How one backwards phrase became a country classic

Sometimes a song starts with a guitar riff.

Sometimes it starts with a heartbreak.

And sometimes it starts with sitting in a movie theater, eating popcorn, and wondering why somebody just said “blue clear sky.”

That’s essentially how George Strait’s 1996 hit “Blue Clear Sky” began.

But there’s a little more to the story.

Wait… Blue Clear Sky?

When you hear the title for the first time, there’s a good chance your brain quietly tries to fix it.

Blue Clear Sky?

Shouldn’t that be Clear Blue Sky?

George Strait thought so, too.

The song had been written by Nashville songwriters Bob DiPiero, John Jarrard, and Mark D. Sanders, and when Strait first heard it, the unusual title caught his attention.

He wasn’t convinced the words were in the right order.

In a 1996 Billboard interview, Strait recalled thinking the song should be called “Clear Blue Sky.” He and producer Tony Brown even came close to changing it before contacting DiPiero.

Then came the explanation.

And it involved Forrest Gump.

A Movie Theater in Nashville

DiPiero had gone to see the 1994 movie Forrest Gump.

During the movie, Forrest is talking about Jenny and the way she repeatedly comes and goes from his life. At one point, he uses the unusual expression “out of the blue clear sky.”

DiPiero noticed it immediately.

Not because it was grammatically conventional.

Quite the opposite.

It sounded backwards.

And that’s exactly what made it stick.

The next day, DiPiero brought the phrase into a songwriting session with Jarrard and Sanders.

They thought it sounded backwards, too.

But they also thought it was interesting.

So they built a song around the idea.

When Love Shows Up Anyway

The phrase turned out to fit the song beautifully.

“Blue Clear Sky” is about being convinced that love has passed you by.

You’ve been hurt.

You’ve given up.

You’ve decided you’re probably going to spend the rest of your days without finding that person.

And then, suddenly…

There they are.

Love doesn’t always knock politely on the front door.

Sometimes it walks in when you aren’t looking for it.

That’s what DiPiero saw in that strange little phrase from Forrest Gump.

The unexpected.

The sudden.

The thing that appears when you had already convinced yourself it wasn’t coming.

George Strait Still Had Questions

The story didn’t end when the song was written.

When Strait and Brown were preparing to record it, the title still bothered them.

So the call was made to DiPiero.

Why Blue Clear Sky?

Why not Clear Blue Sky?

DiPiero explained where the phrase came from.

And suddenly the backwards title made sense.

Strait decided to leave it alone.

That turned out to be a pretty good decision.

The song became the title track of Strait’s 1996 album and reached No. 1 on the country chart.

And the album went on to become a major success as well.

A Little Movie Magic in a Country Song

There’s something wonderfully strange about the whole chain of events.

A screenwriter creates a character named Forrest Gump.

Forrest says something a little differently than most people would.

A songwriter sitting in a theater hears it.

The phrase sticks in his head.

The next day he takes it into a Nashville songwriting room.

Three writers turn that odd phrase into a song.

George Strait hears it.

He questions the title.

He calls the songwriter.

The songwriter explains the movie connection.

Strait records it.

And suddenly “Blue Clear Sky” is sitting at the top of the country charts.

That’s quite a journey for three words that sound like they were put in the wrong order.

Sometimes the Wrong Words Are Exactly Right

That’s probably my favorite part of this story.

We spend a lot of time trying to make things sound right.

Correct the grammar.

Fix the wording.

Smooth out the rough edges.

Make everything fit the expected pattern.

But every once in a while, something that looks wrong turns out to be exactly what the song needs.

If DiPiero had corrected Forrest Gump in his head and forgotten the phrase, there might never have been a “Blue Clear Sky.”

If George Strait had changed the title to “Clear Blue Sky,” the story wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting.

And maybe that’s the lesson hiding inside this little country song.

Sometimes life doesn’t arrive in the order we expect.

Sometimes you’re convinced the good stuff is over.

Then, without warning, something wonderful appears.

Out of the blue clear sky.

The Record Is Still Spinning

That’s what makes songs like this worth remembering.

The music is only part of the story.

There’s the songwriter sitting in a dark theater.

There’s a strange phrase from a movie.

There’s George Strait wondering if somebody got the words backwards.

There’s a phone call between Nashville songwriters.

And eventually there’s a country hit that millions of people heard without ever knowing where its peculiar title came from.

That’s the magic of music.

Sometimes the story behind the song is hiding in plain sight.

You just have to stop and ask:

“Why is it called that?”

And every now and then, the answer takes you somewhere completely unexpected.

The record is spinning. Let’s see where it takes us. 💿🎶

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Sources

Grand Ole Opry
The Surprising Origins of 7 Iconic Country Songs

The Boot
Story Behind the Song: George Strait, “Blue Clear Sky”

Billboard, April 20, 1996
George Strait interview discussing the title and Forrest Gump connection

PBS
The Songwriters: Bob DiPiero