Slackers! Actually, that's not a Hawaiian slack guitar being played as I initially thought . . . and there's a version of them doing In The Mood live on the British Pathé You Tube channel.
@cooparia
Thats Kealoha Life in the picture - he played Hawaiian Lap Steel on this record.