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.
Don't Fence Me In
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was standing by the Sheriff's side
And when the Sheriff said, "I'm sending you to jail
Wildcat raised his head and cried
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don't fence me in
Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the Western skies
On my Cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise
I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
Can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Wildcat Kelley, back again in town
Was sitting by his sweetheart's side
And when his sweetheart said, "Come on, let's settle down"
Wildcat raised his head and cried
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don't fence me in
Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the Western skies
On my Cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise
I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
Can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Louis Armstrong's song "Don't Fence Me In" was written by Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher. The song is an expression of the desire for freedom and the avoidance of constraints, particularly in the context of living in the west. The song tells the story of Wildcat Kelley, who wants to live free and wander through the wide-open country, gazing at the moon and mountains without any fences to restrict him. When Wildcat is forced to go to jail, he begs not to be fenced in, yearning for limitless space and freedom. He wants to live without restrictions and explore the vast, boundless country. Later in the song, Wildcat eventually settles down with his sweetheart, but instead of losing his love for freedom, he still craves the open country, as portrayed in the refrain.
The song is an expression of the age-old human desire for freedom, particularly the desire for freedom to live without physical or mental encumbrances. Wildcat Kelley represents the western cowboy ideal, a man who thrives on the freedom and vastness of the open landscape. The song's desire for freedom makes it an American classic that has been covered by several other musicians like Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. "Don't Fence Me In" has come to represent the idea of the American frontiersman, and it's a favorite tune of anyone who values freedom and a spirit of exploration.
Line by Line Meaning
Wildcat Kelley, looking mighty pale
Wildcat Kelley appeared unwell
Was standing by the Sheriff's side
Wildcat Kelley was next to the Sheriff
And when the Sheriff said, "I'm sending you to jail
The Sheriff informed Wildcat Kelley of his impending incarceration
Wildcat raised his head and cried
Wildcat Kelley had an emotional response to the news
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
The singer desires ample territory beneath the night sky
Don't fence me in
The singer does not want to be stymied by boundaries
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
The singer longs to traverse the countryside they cherish
Don't fence me in
The singer reiterates that they do not want to be fenced in
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
The singer yearns for solitude in the breezy evening air
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
The singer wants to relish the susurration of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
The singer is willing to depart forever
Don't fence me in
The singer repeats their refrain about not wanting to be confined
Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
The singer wants to be released and ride their trusted saddle
Underneath the Western skies
The singer wants to ride underneath the sky of the Western region
On my Cayuse, let me wander over yonder
The singer desires to wander on their horse, Cayuse
Till I see the mountains rise
The singer wants to observe the rising mountains in the distance
I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
The singer wants to journey to the spot where the West begins
Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
The singer wants to look at the moon until they become senseless
Can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
The singer loathes restraints and barriers
Don't fence me in
The singer concludes the song with their energetic refrain
Wildcat Kelley, back again in town
Wildcat Kelley has returned to town
Was sitting by his sweetheart's side
Wildcat Kelley was beside his lover
And when his sweetheart said, "Come on, let's settle down"
The sweetheart suggested they settle somewhere
Wildcat raised his head and cried
Wildcat Kelley had an emotional response to the proposal
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
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