Song Spotlight: “Mr. Blue Sky”

• Mood: Cheerful, Optimistic
• Themes: Colors, Weather, Moods
• Tempo: Upbeat
• Genre/Style: Progressive Pop

The bright blue sky after days of gray and cloudy days can feel like a fresh, bright start to a new day and can set a cheerful and optimistic tone for the rest of the day and sometimes even the week. We can often support our feelings by listening to music that reflects our current mood and this song is a perfect song for a joyful and happy day.

Written by Jeff Lynne, “Mr. Blue Sky” is a song from 1977 performed by the Electric Light Orchestra. The motivating tempo and positive theme capture the feeling of a bright mood after days of gray.

This song may possibly be the perfect soundtrack to the ideal morning. The upbeat rhythm combined with words of a positive weather forecast, good traffic, a morning jog, and a beautiful sunny morning creates an uplifted scene and light hearted mood that can be quite motivating and can inspire joy in those who are listening. According to Greatest Hits Radio, this song has been voted as the “happiest song ever.” It is hard to not want to sing along and smile while grooving along with this song.

A fun fact: the cowbell-esque sound used in this song is a fire extinguisher. You can hear it at 30 seconds, 47 seconds and more times throughout the song.

This is a great song to use in a 1:1 setting or group and would go well with a collection of songs about colors, weather, or mood. It can be used as a transition into group discussion, an opportunity for musical engagement, movement and more.

Try This:

Theme: This song would fit well into a collection of songs about colors, weather, or moods. Other complementary songs may include “Sunshine on my Shoulders,” “Yellow Submarine,” and “Happiness Runs.”

Discussion: Encourage the group to discuss their favorite weather conditions, their optimal morning routine, or give the group a chance to say what song is their favorite happy song.

Discuss the lyrics of the song and what they feel the singer is expressing about their ideal day.

Write a joy menu of things or activities that bring you joy to use when you need a pick-me-up.

Movement: Move along to this upbeat song and change movements as the music progresses.

Add percussion instruments and change up the rhythm as this progressive pop song transitions through the different styles.