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.
Flat Foot Floogie
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, with a floy, floy?
Yes, floy, floy
Oh, with a floy, floy
Oh and a one, a two
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy
If you're feelin' low down
And don't know what to do
And you wanna show down
Here's the only danse for you
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy
Bang, bang, bang, bang (da-da)
Bang, bang, bang, bang (da-da)
Bang, bang, bang, bang (da-da)
Badoo-badooloo, dam dam
Flat foot floogie (da-da)
Lose that floogie (da-da)
Big foot floogie (da-da)
Badoo-badooloo, dam dam
Bom, bom, bom, bom, ba-da-da
Bom, bom, bom, bom, ba-da-da
Bom, bom, bom, bom, ba-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Oh, the flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy
If you're feelin' low down
And you wanna show down
Oh, the flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy, floy
Floogie (flat foot) flat foot (slew foot)
Floogie (sugar foot) flat foot (cush foot)
Floogie (wing foot, big foot and satchel foot)
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong's "Flat Foot Floogie" are joyful and whimsical, with a playful and fun feel. The song speaks of shine, light, love, and a little bug that glows brightly in the dark - the glow-worm. The opening line, "Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer," is a call to the glow-worm to light up and lead the way to avoid getting lost wandering in the dark. The next few lines speak of love's call and the need for the glow-worm to remain bright and not dim down.
As the song continues, the lyrics compare the glow-worm's light to a bright incandescent wire, and the glow-worm is urged to turn on both AC and DC power to give this night a little brightening. The chorus also reveals the importance of shining when you have to shine.
The later verses remind us that the glow-worm's light brings hope to a deep and dark shadow making it possible for couples to spark, even in the darkness of the woods. The bridge section is a declaration of the way the bug's light turns on, urging the listener to stay illuminated to see their way and to show their love to the world.
"Flat Foot Floogie" is a celebration of light, love, and joy, with an upbeat tempo that encourages one to dance and sing along.
Line by Line Meaning
Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer
Hey, little glowing bug, shine brightly like a little star.
Lead us lest too far we wander
Guide us so we don't lose our way and get lost.
Love's sweet voice is callin' yonder
We hear love calling to us from afar with its gentle voice.
Hey there, don't get dimmer, dimmer
Don't lighten up, keep shining brightly.
Light the path below, above
Illuminate the path for us both below and above.
And lead us on to love
Show us the way to find love and lead us towards it.
Glow, little glow-worm, fly of fire
You little bug that glows brightly and flies like fire.
Glow like an incandescent wire
Glow like a wire that's heated until it gives off light.
Glow for the female of the species
Shine your light for the female bugs out there.
Turn on the AC and the DC
Use electricity to make your light shine even brighter.
This night could use a little brightenin'
The night is dark and could use some light to brighten it up.
Light up you little old bug of lightenin'
Shine as brightly as a bolt of lightning, you little bug.
When you gotta glow, you gotta glow
When you need to shine, you need to shine, no holding back.
Glow, little glow-worm, glow
Keep shining, little bug, keep shining.
Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer
Move through the dark like a little fish through water.
Thou aeronautical boll weevil
You're like a bug that flies high, up in the sky.
Illuminate yon woods primeval
Shine your light on the ancient woods over there.
See how the shadows deep and darken
Notice how the shadows grow darker the further you shine your light.
You and your chick should get to sparkin'
You and your romantic partner should light up and become closer.
I got a gal that I love so
I have a woman that I deeply care for.
Glow, little glow-worm, glow
Keep shining brightly, little bug.
You are equipped with taillight neon
You have a bright and colorful tail light attached.
You got a cute vest-pocket (?)
You have something cute and fun about you.
Which you can make both slow and faster
You have the ability to control the pace of your light, making it slow or fast.
I don't know who you took the shine to
I'm not sure who you're attracted to, little bug.
Or who you're out to make a sign to
Who are you signaling or trying to communicate with?
Glow, little glow-worm, glow
Keep shining, little bug, keep shining.
Glow, little glow-worm, glow
Keep shining, little bug, keep shining.
Glow, little glow-worm, glow
Keep shining, little bug, keep shining.
Glow, little glow-worm, glow
Keep shining, little bug, keep shining.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Slim Gaillard, Bud Green, Slam Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lanceash
YES! I had a cassette like that. I'm trying to put together a list of all the songs on that cassette, but I can only remember about seven. Do you remember what was on it?
aint misbehavin'
tin roof blues
i's a muggin'
that's a plenty
flat foot floogie
do you know what it means (to miss new orleans)
jeepers creepers
struttin with some barbecue (?)
@sussylh4124
Louis Armstrong And The Mills Brothers:Flat Foot Floogie
This song is by Louis Armstrong and The Mills Brothers and appears on the album Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers (1954).
This song is a cover of "The Flat Foot Floogie" by Slim Gaillard.
(The flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy floy, floy floy, floy floy, floy floy)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, baby
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, baby
Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, baby
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Whenever your cares are chronic
Just tell the world, "go hang"
You'll find a greater tonic
If you go on swingin' with the gang
Flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Flat foot floogie with a floy, floy
Floy, floy, floy, yeah
Send me on out there
Whenever your cares are chronic
Just tell the world, "go hang"
You'll find a greater tonic
If you go on stumblin' with the gang
Hey, hey, hey, yes, yes
@marthalillard3193
I can still see my mom singing this and dancing around the house as she cooked and cleaned !
@d.b.4201
Amen!! Love it!! 👍
@Chungustav
Odd since it about a prostitute with a drippy venereal disease
@amyowens7050
My mom took.
@dabear2438
My Uncle used to sing this to me when I was a little child. He was born in 1929 so 1938 was right in his era. I sure miss him. Rest in peace, Uncle.
@carolsikkema7136
Both my mom and dad would sing this. They were married in 1938. I used to wonder where these lyrics came from! Good to know.
@edwardtrolz
This makes me remember the time when we only had a radio,
@lili1916
Happy meeting between the great Mills Brothers and 'Satchmo' in this! Thanks for sharing!
@christansdad
Had a cassette tape of 20 of Louis' greatest hits as a young teen. This song...and Indiana were my two favorites.
@lanceash
YES! I had a cassette like that. I'm trying to put together a list of all the songs on that cassette, but I can only remember about seven. Do you remember what was on it?
aint misbehavin'
tin roof blues
i's a muggin'
that's a plenty
flat foot floogie
do you know what it means (to miss new orleans)
jeepers creepers
struttin with some barbecue (?)