Songfacts®:

• In 2020, Melissa Etheridge's son Beckett died of opioid addiction at just 21 years old. In 2026 she released "The Other Side Of Blue," a song where she copes with the grief, finding hope through the despair. "You got to keep knowing that there's better coming, this pain or loss is there to learn and grow from, and you'll be grateful for it someday," she told People. "That's what it's about."
• The song is a duet with Chris Stapleton, whom Etheridge had never met but worked up the courage to ask (she's a big fan). She was thrilled when he said yes, and had a great experience writing this song with him. She told Rolling Stone about the songwriting session: "I went to Nashville, where he records in Dave Cobb's studio. It's a huge, historic soundstage. It was just me and him, talking about our families. I spoke about my three surviving kids and mentioned Beckett, who I lost. Chris said, 'Oh, you talk in song.' Within 15 minutes of sitting down, we were deep into writing. It was pretty magical; just a really special moment."
  
  That "you talk in song" line became part of the first line, where Stapleton sings:
  
  Sometimes I listen when she talks in song
• The song is part of Etheridge's 2026 album Rise, which she produced with Shooter Jennings. Etheridge is a big fan of Shooter's dad, Waylon Jennings, and she thought Shooter could "walk the line between rock and country" on the album. His previous clients include Brandi Carlile, Duff McKagan and Bucky Covington.
• Etheridge included another song about Beckett on Rise as well: "Call You," which was the first song she wrote for the album. After his death she became an advocate for opioid addiction awareness.