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Brandy Bolton

Ms.Hunter

English II

26 January 2020

Blue on Black

“Blue on Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band was released in 1997. The song has a

classic rock/blues tone to it. “Blue on Black” by Five Finger Death Punch was released in 2018.

This version has a rock/metal tone to it. The original “Blue on Black” is about a lost love or a

messed up relationship and looking back on it. The cover song was about looking back on the

past and reminiscing. The audience for the original song would be an older generation. The

audience for the cover song would be a younger generation and the older generation. Both of the

songs share the same lyrics but the videos have a little bit of a different theme to them.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd wrote “Blue on Black” with Tia Siller’s and Mark Selby. The

reasoning behind “Blue and Black” is, when blue and black are combined, black consumes the

blue. It’s a metaphor for a one-sided or broken relationship. Kenny Wayne Shepherd said “so

many people have applied it to a death in the family, and abusive relationship, a broken

relationship, or whatever.” “There are so many different ways.”(Songfacts) Five Finger Death

Punch decided to do a cover for “Blue and Black” because the lead singer, Ivan moody is big

into country music. Ivan loved this song and so did the band. They like to do covers of songs that

they can put their own music style on. Since releasing their cover they have made another cover

with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brantley Gilbert, and Brian May.(Songfacts)

In the original “Blue on Black” music video the main character, (Kenny Wayne

Shepherd) has flashbacks to the past. In the beginning of the music video he is driving his car
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alone, it is dark outside and the lyrics “night falls and I’m alone” are playing. He flashes back to

a time when it is daylight and he is with his girlfriend in his car. It then flashes back to him by

himself and the lyrics “you turned and you ran” play. I associate these lyrics and others with the

main characters girlfriend leaving him.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd ties many of his lyrics into different parts of his music video

relating to his “one-sided or broken relationship”.(Songfacts) In the scene where he is sitting at a

bar, the t.v. is playing videos of his girlfriend and the lyrics “slipped right from my hand are

playing”. In another scene it shows him and his girlfriend sitting in his car and they are happy

and the lyrics “truth, lies, and in between” come on, then it is just him sitting in the car. This

gives an insight to what may have happened to their relationship.

The main chorus of Kenny’s song all mean the same thing, one thing always consumes

the other. Which ties into his relationship. In his case he cared more about their relationship than

her. In the end of the video it shows Kenny looking at his girlfriend through a window and she is

painting black over his picture proving she was the one who didn’t care. This version applies to

pathos in my opinion because of the sadness and heartbreak in the video and lyrics.

“ Blue on black

Tears on a river

Push on a shove

It don't mean much

Joker on jack

Match on a fire

Cold on ice
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As a dead man's touch

Whisper on a scream

Doesn't change a thing

Doesn't bring you back

Blue on black”

Ivan Moody is driving a car in the beginning of Five Finger Death Punch’s music video

as well but at this point there is no music playing, its daylight outside. He looks at his rear view

mirror to see a line of motorcycles, but when he turned around there was no motorcycles there.

He turned back and looked in the rear view mirror again and the mirror faded to black. He steps

out of the car and it is dark outside. He then walks into the bar alone and the music starts with the

lyrics “night falls and I’m alone”. While these same lyrics are used in both videos they provide

different meanings for each one.

While the beginning of the two videos were similar and they had a couple of similar

settings, they don’t mean the same thing. In Five Finger Death Punch’s version I took it as a look

on the past and reminiscing. When Ivan is in the bar and turns to see himself singing the song,

the band and people in the bar are flashing like they are holograms or not actually there. When

he walks through the bar doors they ripple like a time warp. The people are dressed in clothes

from different eras, and pictures are being taken at several different points in the video and as

soon as they are taken, they show up framed on the wall like they have been there all along. The

lyrics “doesn’t bring you back” are playing. I took “doesn’t bring you back” as his way of saying

back to the past. I think Five Finger Death Punch’s version also applies to pathos because of the

emotions when looking back on the past.

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In conclusion the videos have different meanings; the same lyrics, but still have a

connection with some of the same settings. With whatever way you choose to look and analyze

the videos, I think they are both really good and worth watching and listening too.
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Works Cited

“Kenny Wayne Shepherd- Blue on Black.” YouTube/Blue on Black, Audiam, UMPG, Sony
ATV, 19 Dec. 2017, https://youtu.be/TEqX5CWh7tY.

Accessed on 22 January 2020

Resteghini, Dale “Rage,” director. Five Finger Death Punch- Blue on Black. YouTube/Blue on
Black, BMI, Sony-ATV Melody/Choice Is Tragic Music, Songs of Universal Inc./Only Hit
Music, 14 Dec. 2018, https://youtu.be/IMCfSjF_vSg.

Accessed on 22 January 2020

Songfacts. “Blue On Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Songfacts.” Song Meanings at

Songfacts, www.songfacts.com/facts/kenny-wayne-shepherd/blue-on-black.

Accessed on 22 January 2020