Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, … Read Full Bio ↴Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
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.

Jonah and the Whale
Louis Armstrong Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Jonah was a man who got a word from the Lord
"Go and preach the Gospel to the sinful land"
But he got on a ship and he tried to get away
And he ran into a storm in the middle of the sea

Now the Lord, He made the waves just roll so high
The ship begin to sink and they all begin to cry
So they pulled old Jonah out of the hold

And they dumped him in the water just to lighten up the load

Now the Lord made a whale, long and wide
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
And he swallowed up Jonah, hair and hide
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord

Now Jonah started to pray in the belly of the whale
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
He repented of his sins like a man in jail
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord

Now Jonah must've been a bad man; he must of been a sinner
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
'Cause when the whale got him down, he didn't like his dinner
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord

Well, he swum around the ocean, sick as he could be
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
And after three days, whoops, he had to set him free
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish, mmm?

So the whale spit Jonah out onto dry land
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
And he went on to preaching like a righteous man
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?

Then the people quit their sins when they heard him in the town
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?

So when you hear the call, don't you turn the Gospel down
Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish, hmmm?

Overall Meaning

The song "Jonah and the Whale" tells the story of Jonah, a man who received a word from the Lord to preach the Gospel to a sinful land. Instead of following God's command, Jonah tries to escape by getting on a ship. However, a storm comes and the ship starts to sink. The crew throws Jonah overboard to lighten the weight of the ship and he is swallowed by a whale. Jonah spends three days and nights in the belly of the whale, where he repents of his sins and prays to God. The whale ultimately spits him out onto dry land, where Jonah goes on to preach to the people of the town, who repent of their sins.

Line by Line Meaning

Jonah was a man who got a word from the Lord
Jonah was a person who received a message from God

"Go and preach the Gospel to the sinful land"
The Lord commanded him to spread his word to places that have gone astray

But he got on a ship and he tried to get away
However, Jonah tried to avoid this responsibility by sailing away

And he ran into a storm in the middle of the sea
He encountered hazardous weather in the ocean

Now the Lord, He made the waves just roll so high
God created enormous waves that would threaten the safety of the ship

The ship begin to sink and they all begin to cry
The boat began to submerge, and the crew members began to lament

So they pulled old Jonah out of the hold
They took Jonah out of hiding

And they dumped him in the water just to lighten up the load
To decrease the weight of the ship, they threw Jonah overboard

Now the Lord made a whale, long and wide
God crafted a giant fish

Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?
Wasn't the size of that animal amazing?

And he swallowed up Jonah, hair and hide
The fish engulfed Jonah completely

Now Jonah started to pray in the belly of the whale
Inside the fish, Jonah began to pray to God

He repented of his sins like a man in jail
He expressed remorse for his transgressions, similar to a prisoner

Now Jonah must've been a bad man; he must have been a sinner
Jonah presumably committed terrible deeds; he might have been a wrongdoer

'Cause when the whale got him down, he didn't like his dinner
Presumably, Jonah's presence inside the fish's belly wasn't enjoyable

Well, he swum around the ocean, sick as he could be
He traveled through the waters, feeling sick

And after three days, whoops, he had to set him free
After three days, the fish released him unexpectedly

So the whale spit Jonah out onto dry land
The fish eventually threw up Jonah on a shore

And he went on to preaching like a righteous man
He continued to spread the word of God like a self-righteous individual

Then the people quit their sins when they heard him in the town
The citizens stopped committing sins after hearing his word in the community

So when you hear the call, don't you turn the Gospel down
When you receive the Lord's message, do not reject it

Lyrics © CARL FISCHER, LLC
Written by: R. MACGIMSEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@minakiriakos7081

3y↑2

Jonah was a man who got a word from the Lord
'Go and preach the Gospel to the sinful land‿
But he got on a ship and he tried to get away
And he ran into a storm in the middle of the sea
Now the Lord, He made the waves just roll so high
The ship begin to sink and they all begin to cry
So they pulled ole Jonah out of the hole
And they jumped him in the water just to lighten up the load

Now the Lord made a whale, long and wide Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
And he swallowed up Jonah, hair and hide Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish,
Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord

Now Jonah started to pray in the belly of the whale
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
He repented of his sins like a man in jail
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord

Now Jonah must o" been a bad man, he must o" been a sinner
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
Cos when the whale got him down, he didn"t like his dinner
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord

Well he swum around the ocean, sick as he could be
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
And after three days, whoops! he had to set him free
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish, mmm
So the whale spit Jonah out onto dry land
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
And went on to preaching like a righteous man
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish

Then the people quit their sins when they heard him the town
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish
So when you hear the call, don"t you turn the Gospel down
Lord, Lord wasn’t that a fish, mmm?

All comments from YouTube:

@Abendsingen

2y↑2

Cooles Lied! Vor Problemen weg zu laufen, bringt nichts....und der unvergessliche Satchmo hat es super zusammen mit den anderen Musikern rübergebracht! Danke dafür, dass diese Aufnahme, die ich Anfang der 50er Jahre zum ersten Mal gehört habe, auf Youtoube verfügbar ist🙏👋