Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, … Read Full Bio ↴Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
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.

Come Back
Louis Armstrong Lyrics

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Sky was blue and high above
The moon was new and so was love
And while this eager heart of mine was singing
Lover, where can you be?

You came at last, love had its day
That day is past and you've gone so far away
And while this eager heart of mine was singing

Lover, come back to me

When I remember every little thing you used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely

You came at last, love had its day
That day is past, you've gone away
And while this eager heart of mine was singing
Lover, come back to me

You laid some spill, I thought it was real
You cooled on me and I'm drugged as can be
And while this eager heart of mine was singing
Good one, where can you be?

When I remember every little thing you used to do
I'm so lonely
Every road I walk along I walk along with you
No wonder I am lonely

You came at last, love had its day
That day is past and you've gone so far away
And while this eager heart of mine was singing
Lover, oh good one

Lover, good one, I'll wait
Can you...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Louis Armstrong's "Lover Come Back To Me" speak to the universal feelings of unrequited love and longing. The opening lines paint a picture of a new love blossoming under a clear blue sky and a "new" moon. However, time has passed and the love has gone. The singer's heart is filled with the pain of longing for someone who is no longer there - a typical scenario in a break-up.

The chorus is a plea to the lost lover to return. The singer remembers every little thing they used to do together and how he is now alone without them - a feeling that is relatable to almost anyone who has experienced heartbreak. The final lines are an extension of the chorus, repeating the same plea for the lover to come back.

Overall, Armstrong's song captures the idea of the pining heart that cannot forget the lost love. In its simplicity and sincerity, the song speaks to a universal experience of human emotion. The repeating line "Lover, come back to me" echoes the singer's desperation to be reunited with their lost love.

Line by Line Meaning

The sky was blue and high above
It was a clear day with no clouds in the sky

Oh, the moon was new and so was love
It was a new and fresh relationship between two people in love

This eager heart of mine keeps singin'
The person's heart is filled with love and joy, and they express it through singing

Oh, lover, come back to me
The person is longing for their lover to return to them

You came at last; you know love had his day
The person's lover was on a brief visit, and they had enjoyed their time together

That day has past; you've gone away
The lover has left, and the person is feeling sad and lonely

This eager heart of mine keeps singin', baby
Despite the sadness, the person's heart is still filled with love and they continue to express it

Lover, please, come on back to me
The person is pleading for their lover to return to them

You know I remember every little thing you used to do
The person is reminiscing about the happy times they spent with their lover and misses them greatly

I'm so lonely
The person is feeling very alone without their lover

Every road I walk along, I walk along with you
The person feels like their lover is still with them in spirit, even though they are physically apart

No wonder I am lonely
Even with the memory of their lover with them, the person still feels very lonely

And while I'm waiting here
The person is still waiting and hoping for their lover to return

Lover, lover, lover, oh yeah
The person continues to call out to their lover, saying they miss and need them

Oh lover, come back, oh, lover, come back
The person is pleading for their lover to return to them, repeating their plea

Lover, come back to me
The person's ultimate desire is for their lover to come back to them and fill the void in their heart

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DistroKid, TuneCore Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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