The Meaning of the Blues

"The Meaning Of The Blues" (1957) is a jazz composition and song, with music by Bobby Troup and lyrics by Leah Worth.{{cite web |title=Meaning of the Blues (1957) |url=http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-7/meaningoftheblues.htm |website=jazzstandards.com |accessdate=9 November 2014}} It was written for Troup's wife, Julie London, for her album About the Blues (1957) and recorded shortly thereafter by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on the celebrated record Miles Ahead.{{cite web |title=About the Blues (1957) |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/about-the-blues-mw0000661357 |accessdate=10 September 2018}}

Despite its title, this 32-bar piece is structurally not a blues. Its form follows a standard ABAC design. The overall tonality is minor, with modulations to the major mode in both B & C sections. The melody itself has no accidentals, apart from the raised leading tone at bar 16, where the B section returns to A. The song is commonly performed at a ballad tempo, mm.66 or slower (refer to the Julie London recording, at mm.54).