There's a New Shade of Blue

Have you ever listened to a song you liked and didn’t know who sang it? For years I have been looking for the song “New Shade of Blue.” I didn’t hear it on the radio anymore. I even asked fellow country music lovers if they knew who sang the song. The answers I got were Doug Stone or Clint Black. Most knew what song I was looking for, but couldn’t help me. I can listen to songs, but sometimes I just don’t know where the songs come from. I can’t hear deejays on the radio that well so if they named the song or the band/singer, I wouldn’t get it. But I can hear music on the radio. And it really helps to get the lyrics so I can follow the songs.

So, I checked out CDs for this song. I was beginning to think that maybe “New Shade of Blue” was not the title. There were so many other singers who had used the same or similar title. I was at a loss. I started to give up.

I would look for it off and on. I realize now that I was looking for it under the wrong artists. It was a song sung by Southern Pacific, a band that broke up in the early 90s.

To those of you who prefer heavy metal or hard rock: To each his own.

I have included the lyrics (below) to the song, with help from my oldest daughter, who loves most of the same music I do. I find that rather ironic, when you consider how many don’t like the same music as their parents. I didn't. She is also a better singer than I am.

"New Shade of Blue"

He watched the sun set on the highway
Headlights shinin' at the moon
The evening dropped a silent curtain
As the sky turned to a deeper blue
He parks his car along the road
To breathe the desert air
Told himself that he'd forget
She's no longer there.

Refrain:
There’s a new shade of blue.
There’s another kind of heartbreak
To get through.
Mm, mmm.
Color loneliness with
A new shade of blue.

He stared across the desert darkness
Watchin’ taillights fade away.
He came this far to learn the hard way.
There are some things the miles can’t erase.
He pulled back on the dusty road.
He never looked behind;
Destination anywhere
He won’t have to find.

Refrain

Drivin’ down the dusty road;
Never looked behind.
Searchin’ for the border line;
Leave this state of mind.

Refrain

"New Shade of Blue" by Southern Pacific (between 1985-91)