Etta James sings...

May 6, 2011 8:39 AM

20 years ago, at a concert in Toronto, Etta James sang a song that my partner fell in love with. To the best of her recollection it had the lyric, "why was was I born green, instead of blue -like everybody else?" I've googled around but can't narrow my results down to anything useful. Does anyone know what the title of this song might be and if there is a recording of it available?
posted by bonobothegreat to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

Is it possibly Born to be Blue? I don't know if Etta James ever recorded it, but I know Ella Fitzgerald did.
posted by xedrik at 8:43 AM on May 6, 2011

Was it Kermy's song, It Ain't Easy Being Green?
posted by slmorri at 8:44 AM on May 6, 2011

Best answer: Etta James did "Born Blue" on her Live from San Francisco album. It's available on Amazon as a download.
posted by inturnaround at 8:47 AM on May 6, 2011

Definitely sounds like "It's Not Easy Being Green."
posted by AngerBoy at 8:57 AM on May 6, 2011

Best answer: definitely sounds like "I Was Born Blue" by Swamp Dogg
posted by The Lamplighter at 10:24 AM on May 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

...which is a really goofy song, actually.
posted by The Lamplighter at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

That Swamp Dogg song was the first thing I thought of.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:50 AM on May 6, 2011

Response by poster: Yes! "Born Blue" from her Live from San Francisco album.

Thanks to everyone for allowing to demonstrate the awesome power (and attendant snarkiness) of the AskMeta collective!
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:30 PM on May 6, 2011