Burrell made his first recording in 1951, with Dizzy Gillespie. After moving from Detroit to New York City in 1956, he recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians, including John Coltrane, Benny Goodman, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine, and Cedar Walton. He also led his own groups since 1951.
In the 1970s he began leading seminars about music, particularly Duke Ellington's (Burrell has a music degree from Wayne State University). A highly popular performer, he has won several jazz polls in Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the United States.
He has recorded about 40 LPs, including Midnight Blue (1961), Blue Lights, Guitar Forms, Sunup To Sundown (1990), Soft Winds (1993), Then Along Came Kenny (1993), and Lotus Blossom (1995).
Burrell now serves as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA.
Mood Indigo
Kenny Burrell Lyrics
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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 song "Mood Indigo" by Kenny Burrell is a classic blues tune that depicts the feelings of deep sadness and loneliness that come with heartbreak. The opening lines, "You ain't never been blue; no, no, no, you ain't never been blue, till you've had that mood indigo," evoke the idea that the pain of heartbreak can be so intense that it surpasses any previous experience with sadness.
The lyrics go on to describe the physical and emotional effects of heartbreak, as the feeling of sadness "goes stealin' down to my shoes" and the singer sits and sighs. Later in the song, the singer laments the fact that they are so lonely that they could cry, and that "there's nobody who cares about me." This sense of isolation and despair is a common theme in blues music, as it reflects the feelings of many people who have experienced heartbreak.
Ultimately, the singer sings that the feeling of "mood indigo" is so overwhelming that they could "lay me down and die." This hyperbolic statement emphasizes the intense suffering that often accompanies heartbreak, making the song a poignant and relatable expression of human emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You don't truly understand sadness until you experience the depth and intensity of mood indigo
You ain't never been blue,
You may have felt down or melancholy, but you haven't felt the unique shade of blue that is mood indigo
Till you've had that mood indigo.
Only after experiencing mood indigo do you truly know what it means to feel blue
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
The heaviness and weight of mood indigo seeps deep into my being, affecting even my physical body
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
All I can do is sit and sigh, resigned to the fact that the blues will linger and persist
I always get that mood indigo,
Mood indigo is a recurring state of mind for me
Since my baby said goodbye.
My heartache began when my loved one left me
And in the evenin' when the lights are low,
As night falls and the world darkens, my sadness deepens
I'm so lonely I could cry.
My loneliness is so palpable, it brings me to tears
'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I feel utterly alone and abandoned, with no one to turn to for support
I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
My sadness is all-consuming and surpasses even the deepest shade of blue
When I get that mood indigo,
Once again, I find myself in the grips of mood indigo
I could lay me down and die.
My despair is so great, I feel like giving up on life itself
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, IRVING MILLS, BARNEY BIGARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind