(the blues) (treated as sing. or pl) low spirits; melancholy
(often the blues) (usu treated as sing.) a melancholy style of music which originated among American blacks in the early 20th cent. and is characterized by usu twelve-bar three-line stanzas in which the words of the second line repeat those of the first and by blue notes (flattened thirds or sevenths; see blue note) in melody and harmony
Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel — Jimi Hendrix
a song or piece of music in this style
(used before a noun) written or performing in the style of the blues
a blues number
a blues band
Blues is a vocal music, developed by African-Americans in the early 20th cent. that has continuously evolved through many stages of both instrumental and vocal development while remaining essentially and recognizably the same; it also denotes a musical chorus structure of 12 bars, consistently repeated, although open to constant variation through improvisation — Richard Cook
bluesy adj