When the economy is bad and inflation soars, or when we experience devastating relationship failures, we have a tendency to “sing the blues.”                                                                                                                      

This popular idiom means lamenting or complaining about one’s circumstances, and was derived from the American musical genre known as blues music, often featuring lyrics about bad luck and difficulties.

Blues has its roots in African-American history on Southern plantations in the mid-to-late 19th century. Slaves and ex-slave sharecroppers sang mournful ballads as they regretfully toiled in the cotton, tobacco and vegetable fields. Some characteristics of the genre were present even much earlier in African music. Three cities have become popular centers for blues music: New Orleans, Memphis and St. Louis. It’s popularity, however, extends across America. 

The saying "singing the blues" first appeared as the title for a song by popular singer and vaudeville performer, Aliene Stanley, copyrighted in 1921 by Victor Records, which was recorded on a 78 RPM disc.

In 1956 another ballad with the same title, written by Melvin Endsley, was released by country music superstar Marty Robbins, which became a smash hit, propelling the saying into our pop culture. It was later covered by Guy Mitchell, Tommy Steele and others. The song clearly indicated a state of being dejected and downcast over lost love.

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