# Buttermilk Sky

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 21, 2002, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963 "2002-09-21T07:26:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963/1 "2002-09-21T07:26:40Z")

</div>

Just what is meant by this phrase? And just what is Hoagy Carmichael’s song of the same name supposed to be about?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963/2 "2002-09-22T00:27:59Z")

</div>

heroin.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963/3 "2002-09-22T21:16:44Z")

</div>

i was joking about the heroin, of course. i wonder why no one else bothered to add anything.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963/4 "2002-09-22T21:26:59Z")

</div>

Apparently it’s a type of cloud formation:

[http://www.cloudman.com/atlas/atlas.htm](http://www.cloudman.com/atlas/atlas.htm)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttermilk-sky/128963/5 "2002-09-22T21:29:35Z")

</div>

Ahh, Buttermilk Sky!

Thank you.

I suppose the deeper meaning of the song is that Hoagy Carmichael saw a “buttermilk sky” and it was just a hook to write a catchy tune.

As opposed to Paul McCartney’s “Vanilla Sky”