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.
Didn't It Rain?
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Talk about rain, oh, my Lord
Didn't it fall, didn't it fall?
Didn't it fall, my Lord, didn't it rain?
Oh, it rained forty days
And it rained forty nights
There was no land nowhere in sight
God, send the angel to spread the news
To the East to the West
To the North to the South
All day all night
How it rained, how it rained
Didn't it rain, children?
Talk about rain, oh, my Lord
Didn't it fall, didn't it fall?
Didn't it fall, my Lord, didn't it rain?
Some at the window, some at the door
Some said, "Noah, can't you take a little more?"
"No, no," said Noah, "no, no, my friends"
The nature got to keep; you can't get in
I told you, I told you a long time ago
You wouldn't hear me; you disobey me
Lord, send the angel a warning to you
It began to rain and now you are through
Well, it rained forty days
Forty nights without stopping
Noah was glad
When the rain stopped dropping
Knock at the window, knock at the door
Come on, brother Noah
Can't you take little more?
No, no, my brothers, you are full of sin
God has the key; you can't get in
Would you listen? how it rained
Didn't it rain, children?
Talk about rain, oh, my Lord
Didn't it fall, didn't it fall?
Didn't it fall, my Lord, didn't it rain?
Louis Armstrong's song "Didn't It Rain" is a gospel song that tells the story of Noah's Ark and the great flood. The lyrics use rain as a metaphor for the wrath of God, which was unleashed upon the earth for its sins. The song starts with a question, "Didn't it rain, children?", inviting the listener to join in the telling of the story. The repetition of the phrase "didn't it rain" throughout the song emphasizes the magnitude of the flood and its impact on the world.
The lyrics go on to describe the forty days and forty nights of nonstop rain, during which there was no land in sight. God sends an angel to spread the news, and the rain continues to fall in all directions. Some people try to seek refuge with Noah, but he tells them that they cannot enter the ark because they are full of sin. The song ends with another repetition of "didn't it rain," driving home the power and force of the storm.
The song is a powerful example of the role that religion, particularly Christianity and gospel music, played in African American culture during the era of segregation and discrimination. Many black churches served as places of refuge for the community, and gospel music provided solace and inspiration in times of hardship.
Line by Line Meaning
Didn't it rain, children?
Reflecting on the immense rain that poured down
Talk about rain, oh, my Lord
Expressing amazement and awe towards the amount of rain
Didn't it fall, didn't it fall?
Reiterating the falling of rain that seemed unending
Didn't it fall, my Lord, didn't it rain?
Questioning the listeners about their thoughts on the exceptional rainfall
Oh, it rained forty days
Illustrating the duration of the rainfall
And it rained forty nights
Emphasizing that the rain lasted throughout the nights as well
There was no land nowhere in sight
Describing the overwhelming and widespread nature of the flood
God, send the angel to spread the news
Requesting a divine messenger to communicate God's plan
He hastes his wings and away he flew
Describing the haste and urgency of the angel's response
To the East to the West
Indicating the thoroughness of the angel's message
To the North to the South
Further emphasizing the comprehensive nature of the warning
All day all night
Enforcing the constant and unyielding nature of the rainfall
How it rained, how it rained
Repeating the magnitude of the rainfall and its impact
Some at the window, some at the door
Depicting various ways people were seeking shelter during the flood
Some said, "Noah, can't you take a little more?"
Asking Noah to allow them refuge, even though the ark is full
"No, no," said Noah, "no, no, my friends"
Refusing the request, stating that it is now too late
The nature got to keep; you can't get in
Implying that the consequences of disobeying God have to be faced
I told you, I told you a long time ago
Recalling the fact that Noah had warned them before
You wouldn't hear me; you disobey me
Remebering the people's disobedience towards Noah's warnings
Lord, send the angel a warning to you
Praying to God to give a message to those who didn't listened to Noah
It began to rain and now you are through
Stating that the rains marked the end of the people's disobedience
Well, it rained forty days
Recalling how long the rains persisted
Forty nights without stopping
Again highlighting the unceasing nature of the rainfall
Noah was glad
Indicating the relief felt by Noah when the rains finally stop
When the rain stopped dropping
Rejoicing about the end of the devastating rainfall
Knock at the window, knock at the door
Showing people's desperation while seeking shelter during the flood
Come on, brother Noah
Asking Noah for refuge
Can't you take little more?
Begging Noah to allow them into the ark
No, no, my brothers, you are full of sin
Continuing to deny the requests and rejecting them due to their sin
God has the key; you can't get in
Accepting God's plan and acknowledging that He has the ultimate control over the situation
Would you listen? how it rained
Rhetorical questioning whether the people would follow God's words if warned again
Didn't it rain, children?
Ending the song by asking the same question again, relishing the enormity of the rainfall
Talk about rain, oh, my Lord
Reinforcing the idea that the rainfall was miraculous, invoking the name of God
Didn't it fall, didn't it fall?
Wrapping up the song by repeating the title, ensuring that the listeners could visualize the rainfall
Didn't it fall, my Lord, didn't it rain?
Concluding with the same question, summarizing the entire song
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roberta Martin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CarpeVitam1
"Louis and the Good Book" was the very first Long Playing Record I ever owned, way back in 1962 (I was 15 then). I still love to hear it!
François BENOIST
The same, born 1943, somewhat older than you!
Lelie
je retrouve toujours la même joie comme lorsque j'avais 6 ans et que je l'ecoutais le dimanche. C'était en 1964
William Fagan
I'm a couple of years younger than you and I have loved this album for over half a century. I gave my grandson, now aged 24, a copy at Christmas. When he was about 5 or 6 he always wanted this played in the car on Sunday drives. His favourite was and still is 'Jonah and the Whale'.
dave wallace
Thank you for this. Do you have any more from this album?
hanne bech
lovely music.
Dali384
Génial!!Yes!!
Anna Assoumou
😭😭😭la vraie musique
Gigi Erba
Il titolo originale dell'album ( LP ) pubblicato nel 1958 dalla Brunswick era " Swing Low Sweet Satchmo "
Rachel Epee Mandengue
Adorable