"Stella Blue" is a well-known song by the rock band the Grateful Dead, featured on their 1973 album Wake of the Flood. The phrase is also a name in popular culture and has multiple interpretations regarding the song's meaning. Wikipedia +3The Grateful Dead SongThe song "Stella Blue" was written by Robert Hunter (lyrics) and Jerry Garcia (music) and became a staple of the band's live performances. Wikipedia

• Themes: The lyrics explore themes of transience, regret, lost dreams, and the enduring nature of music and memory. The narrator is a weary person looking back on a life filled with "broken dreams" and "cheap hotel[s]", reflecting on the impermanence of everything, as "nothing you can hold for very long".
• Meaning: Robert Hunter never publicly confirmed a single meaning, encouraging personal interpretation, but some have speculated that "Stella Blue" is about the power of the song itself to offer peace and redemption amidst life's disappointments. The title may also reference the Stella brand of guitar, popular with blues musicians in the 1920s and 30s, as the song mentions a "broken angel sings from a guitar" and encourages the player to "dust off those rusty strings just one more time".
• Composition: The music features a descending chord progression, which some interpret as symbolizing a person's slow deterioration, ending in a powerful, emotional guitar solo from Jerry Garcia.