I Don’t Know What Color Peppermint Blue Is, But It Sounds Nice

What color is peppermint blue?

A refreshing ice blue, or a light, minty green-blue?

Google isn’t much help, and I can’t picture exactly what it might look like, but pondering it makes the hues in the painting above dance in front of my mind’s eye.

The painting (I wish the quality of the picture was better!) is by Paul Signac, who is one of my favorite Pointillist Impressionist painters.

To be honest, I think I might have a smidge of synesthesia: the experience of one sense evoking another sense.

Looking at paintings will often make me think of music, and the reverse is true, too.

A while back, Spotify recommended a music artist to me that I’d never heard of before: the Japanese musician, songwriter, and music producer Eiichi Ohtaki.

Most of his albums were released in the ’70s and ’80s, but I was struck by how his music had a sound that was very reminiscent of the surf music of the ’60s.

And as an eternal seeker of pretty colors, I was immediately drawn to the “Peppermint Blue” track.

The Beach Boys vibes, the smooth vocals, the wistful, nostalgic sound… and the dreamy, sparkling outro.

It makes me think of the Portuguese word saudade, which describes a reflective emotional state that is both melancholic and sweet.

Its English cognate might be considered bittersweet, yet that doesn’t quite cut it, either. In saudade, there’s a tender longing for days past that bittersweet doesn’t capture.

I’d never looked up an English translation of “Peppermint Blue” before today, but the Google translation of the lyrics seems to match this pensive vibe.

Some feelings are universal no matter what language you speak.

And sometimes it haunts me how much amazing music is out there which I may never hear because it belongs to another culture!

This was originally published on Medium; the post date has been altered to reflect the original date of publication.