Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly-recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also skilled at scat singing (vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics).
Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over", whose skin-color was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided. He rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation during the Little Rock Crisis. His artistry and personality allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a black man.
Armstrong was born and brought up in New Orleans, a culturally diverse town with a unique musical mix of creole, ragtime, marching bands, and blues. Although from an early age he was able to play music professionally, he didn't travel far from New Orleans until 1922, when he went to Chicago to join his mentor, King Oliver. Oliver's band played primitive jazz, a hotter style of ragtime, with looser rhythms and more improvisation, and Armstrong's role was mostly backing. Slow to promote himself, he was eventually persuaded by his wife Lil Hardin to leave Oliver, and In 1924 he went to New York to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At the time, there were a few other artists using the rhythmic innovations of the New Orleans style, but none did it with the energy and brilliance of Armstrong, and he quickly became a sensation among New York musicians. Back in Chicago in 1925, he made his first recordings with his own group, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and these became not only popular hits but also models for the first generation of jazz musicians, trumpeters or otherwise.
Other hits followed through the twenties and thirties, as well as troubles: crooked managers, lip injuries, mob entanglements, failed big-band ventures. As jazz styles changed, though, musical purists never lost any respect for him -- although they were sometimes irritated by his hammy onstage persona. Around the late forties, with the help of a good manager, Armstrong's business affairs finally stablilized, and he began to be seen as an elder statesman of American popular entertainment, appearing in Hollywood films, touring Asia and Europe, and dislodging The Beatles from the number-one position with Hello Dolly". Today many people may know him as a singer (a good one), but as Miles Davis said: “You can’t play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn’t come from him."
The 62-year-old Armstrong became the oldest act to top the US charts when "Hello Dolly" reached #1 in 1964. Four years later Satchmo also became the oldest artist to record a UK #1, when "What a Wonderful World" hit the top spot.
All the Time in the World
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Time enough for life to unfold
All the precious things love has in store
We have all the love in the world
If that's all we have
You will find we need nothing more
Every step of the way will find us
We have all the time in the world
Just for love
Nothing more, nothing less
Only love
Every step of the way will find us
With the cares of the world far behind us, yes
We have all the time in the world
Just for love
Nothing more, nothing less
Only love
Louis Armstrong’s iconic song “We Have All the Time in the World” is a romantic ballad that speaks of the limitless nature of love. The lyrics are about the experience of being in love, enjoying each other's company, and cherishing each moment. The opening lines, “We have all the time in the world, Time enough for life to unfold” suggest that the lovers are in no hurry to rush things. The phrase “life to unfold” suggests that time is passing quickly, but the lovers are content with the present moment.
The next few lines speak of love's precious things, the things that the writer cherishes. It's apparent that these things, whatever they may be, are a result of the couple's love for each other. The lyrics take on an even more romantic turn with the line, “We have all the love in the world”. This phrase is repeated intermittently throughout the song, emphasizing the power of love and its ability to sustain us even when everything else falls away.
The line, “If that's all we have, You will find we need nothing more”, is particularly poignant. It suggests that everything else in life is secondary to the love between the two people. It's a testament to the power of love to bring a sense of contentment and wholeness that cannot be found anywhere else. The song ends on an optimistic note, with the promise that each step they take in life will lead them away from the world's cares and toward a future filled with love.
Overall, “We Have All the Time in the World” is a song about the beauty of love and the power it holds to carry us through any challenge. It speaks to our desire for lasting love, the kind of love that transcends time and space, and it encourages us to cherish every moment we have with the ones we love.
Line by Line Meaning
We have all the time in the world
We have ample opportunity and an unlimited amount of time to experience life to the fullest.
Time enough for life to unfold
We have sufficient time to witness life's journey and all its wonders.
All the precious things love has in store
Love has an abundance of valuable experiences and treasures to offer us.
We have all the love in the world
Our love for one another is limitless and nothing can exhaust it.
If that's all we have
Even if having only love is what we're left with,
You will find we need nothing more
We will find that everything else becomes unimportant when we have love.
Every step of the way will find us
In each moment along our journey, we will be together.
With the cares of the world far behind us
We will leave our worries and responsibilities behind and embrace the present moment together.
We have all the time in the world
We have ample opportunity and an unlimited amount of time to experience life to the fullest.
Just for love
Our sole purpose is to experience and share love.
Nothing more, nothing less
Love is all we need and everything else is inconsequential.
Only love
Love is the singular focus and purpose of our existence.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Hal David, John Barry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@filipstelmak7052
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I'm still crying
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"His name was Bond, James Bond"
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@anonymouspeacefulperson6199
Yes Phillips woewoes. Love story 1969 Kate and Arlene Phillips English and ask your friend Freya to come to the cinema too. Big hugs to you both 🤗💞😢
@neonace3885
“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
- M
@AndresJames54
Jack London*
@HUDSON7
@@AndresJames54 *Ian Fleming
@AndresJames54
@@HUDSON7 No, the quote is from the author Jack London.