Baby Blue – Unraveling The Shades of Melancholy

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for King Krule's Baby Blue at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

My sandpaper sigh engraves a line
Into the rust of your tongue
Girl, I could’ve been someone to you
Would’ve painted the skies blue

Baby blue
If you knew
Baby blue
Baby blue
Baby blue

Edging closer, you swing my way
Girl, I’ve got no chance and nothing to say
Girl, but stay here for a little while

Baby blue
Baby blue
Baby blue

But if only you could see
My shadow crossing your path
It won’t be the last, baby blue

(You are my) baby
(You are my baby)
(I was your slave, can’t you see?)
(I was just playin’ in the sea)

Bobbin’ on the problem
On the problem, on the bobbin’
She was falling, I was bawling
My heart was stopping, she was throbbing
Oh

In the dappled light of modern music, there emerges a raw, poignant piece from King Krule that reverberates with the tender bruises of love and regret—’Baby Blue.’ This track, while deceptively simple in its composition, is a complex tapestry of emotion woven with the gritty yarn of Archy Marshall’s voice.

Diving deep into the blues-infused melodies, one can’t help but feel enveloped by the haze of introspection and the yearning for what could’ve been. ‘Baby Blue’ is not just a song; it’s a journey through the blue-tinted glasses of hindsight and unfulfilled desire.

The Blue Canvas of Nostalgia

King Krule, known for his avant-garde approach to music, paints a vast blue canvas of past possibilities with ‘Baby Blue.’ The song’s rhythm gently crashes like waves, each chord a stroke of regret, and Marshall’s voice—a rasp that could shave timber into melancholic splinters.

By earnestly wishing he ‘could’ve painted the skies blue,’ he alludes to the boundless opportunity to color the world with love’s brightest hues, a window into what might have been—not just in relationships, but in every missed connection and unexplored avenue life presents.

The Lover’s Lament: Crafting Heartache Through Lyrics

With a raw courage that typifies his lyrical style, King Krule articulates heartache with a visceral sincerity. Lines like ‘my sandpaper sigh engraves a line into the rust of your tongue’ carry a tangibility, each word an echo of longing thick enough to be felt.

This tactile approach to songwriting not only acts as an emotional release but also as an invitation to delve into the sensory world of love lost—the rust represents the disuse of affectionate words, and the sigh, the weariness of pining.

Revelation in Repetition: ‘Baby Blue’ Echoes the Incessant Twin of Yearning

The repeating phrase ‘Baby blue, Baby blue, Baby blue’ becomes a lamenting refrain, an incantation that holds power in its repetition. In music and poetry alike, this technique is often a vehicle for emphasizing what is too deep for just one utterance, what requires dwelling in the spaces between notes and words.

King Krule chooses simplicity over complexity to deliver a powerful emotional punch. The repetition is a nod to the repetitive nature of obsessive thoughts, the circular pattern of longing that keeps the artist shackled to a memory, a moment, a might-have-been love.

The Song’s Hidden Meaning: In the Shadows of Obscurity

Delving beneath the surface, ‘Baby Blue’ has a darker undercurrent. It’s not just a reflection on love but also an exploration of the artist’s identity and his role as shadow to someone else’s light. When Archy sings ‘But if only you could see my shadow crossing your path,’ there’s a realization that even a shadow can have an impact on one’s life.

The hidden meaning is a comment on existence; we are all capable of leaving marks upon others, whether visible in broad daylight or noticeable only in certain slants of light. Through ‘Baby Blue,’ King Krule unknowingly writes the anthem of unacknowledged influencers and unsung heroes.

A Tapestry of Memorable Lines: Lingering in the Echoes

‘I was your slave, can’t you see? I was just playin’ in the sea’—King Krule’s ability to oscillate between poignant symbolism and literal simplicity leaves these lines echoing long after the song ends. The imagery of play juxtaposed with enslavement starkly contrasts innocence with obsession, further imbuing the song with a complex layer of emotional resonance.

This interplay of words captures the tumultuous dance of being lost in someone, where the sea can be both a playground and a place where one drowns. It’s these memorable lines that strike chords in the hearts of listeners, leaving an indelible mark much like the song itself.