“Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry Bout Me)” by Outkast

"Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)" came off Idlewild, Outkast's sixth album, as its third single, and it was the first one from that record with André 3000 doing the singing. He wrote it alone, produced it, sang lead and backing vocals and picked up the guitar himself, working through a plain 12-bar blues, with Kevin Kendrick on keyboards and Albey Scholl adding harp. The song follows a character itching to break loose from the family, friends and town he has always known.

The video puts André and his band in an old house during a thunderstorm, dancers swirling, while rainwater rises until everything is submerged. Some viewers read it as a nod to the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, others as the blues swamping a life, and the closing dedication goes out to everyone trying to keep their heads above water.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.