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.
Be My Life's Companion
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll love you so much that you'll never grow old
When there's joy in livin' you just never grow old
You've got to stay young 'cause you'll never grow old
People who are lonely can be old at thirty-three
Don't let it happen to you, it didn't happen to me
Be my life's companion and you'll never grow old
You'll never grow old, no, you'll never grow old
Be my life's companion, and you'll never grow old
I know a man who's lonely, and he's old at thirty-three
No one wants to be - old at thirty-three
Your disposition sours like a lemon on a tree
Don't let it happen to you, and I won't let it happen to me
Be my life's companion and you'll never grow old
I'll love you so much that you'll never grow old
Love and youth and happiness are yours to have and hold
Be my life's companion and you'll never grow old
Be my life's companion and you'll never grow old
Lucille, I'll love you so much that you'll never grow old
Love and youth and happiness are yours to have and hold
Be my life's companion and you'll never grow old
In Louis Armstrong's Be My Life's Companion, the singer is pleading with someone to be their life partner, assuring them that they will never grow old as long as they are in love. The song acknowledges that loneliness, rather than chronological age, is what can really age a person. The lyrics admonish listeners not to let their disposition sour like a lemon on a tree and to strive for joy in living, so as not to become old before their time. The singer cites himself as an example of someone who has avoided aging prematurely through companionship and love.
The message of the song is quite universal and timeless. Everyone wants to feel young and vibrant, and love is a powerful antidote to the aging process. The lyrics reassure listeners that, with the right person by their side, they can stay young and happy forever. The lighthearted melody and Louis Armstrong's smooth vocals serve to underscore the song's joyful and optimistic message.
Overall, Be My Life's Companion is a celebration of love, happiness, and the timeless desire to stay young. It encourages listeners to seek out companionship and to never lose sight of the joy that life can offer.
Line by Line Meaning
Be my life's companion, and you'll never grow old
If you agree to be my life partner, I promise you that we will always be in love and never feel old.
I'll love you so much that you'll never grow old
I promise to shower you with so much love that it will keep you feeling young forever.
When there's joy in livin' you just never grow old
Experiencing joy in life keeps you feeling young and never makes you feel old.
You've got to stay young 'cause you'll never grow old
It's important to stay young at heart because that is what keeps you from feeling old.
People who are lonely can be old at thirty-three
Loneliness can make someone feel old and unhappy even at a young age like thirty-three.
Don't let it happen to you, it didn't happen to me
I don't want you to feel old and unhappy like some people do, so let's be companions and not let that happen.
You'll never grow old, no, you'll never grow old
If you are my life companion, you will never feel old or unwanted.
Love and youth and happiness are yours to have and hold
By being my life partner, you will be able to experience and hold onto the feelings of love, youth and happiness forever.
I know a man who's lonely, and he's old at thirty-three
I have seen firsthand how loneliness can make someone feel old and unhappy even at a young age like thirty-three.
No one wants to be - old at thirty-three
Nobody wants to feel old and unhappy at a young age like thirty-three.
Your disposition sours like a lemon on a tree
When someone is lonely or unhappy, they can become bitter or unpleasant like a sour lemon.
I'll love you so much that you'll never grow old
I promise to continue loving you and making you feel young for as long as we are together.
Lucille, I'll love you so much that you'll never grow old
This line is addressing Lucille specifically, telling her that if she is his life's companion, he will love her so much that she will never feel old.
Be my life's companion and you'll never grow old
This final line is a repetition of the main message of the song: if you become my life partner, I promise to keep you feeling young and in love forever.
Contributed by Grace A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world