Blue Jeans
by Blur

Album: Modern Life is Rubbish (1993)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Frontman Damon Albarn wrote "Blue Jeans" after moving to Notting Hill in London with his then-girlfriend, Elastica's Justine Frischmann. The song is about finding joy in the mundanities of everyday life with a loved one. The lyrics specifically describe a day spent shopping on Portobello Road, home to a world-famous street market in Notting Hill. "'Blue Jeans' just makes me feel like being in love, and moving to this part of London, and falling in love with the place," Albarn explained in an interview with The Guardian in 2009. "There's an innocence to it. It sounds like being 23."
  • While Albarn often sings about fictional characters on Modern Life Is Rubbish, "Blue Jeans" makes for one of the frontman's more personal songs. Producer Stephen Street discussed this with Uncut in 2009: "You can hear it in the warmth of the lyric, and Damon's singing. It conjured up a lazy day with nothing in particular to do in Damon's life in West London. 'It won't stay this way forever.' It's not the best life in the world, but it's not bad, and he's happy with that."
  • Speaking to Select in 1995, Alex James said he recorded this song's bassline "completely pissed," having spent the day drinking with Blur's accountant.
  • This song appeared in a commercial for the male fragrance Mr. Burberry Indigo in 2018. Shot in Botany Bay in Kent, the short film features Daisy Jones & the Six actor Josh Whitehouse smoldering on the English coast.
  • The Guardian ranked "Blue Jeans" at #11 in "Blur's 20 Greatest Songs," writing: "Before a desire for Ray Davies-y satire overwhelmed them, Blur dealt in more straightforward paeans to London life. On an understated high point of Modern Life Is Rubbish, Graham Coxon's guitar shimmers, Damon Albarn's Portobello Road-referencing lyric sounds satiated – 'I don't really want to change a thing' – and the chorus is an exhalation of contentment."
  • Modern Life Is Rubbish was released on May 10, 1993, peaking at #15 in the UK. The front cover is a painting by Paul Gribble of the fastest steam locomotive, Mallard, built in 1938. Mallard is widely recognized as a symbol of British industrial prowess and innovation, making it a fitting representation of the themes of Englishness and national identity explored throughout Modern Life Is Rubbish.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.

Music Video Director David Hogan

Music Video Director David HoganSong Writing

David talks about videos he made for Prince, Alabama, Big & Rich, Sheryl Crow, DMB, Melissa Etheridge and Sisters of Mercy.

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."