Walkin' Blues

The speaker wakes feeling deeply troubled and decides to leave. He describes his mood as “walkin’ blues,” a persistent sadness that seems to shape the whole morning. The emotion grows from weary discomfort into something more intense: he says he has been mistreated and feels so low that he does not mind dying. By the end, he insists that this is the worst feeling he has known.

The repeated image of feeling around for shoes suggests that the speaker is preparing to go somewhere, though he may also be searching for a way out of his misery. “Ride the blinds” is an unclear phrase in the lyrics; it may refer to traveling by an uncertain or difficult means, so its exact meaning is hard to pin down. “Walkin’ blues” works as a metaphor for sadness that follows the speaker as he moves through life, rather than a passing bad mood.

The song leaves the cause of the mistreatment unstated. It could involve a troubled relationship or another painful experience, but the lyrics do not tell us enough to be certain. The speaker’s claim that he does not mind dying expresses the severity of his despair, though it may be an emotional exaggeration rather than a literal plan. Repetition makes the feeling seem stuck and difficult to escape.