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.
It's Only a Paper Moon
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hanging over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believe in me
It is only a canvas sky
Sailing over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make believe
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played
On a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believe in me
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played
On a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believe in me
Louis Armstrong's song "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a whimsical and optimistic tune about the power of belief and love. The lyrics paint a picture of a world that may seem artificial and phony, but can become real and meaningful through the belief and love shared between two people.
The song begins by describing a paper moon hanging over a cardboard sea, and a canvas sky sailing over a muslin tree. These images represent a world that is not real or solid, but rather constructed and make-believe. However, the lyrics emphasize that this world can become real if there is belief in each other. The line "But it wouldn't be make believe, if you believe in me" suggests that through the power of belief and trust in one another, even the most artificial and fake world can become genuine and true.
The second verse continues the theme of love and belief, stating that without love, the world becomes a honky tonk parade and a melody played on a penny arcade. These metaphors convey a sense of emptiness and superficiality without the presence of love. The final verse mentions the Barnum and Bailey world, alluding to the famous circus and emphasizing that the world can be as phony as a circus show. However, just like the paper moon and canvas sky, it can be transformed into something real and authentic through belief and love.
Overall, "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a song that encourages the listeners to believe in the power of love and trust in order to transform an artificial and superficial world into something genuine and meaningful.
Line by Line Meaning
It is only a paper moon
The things that seem real and substantial are actually fragile and temporary.
Hanging over a cardboard sea
The illusion of a vast and boundless ocean, but in reality, it is flimsy and shallow.
But it wouldn't be make believe
But these illusions can become real and genuine.
If you believe in me
If you have faith in me and trust the connection between us.
It is only a canvas sky
The sky depicted on a canvas, not the real expansive sky.
Sailing over a muslin tree
Moving above a cloth-made tree, an artificial representation of nature.
Without your love
In the absence of your love and affection.
It's a honky tonk parade
Life becomes a chaotic, noisy, and meaningless display.
It's a melody played
It becomes a tune devoid of emotion and significance.
On a penny arcade
Played on a cheap and shallow form of entertainment.
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
The world is like a circus, full of deception and trickery.
Just as phony as it can be
Completely artificial and lacking authenticity.
But it wouldn't be make believe
However, all of this fakeness can still turn into a genuine reality.
If you believe in me
If you have faith in me and our connection.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, S.A. MUSIC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Rose, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@taminabetesdagtg
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me
@donkeydpucci
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FILTHY ACTS AS A REASONABLE PRICE
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FILTHY ACTS AS A REASONABLE PRICE
KONO POWAAAAAA!!!!!!💣💣💣💣💣💣💣 TEMEEEEEEEE
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BAKANAAAAA‼️‼️‼️
BUCCIARATI!!!!!!!
TEQUILA🍺🍻🍾🥂🥂🍺🥂🍸🥃🥃
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DRINK ABBACCHIO’S PISS
DRINK ABBACCHIO’S PISS
DRINK ABBACCHIO’S PISS
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DRINK ABBACCHIO’S PISS
DRINK ABBACCHIO’S PISS
DRINK ABBACCHIO’S PISS
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🌍🌍🌍Do You believe in gravity🌍🌍🌍
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👼👼👼Madeu in heaven!!👼👼👼
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@haticelacin1155
Say, it's only a paper moon
Söyle bu sadece kağıt ay
Sailing over a cardboard sea
Karton yelken deniz üzerinde denize açılıyor
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Ama bu sahte değil
If you believed in me
Eğer bana inanırsan
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Evet o sadece yelken gökyüzü
Hanging over a muslin tree
Müslin ağacığında asılı
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Ama bu sahte değil
If you believed in me
Eğer bana inanırsan
Without your love
Aşkın olmadan
It's a honky-tonk parade
O batakhane geçidi
Without your love
Aşkın olmadan
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
Melodiler kuruş çarşıda çalıyorlar
It's a barnum and bailey world
O bir barnum ve bailey dünyası
Just as phony as it can be
Sadece sahtekar kadar olabilir
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Bu sahte değil
If you believed in me
Eğer bana inanırsan
@Wolfhoundersful
You say it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
@mrsgiraffey
Read 1Q84 a few days ago, watched A Streetcar Named Desire tonight, and am a Jojo fan. I feel fulfilled.
@w0cluvr
what’s 1Q84?
@mrsgiraffey
@@w0cluvr It's a novel by Haruki Murakami
@w0cluvr
@@mrsgiraffey oh okay, thanks!
@jjdc4864
My mother used to sing this to me when I was a child but for the life of me I couldn’t find it anywhere and now that I have it feels like I’ve unlocked a core memory.
@conman_raddish
Legitness
@balle733
you must be in your 70s
@alanasellery7158
Mine too.
@chiefwahoo6408
There are older versions
@richarddavis8863
@@balle733or his mom just liked old music lol