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.
Can't Help Lovin' That Man
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I love my mister man and I can't tell you why
Dere ain't no reason why I should love dat man
It must be sumpin' dat de angels done plan
De chimbley's smokin'
De roof is leakin' in
But he don't seem to care
He can be happy
I even loves him when his kisses got gin
Fish got to swim and birds got to fly
I got to love one man till I die
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
Tell me he's lazy
Tell me he's slow
Tell me I'm crazy, maybe, I know
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
When he goes away
Dat's a rainy day
And when he comes back dat day is fine
The sun will shine
He can come home as late as can be
Home without him ain't no home to me
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
He can come home as late as can be
Home without him ain't no home to me
Can't help lovin' that man the way I do,
Oh Can't help lovin' that man of mine
Louis Armstrong's song "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" is a melancholic but romantic tune about a woman's unconditional love for her man. The singer starts with telling her sister how much she loves her man, but she can't explain why. She then mentions that there is no particular reason why she should love him, but it must be something that the angels have planned for her. The scenario around her may not be perfect, with a leaking roof and a smoking chimney, but he doesn't seem to care, and that's what makes him perfect. Even when he has a sip of gin, and his kisses get the smell of gin, the singer still loves him.
The chorus of the song repeats the message that the singer can't help loving the man of hers. She explains that it's just like how fish has to swim and birds have to fly, she has to love him until she dies. She continues on how people can say whatever they want to say about her man, whether he is lazy, slow, or she is crazy, but still, she can't help loving him. The song expresses how the man's presence makes everything right when he is around, and his absence is like a rainy day.
In conclusion, "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" is a beautiful love song that describes the unexplainable attraction and love one can have for their partner. The song speaks to the feeling of being powerless in front of the love one feels, and the illogical aspect of it all. The society may not approve of the relationship, but the love overrides it all.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh listen, sister
Pay attention, my friend
I love my mister man and I can't tell you why
I hold great affection for my man, but I cannot explain why
Dere ain't no reason why I should love dat man
There is no specific cause for why I love him
It must be sumpin' dat de angels done plan
It must be something that the angels have planned
De chimbley's smokin', De roof is leakin' in
The chimney is smoking, the roof is leaking
But he don't seem to care
However, he does not appear to be concerned
He can be happy. With jes' a sip of gin
He can find joy in just a single sip of gin
I even loves him when his kisses got gin
I still love him even when he has been drinking gin
Fish got to swim and birds got to fly. I got to love one man till I die
Just as fish are meant to swim and birds are meant to fly, I am meant to love this one man for my entire life
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
I cannot resist loving that man of mine
Tell me he's lazy, Tell me he's slow
Inform me that he is indolent, slow
Tell me I'm crazy, maybe, I know
You may accuse me of being insane, but I am aware
When he goes away, Dat's a rainy day
When he departs, it feels like a gloomy day
And when he comes back dat day is fine. The sun will shine
But when he returns, the sky clears up and the sun shines bright
He can come home as late as can be. Home without him ain't no home to me
Even when he returns very late, I cannot consider a place my home without him
Can't help lovin' that man of mine
I cannot resist loving that man of mine
He can come home as late as can be. Home without him ain't no home to me
Even when he returns very late, I cannot consider a place my home without him
Can't help lovin' that man the way I do
I cannot resist loving that man as much as I do
Oh Can't help lovin' that man of mine
I cannot resist loving that man of mine
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEROME KERN, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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