See I have always wondered this and I am sure I will get the answer on this board. But why is “blue” associated for being depressed. You know the phrases “you look blue today” or “do you got a case of the blues?”
Anyway, I think it sux! Blue is my favorite color and a pretty color afterall the sky is blue and you never feel better than when the sky is blue. But when they sky is grey you feel worst. So why didn’t “grey” get this negative meaning instead of blue?
From Take Our Word For It
"Lovely and very interesting pages. Maybe you can help me out on the origin of the word blue in connection to, say, sadness. The phrase “lonely and blue” appears in many songs. Is the word blue/blues related to the color? I’m not aware that this particular color has a similar meaning in any other language. Could it be more American than (British) English?
There are some slightly different schools of thought regarding the origin of blue and the blues. One source notes that blue low-spirited, depressed' was in use by 1385, and that the phrase to look blue arose in the early 17th century, with the original meaning of to look livid or leaden-colored from anxiety, depression, etc.’ Blues `low spirits’ was being used by 1741. The term was adopted by American jazz circles by 1895. This history of the word would make it English (England) in origin.
Another source traces blues back to the term blue devils, which were hallucinations believed to accompany delirium tremens (d.t.'s). The connection betwen d.t.‘s and depression is fairly obvious. However, this same source also notes that blue melancholy' has been a black slang term for melancholy, depressed’ since 1870, which it was used to denote work songs. This may point to an American origin."