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.
I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from
simply rotten to something worse
Who knows, some day I will win too.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
Now though I see what our end is,
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
You have a lifetime before you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
Please don't be blue for the present,
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
Louis Armstrong's "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" is a love song about a man who is broke but in love. He acknowledges the difficulty of being broke and feels as if he is cursed, but his life is gradually improving. The singer hopes to show his love with everything he has, but unfortunately, that's only love, and he can't provide anything else material. He's confident that someday he'll be able to give his partner everything she desires, but until then, they should enjoy their time together and dream of a brighter future ahead. The song's lyrics convey a message of hope and optimism despite the current financial circumstances of the singer.
The upbeat tempo of the song, along with Armstrong's signature trumpet and scatting, add to its charm. Louis Armstrong's voice is silky smooth and brimming with emotion while singing this classic tune, which has become a timeless jazz standard. The song's romantic lyrics and catchy melody have made it a popular choice for musical interpretations, with multiple artists providing their own takes on it.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid.
Being poor is difficult, my friend.
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
This isn't funny, it's a terrible fate.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from simply rotten to something worse.
My fortune is getting worse, it's become terrible.
Who knows, some day I will win too.
Maybe one day I'll have good luck as well.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
My best years are yet to come.
Now though I see what our end is,
I realize how this will all end,
All I can spend is just my time.
The only thing I can give you is my time.
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
I can't offer you anything except my affection, my dear.
That's the only thing I've plenty of, baby.
But I have an abundance of love to give you.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
Let's dream and plan together
We're sure to find Happiness and I guess All those things you've always pined for.
We'll certainly find happiness and everything you've ever wanted.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
I'd love to see you looking great, my dear.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
You deserve the finest things, like diamond bracelets that Woolworth's doesn't carry.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
Until the day we're fortunate to afford such luxuries, you understand that I can only offer love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
Things take time, my friend.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
There's a price for everything, my friend.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
But I'm happy to wait, my love,
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
I'll always remember being with you, my dear.
You have a lifetime before you.
You have your whole life ahead of you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
I'll love you no matter what happens.
Please don't be blue for the present,
Don't be sad right now,
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
It's so nice to hear you speak
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC. , Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOROTHY FIELDS, JIMMY MC HUGH
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