'Baby Blue' finds new life after 'Breaking Bad'

Patrick Ryan | USA TODAY

WARNING: Contains spoilers from Breaking Bad's series finale, "Felina."

Every good TV series deserves an electrifying parting shot, whether it's The Sopranos' use of Journey's Don't Stop Believin' in its final scene, or Six Feet Under, which scored its last six minutes with Sia's Breathe Me.

Breaking Bad, which aired its series finale Sunday night, was true (or rather, "blue") to form in its final moments, with Badfinger's Baby Blue kicking in as we watch Walt back in his natural habitat (a meth lab), dying, as police close in on him. It was a fitting conclusion for our favorite teacher-turned-kingpin, made all the more appropriate by the song's eerily resonant lyrics.

"Guess I got what I deserved," the song goes, later saying, "Didn't know you'd think that I'd forget or I'd regret, the special love I had for you, my baby blue."

Baby Blue, of course, references Walt's beloved strain of blue methamphetamine — yet another azure song choice from the Emmy Award-winning drama, which used Tommy James and the Shondells' Crystal Blue Persuasion last year. The song comes from the British rock group's Straight Up album, went No. 14 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1972, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It was thought to have been written about singer Dixie Armstrong, who dated Badfinger vocalist Pete Ham.

Badfinger, signed to The Beatles' Apple Records label in the late '60s, scored hits with songs such as No Matter What, Day After Day and Come and Get It (penned by Paul McCartney). The band's legacy is marked by tragedy, after Ham hanged himself in 1975, followed by Tom Evans' suicide in 1983.

The woeful tune has already gotten a jolt of new life since the much-debated finale: It sold nearly 5,000 downloads Sunday night, Billboard reports — five times its digital sales in any previous week. According to digital music service Spotify, global streams of Baby Blue are up 9,000% since the finale.