This question woke up a long-dormant memory for me. I’m not surprised that the OED dated “color me” to 1963, since that was the year that singer Kitty Kallen had a big hit with a Kander/Ebb song called “My Coloring Book.” The lyrics to that song are all about color it this, color it that, as in “This is my lonely room. Color it empty now.” I remember the ending of the song as something like “This is the man I depended on. Color him gone.”
I can’t recall hearing the phrase “color me [blank]” used before that song became popular in the early 60s. Wow. I’m old.
Petronella:
December 5th, 2012 at 2:34 am
Do you remember the hype about seasonal skin-tone matching for clothing and cosmetics, starting in the 70s? I have a feeling the real break-through of the phrase “color me something” follows the success of a book on that subject by Carole Jackson, Color Me Beautiful (1980).
Petronella.
h. s. gudnason:
January 3rd, 2013 at 6:26 am
Thirty years ago I worked for a year in a large bookstore, and often had to divine from their imprecise hints what books customers were looking for.
At the time, two of the most popular books were Color Me Beautiful, which Petronella mentions in her comment, and Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple. One day a woman came up to the desk and asked if we had Color Me Purple, which left me staring blankly for several seconds before I finally asked if she meant the novel. She did.
Kayla:
June 9th, 2013 at 3:31 am
I’m actually still trying to figure out what ‘Color me purple’ means. I swear I heard it somewhere before, but I’m not sure if it meant anything more than the obvious.
Urban dictionary has a definition about it meaning ‘guilty’, but I find that entry to be somewhat dubious.
Anyone know the answer?
(Because you can color me confused =)
Expression also brought to popular jargon by Barbra Streisand’s 1966 album “Color Me Barbra” and her hit song “Color Me,” a melancholy vignette of love lorn terms to be colored as.
Chris:
July 31st, 2016 at 12:28 pm
And then there is the concept of certain events or experiences “coloring” ones overall perception of something related but more general.
For instance, if you were pick-pocketed in some city you were visiting, that experience may color your future perception of that city as not being a safe place.
That example would be the opposite of “rose-colored glasses” which implies overlooking any defect and looking on the positive side.
And so, “color” has become very a versatile word to describe thoughts and emotions as well as the more tangible aspects of hue.
Brian:
October 4th, 2016 at 11:42 am
Right on, Judith Baron, and Thank You!! You just helped me identify an old song that popped into my head just now and I want to hear it. Guess I’ll check iTunes first. Thank you so much for having the sentimental personality, not to mention a good sense of recall.
Steve:
May 23rd, 2017 at 8:27 pm
The term color me ……. was popularised in the late sixties by a song from, The Winstons , called “Color him Father”. You can check it on youtube.
Angelo:
November 16th, 2021 at 7:48 pm
1962 Kander and Ebb song: “My Colouring Book”, made famous by Barbra Streisand.
Leave a comment
Search us!
Search The Word Detective and our family of websites:
This is the easiest way to find a column on a particular word or phrase.
To search for a specific phrase, put it between quotation marks. (note: JavaScript must be turned on in your browser to view results.)
Ask a Question!
Puzzled by Posh?
Confounded by Cattycorner?
Baffled by Balderdash?
Flummoxed by Flabbergast?
Perplexed by Pandemonium?
Nonplussed by... Nonplussed?
Annoyed by Alliteration?
Judith Baron:
January 24th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
This question woke up a long-dormant memory for me. I’m not surprised that the OED dated “color me” to 1963, since that was the year that singer Kitty Kallen had a big hit with a Kander/Ebb song called “My Coloring Book.” The lyrics to that song are all about color it this, color it that, as in “This is my lonely room. Color it empty now.” I remember the ending of the song as something like “This is the man I depended on. Color him gone.”
I can’t recall hearing the phrase “color me [blank]” used before that song became popular in the early 60s. Wow. I’m old.
Petronella:
December 5th, 2012 at 2:34 am
Do you remember the hype about seasonal skin-tone matching for clothing and cosmetics, starting in the 70s? I have a feeling the real break-through of the phrase “color me something” follows the success of a book on that subject by Carole Jackson, Color Me Beautiful (1980).
Petronella.
h. s. gudnason:
January 3rd, 2013 at 6:26 am
Thirty years ago I worked for a year in a large bookstore, and often had to divine from their imprecise hints what books customers were looking for.
At the time, two of the most popular books were Color Me Beautiful, which Petronella mentions in her comment, and Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple. One day a woman came up to the desk and asked if we had Color Me Purple, which left me staring blankly for several seconds before I finally asked if she meant the novel. She did.
Kayla:
June 9th, 2013 at 3:31 am
I’m actually still trying to figure out what ‘Color me purple’ means. I swear I heard it somewhere before, but I’m not sure if it meant anything more than the obvious.
Urban dictionary has a definition about it meaning ‘guilty’, but I find that entry to be somewhat dubious.
Anyone know the answer?
(Because you can color me confused =)
Sarah maples:
January 3rd, 2016 at 11:55 am
Expression also brought to popular jargon by Barbra Streisand’s 1966 album “Color Me Barbra” and her hit song “Color Me,” a melancholy vignette of love lorn terms to be colored as.
Chris:
July 31st, 2016 at 12:28 pm
And then there is the concept of certain events or experiences “coloring” ones overall perception of something related but more general.
For instance, if you were pick-pocketed in some city you were visiting, that experience may color your future perception of that city as not being a safe place.
That example would be the opposite of “rose-colored glasses” which implies overlooking any defect and looking on the positive side.
And so, “color” has become very a versatile word to describe thoughts and emotions as well as the more tangible aspects of hue.
Brian:
October 4th, 2016 at 11:42 am
Right on, Judith Baron, and Thank You!! You just helped me identify an old song that popped into my head just now and I want to hear it. Guess I’ll check iTunes first. Thank you so much for having the sentimental personality, not to mention a good sense of recall.
Steve:
May 23rd, 2017 at 8:27 pm
The term color me ……. was popularised in the late sixties by a song from, The Winstons , called “Color him Father”. You can check it on youtube.
Angelo:
November 16th, 2021 at 7:48 pm
1962 Kander and Ebb song: “My Colouring Book”, made famous by Barbra Streisand.