Why is this story called "Sonny's Blues"?

The title of this bittersweet story is a play on words by author James Baldwin. The word "blues" has two meanings.  First, it refers to being down or depressed, as we say that someone has the blues. In this story, Sonny is down in many ways, with a difficult childhood, a drug addiction, an imprisonment for several years, and a brother who is judgmental more often than not. Second, the word "blues" refers to a...

The title of this bittersweet story is a play on words by author James Baldwin. The word "blues" has two meanings.  First, it refers to being down or depressed, as we say that someone has the blues. In this story, Sonny is down in many ways, with a difficult childhood, a drug addiction, an imprisonment for several years, and a brother who is judgmental more often than not. Second, the word "blues" refers to a form of music, the origin of which is credited to African-Americans, whose music reflected the sadness, difficulty, and tragedy of their lives during and after slavery in the United States. The very best blues singers were African-American, people such as B.B. King and Bessie Smith, who are gone now, but there are many fine African-American blues singers alive today. Since Sonny was a musician as well, the other meaning of "blues" refers to his music and his musical talent. As the story ends, one is led to hope that the music of Sonny's blues will be enough to pull him out of his emotional blues.