Blues, as it was explained to me by Lonnie Johnson, a mna for whom I had and have the highest regard, was never about feelin' bad. As Mr Johnson put it, blues was a way for people to 'woik thru' feeling bad. I had the honour of being the MC for him at Gerde's Folk City, and despite his admonition that I call him Lonnie, I just couldn't. I tried it twice I think and I do remember it feeling funny, so I reverted to Mr Johnson bot on and off the stage.

(In retrospect, I asked some pretty dumb questions in my youth. What may have seemed tactless--and probably was--received serious answers from people, likely due to my age and Canadian citizenship.)

Lines like, "The blues ain't nothin' but a good man feelin' bad" didn't explain to me how singin' about that 'sadness' would help alleviate it. Time has shown me that it works, although in a different context. A line I heard years ago and have remembered goes like this: If you have someting you need to talk about and you don't know how to talk about it, start by saying, "I have something I'd like to talk about and I don't know how to start talking about it." The blues seems to start that process. I don't think blues is only about that, but maybe it is, partly.