Salt Peanuts
Dizzy Gillespie Quintet Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
"Laughs"
Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
Aaah.
Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
Ey aaah.

Aaaaaaah.
Salt peanuts salt peanuts.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dizzy Gillespie Quintet's "Salt Peanuts" are a classic example of nonsensical scat singing that was a popular technique among jazz musicians in the 1940s and 1950s. The repeated phrase "salt peanuts" is used as a type of onomatopoeia, imitating the sound of the crunch of peanuts or the colorful street vendors, who often yelled phrases like "get your fresh, salted peanuts here!" This type of scat singing is meant to engage the audience and energize the song with an improvisational style.


However, the true meaning behind "Salt Peanuts" lies more in how it is performed than its lyrics. The song is known for its fast-paced, energetic tempo, with the musicians playing at breakneck speed to keep up with the pace of the melody. The song features several solos, where each member gets to showcase their individual talents and improvisation skills. The wordless vocals provided by the band members offer a percussive layer to the music, almost like an additional instrument, that heightens the song's overall intensity.


Line by Line Meaning

Salt peanuts salt peanuts.
This line doesn't have a specific meaning, it's a repeated phrase throughout the song that refers to the title of the song.


"Laughs"
This line implies that the singer and probably the muscians themselves are amused by whatever's happening around them or they're simply laughing out loud.


Aaah.
This line could represent an expression of relief or satisfaction like a sigh.


Ey aaah.
This line could be an onomatopoeic representation of a sound the singer heard or a part of a rhythmical chant to create excitement among the audience.


Aaaaaaah.
This line could be interpreted as a long sustained shout to create emphasis to a part of a melody or conveying extreme feelings of pleasure or pain.




Contributed by Juliana K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

@ricardocarranza6080

The favorite music of Chip Douglas

@djfrick147

Salt peanuts 🥜 salt 🧂 peanuts 🥜

@alexanderbarrera9906

That was an absolutely brilliant drummer!

@waterbe3564

The trumpets are so perfect. Articulation is perfect, volume is perfect, tone is perfect

@Tookastudios

No. But it’s cool that it isn’t

@starwarsrebel2006

I wish I could remember the jazz musician who said "Rock and roll is kindergarten music compared to jazz." I can't seem to find it on Google but I remember in my childhood when watching a jazz concert on TV with my Dad, he said it when he was being interviewed.

@tancredipezzoni3939

you must accent the P!

@kolbybui5317

Tancredi Pezzoni
you must NOT accent the nut

@ideasonek3374

Its salt PEAnuts salt PEAnut

@nijaethompson7647

@@kolbybui5317 I don't wanna hear anyone accent no nuts tonight, I want only PEAS.

More Comments

More Versions