by James McGuire 1-14-1997, Intro. To Film, sec. 2, Renu Bora 

There are several 1950’s-style pop songs that play a strong role in the Blue Velvet and are invaluable in helping Lynch show the evil as a contrast against the music, and these are by far the most important sound elements because they operate throughout the film. Besides the traditional dialogue and the aforementioned songs, the sound in Blue Velvet is primarily traditional instrumentation, consisting of strings and wind instruments. In the credit sequence, a mysterious, undulating string arrangement seem to foreshadow that the film will be a mystery. The mystery motif appears again when Jeffrey and Sandy first go to Dorothy Vallens’ apartment. During this scene, they are accompanied by a continuous bass-line and strings. This music could best be described as the type of music that could be played in a detective film when the detective is investigating a crime. Generic, 1950’s-style string music (as might be heard in the Donna Reed Show, or My Three Sons) is interspersed throughout the film to add to the utopian image of Lumberton. It is important to note that Lynch sees the 1950’s as a period of time which can best parallel his movies. It has been stereotyped by many as the happiest time in American history, but at the same time Americans were suffering from repression and fear. By including non-diegetic music indicative of this decade, Lynch is better able to show the contrast between the perception of Lumberton and what it actually is. We first see Lumberton as something other than perfect as soon as the credit sequence is over. In a famous scene, we see in a sequence of colorful shots, red roses in front of a picket fence, a red fire truck driving by, yellow flowers in front of a picket fence, a crossing guard helping children cross the street, and then an old man watering the lawn. During this shot, we first hear the song “Blue Velvet,” by Bobby Vinton, and at the end of it, the old man (who turns out to be Jeffrey’s father), collapses with a heart attack, and the rest of the scene seems to carry on without – maybe even in spite of – him. Seemingly, “Blue Velvet” plays non-diegetically during this scene to show that the opening sequence will be a preview of the rest of the film Blue Velvet: tranquillity underlain by evil. “Blue Velvet” comes up again diegetically, this time when Jeffrey and Sandy see her sing it at the Slow Club. 

“Blue Velvet” is a song about pure, good love. However, before this scene we have seen that there is a strange attraction between Dorothy and Jeffrey, something that definitely could not be called a “good” love. Later it is established that a blue velvet robe is what Dorothy’s sadistic tormentor Frank Booth likes to see her wear, and blue velvet symbolizes his “love” of her, if it can be called that. The second time that Dorothy sings “Blue Velvet,” Jeffrey is alone and he sees Frank across the room. Frank is grasping a piece of blue velvet that he has ripped from Dorothy’s robe during one of his sexual assaults. This second diegetic appearance of “Blue Velvet” shows that the blue velvet (both the song and swatch of cloth) is symbolic of the control that Dorothy has over Frank. However, Frank has monopolized any power which she might have by his abuse and kidnapping her husband and child. Frank “loves” her and the blue velvet, just as Bobby Vinton proclaims in the song, but the manner in which he “loves” her and shows it through violent sexual tendencies and sexual abuse, is at the opposite extreme. Frank is evil and destructive, and he exemplifies the type of darkness that Lumberton harbors. “Blue Velvet” is meant to be a happy song, but the way that Lynch incorporates it in the film gives the song an ominous undertone. “Blue Velvet” is played in the film to represent the corruption and darkness that evil brings about. Jeffrey finds himself in a similar type of relationship with Dorothy. He takes advantage of her when she is weak in almost the same way as Frank; several times she mistakes Jeffrey for her husband Don, so he is in a way allowing her access to him for a sexual price. Another song which has special significance for Frank is Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams,” which he calls “Candy-Colored Clown They Call the Sandman” (referring to a line in the song). Frank makes several references to “Candy-Colored Clown,” but it makes its first appearance when Frank has forced Jeffrey to go to Ben’s, a man who is dressed in feminine clothing and has make-up on. Frank asks for “Candy-Colored Clown,” and Ben obliges by lip-synching it to him. Frank is absorbed by Ben’s lip- synching, but eventually forces him to cut it short. During the song sequence, Frank seems almost controlled by the song (either through being sexually aroused by Ben singing the song or totally immersing himself in it), even though he is physically in control of himself. When he senses this he breaks the bond by forcing Ben to stop. Like “Blue Velvet,” “Candy-Colored Clown” is another facet of Frank that determines who he is and what he does. His interpretation of these, however, are completely different than those which would be expected. Frank turns the positive, happy messages of these songs into justifications for all of his horrendous actions. After they leave Ben’s, Frank pulls over and asks for “Candy-Colored Clown” on the radio, the proceeds to go into a crazed diatribe against Jeffrey. Over the tunes, Frank promises Jeffrey “…a love letter straight from my heart, fucker.” He then proceeds to beat Jeffrey as the Orbison song plays. The beating of Jeffrey with this music playing seems strangely justified when one is watching the film, because when we hear it, we expect psychotic activity from Frank. Once again, the truly pure, an innocent song about dreaming, is turned to evil by Frank. More importantly, Frank can be carried over to the inherent evil that is the focus of this film. The juxtaposition of the music and the film are a powerful tool for Lynch to use. The “love letter” that Frank speaks of also has a lot of importance. In the end of the film, when Jeffrey returns to Dorothy’s apartment to find the Yellow Man and Dorothy’s husband dead, “Love Letters Straight From Your Heart,” by Ketty Lester, is playing non-diegetically. Frank has delivered his promise; a love letter from his heart has proven deadly, and the song in the background lets the viewer know this completely. These three songs, “Love Letters Straight From Your Heart,” “Blue Velvet,” and “In Dreams,” all play an integral part in the development of the theme of Blue Velvet. Even though the scenes in which they are used occupy little of the actual running time, many of them are referred to often and have a lasting effect on the viewer. They are the most important sound element of Blue Velvet. All of them occupy the same musical genre. They are all pop songs from the 1950’s and early 1960’s, the time period from which the town of Lumberton is supposed to reflect, even though it is set in modern times. Lumberton is a throwback to when America was good, but is still rotten through with evil. Because these three songs are so similar, it makes reading meanings into them and examining where they are placed even more important. “Blue Velvet” is played in the first scene after the credits, when Jeffrey’s father has the heart attack. Here we can see that this song will represent an attack on the purity of Lumberton. “Blue Velvet” is the evil that runs underneath, a disruption to the perfection of Lumberton. When we see it next is when Dorothy sings it at the Slow Club twice and when Jeffrey has his first violent sexual encounter with Dorothy. Why does Dorothy sing “Blue Velvet”? 

There are several explanations. Dorothy sings it because Frank wants her to and is forcing her to the evil. She also sings it because she is a representation of what the evil in Lumberton can do: her family and happiness is taken away and she is turned into a masochist and sexual deviant. She does the same to Jeffrey and Jeffrey notices the evil in him when he beats her while making love to her. “Blue Velvet” plays in the background non-diegetically, symbolizing this transition. “In Dreams,” can almost be seen as Frank’s motto. The dichotomy between good and evil in Lumberton is almost like day and night, where evil, symbolized by Frank, is night. Frank is the personification of the “Candy-Colored Sandman,” and the image of the evil Sandman comforts Frank and gives him an odd sort of justification for his actions. His skewed version of good and bad allow him to make odd and opposing comparisons like this one. The same reasoning can be applied to “Love Letters,” when he kills, the deaths are exactly what would come from his heart. The three songs, when incorporated into the entire scheme of Blue Velvet, are crucial in setting up both the juxtaposition and intertwining of good and evil that Lynch seeks. The songs bring back happy memories, but at the same time they are the indicators of the evil in men such as Frank Booth. Lynch puts together shocking visuals with the music to heighten the effect, so that there is a discrepancy between what is expected – based upon the music – and what actually occurs. In the finished product, the viewer can readily make links between these scenes (and songs) as an allegory towards the theme of the whole film.