One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel
This is an excerpt from the documentary Shades of Grey, an in-studio performance of "Blonde Over Blue."
Blonde Over Blue © 1993 Sony Music Entertainment
Blonde Over Blue © 1993 Sony Music Entertainment
 Download "Blonde Over Blue"
Blonde over blue
Your hands are cold, your eyes are fire Blonde over blue They shine as though you're burning inside One word from you is all I need to be inspired Blonde over blue I need your inspiration tonight "Blonde Over Blue" is the most interesting and eclectic song on River of Dreams, one you can listen to over and over again and still find new things. I gained a newfound appreciation for the song after seeing the documentary Shades of Grey which depicted the creation of this song and others from River of Dreams. It has a complex, layered beat, a tasteful use of synthesizers, and the chorus washes over you with a wave of electric guitars. The "blonde over blue" chorus is reminiscent of the distinctive warble of Roy Orbison, whom Billy has said he was thinking about when writing the song.
Billy, producer Danny Kortchmar, and his bandmates crafted something unique here though they had some disagreement over the development of the song (see video below). The live version on the documentary Shades of Grey rocks better with Zack Alford killing it on the drums. Next to "Famous Last Words" this may be the best song on the album though it received virtually no airplay or recognition. Barbara Orbison, Roy Orbison, Christie Brinkley, and Billy Joel (1988).
The song has many contrasting images of light and darkness warmth and cold, like a Rothko painting (right). Billy has said that, like other musicians, he often experiences music in colors (synesthesia) and has abstract dreams consisting of sounds and colors. This 2002 article from Psychology Today quotes Billy stating:
"I would say the softer, more intimate songs… there's 'Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel),' the song he wrote for his daughter, Alexa Ray, 'And So It Goes', 'Vienna,' and another song called 'Summer Highland Falls' . . . When I think of different types of melodies which are slower or softer, I think in terms of blues or greens . . ." Songs with a heavier beat, a faster rhythm, suggest the red-orange-yellow end of the spectrum, Mr. Joel explains. Think: 'It’s Still Rock n’ Roll To Me,' 'We Didn’t Start the Fire.' When I have a particularly vivid color, it's usually a strong melodic, strong rhythmic pattern that emerges at the same time. When I think of (those) certain songs, I think of vivid reds, oranges or golds." |
Some days when I'm far away
In a lonely room in a cold seclusion Some nights when I'm wound so tight There is no release, there is no solution In hell there's a big hotel Where the bar just closed and the windows never opened No phone so you can't call home And the TV works, but the clicker is broken But in the darkness I see your light turned on You know my weakness, you know how I respond to Blonde over blue Your hands are cold, your eyes are fire Blonde over blue They shine as though you're burning inside One word from you is all I need to be inspired Blonde over blue I need your inspiration tonight These days there's a million ways To be pulled and torn, to be misdirected These times there are sins and crimes On the morning shows for the disconnected I look and I write my book And I walk away with the wrong impressions Don't care 'cause I've done my share And I need some time for my own obsessions It doesn't matter, I've let that life go by It's been forgotten 'cause all I wanted was you Blonde over blue Your hands are cold, your eyes are fire Blonde over blue They shine as though you're burning inside One word from you is all I need to be inspired Blonde over blue I need your inspiration tonight These days not a damn soul prays And there is no faith 'cause there's nothing to believe in These days only good luck pays If we don't get paid then we try to get even I look and I write my book And I have my say and I draw conclusions Some nights when I'm wound so tight There is no release, there is no solution But in the darkness I see your light turned on You know my weakness, you know how I respond to Blonde over blue Your hands are cold, your eyes are fire Blonde over blue They shine as though you're burning inside One word from you is all I need to be inspired Blonde over blue I need your inspiration tonight 
Untitled #17, Mark Rothko
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It is too easy to call this just another song about Christie Brinkley. While she may be the muse, the "blonde" who gives inspiration to the "blue" Billy Joel, the song is more universal than that. It is about anything or anyone that chases away loneliness and depression, and provides inspiration. "One word from you is all I need to be inspired, blonde over blue, I need your inspiration tonight."
Videos
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Studio version of "Blonde Over Blue" (audio only)
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Billy on "Blonde Over Blue" from SiriusXM (audio only).
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An even earlier version of the song from the "Shelter Island Sessions" (audio).
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This excerpt from the video Shades of Grey describes the development of "Blonde Over Blue."
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