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.
Lazy Bones
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How you spect to get your day's work done?
You can't get your day's work done
Sleepin' in the noon day sun
Lazybones, layin' in the shade
How you gonna get your cornmeal made?
You can't get no cornmeal made
When taters need sprayin', I bet you keep prayin'
The bugs'll fall off of the vine
And when you go fishin' I bet you keep wishin'
Them fish don't grab your line
Lazybones, loafin' all the day
How you spect to make a dime that way?
You won't make no dime that way
Loafin' in the shade all day
The song Lazy Bones by Louis Armstrong highlights the importance of hard work and diligence in achieving success. The lyrics talk about a lazy person who spends most of the day sleeping in the sun or lying in the shade, and as a result, they are unable to get any work done. The first verse asks how they expect to get any work done when they spend their time sleeping in the sun.
The second verse continues the same theme, questioning how they will get their cornmeal made when they are sleeping in the evening shade. The lyrics suggest that this person is not productive and cannot earn a living if they continue to be lazy.
The third verse pivots to give examples of what this person could be doing if they were not lazy. It suggests that when their potatoes need spraying, they should take the initiative to spray them, rather than hoping the bugs fall off the vine. And when they go fishing, they should actively pursue the fish rather than just wishing they get caught. The song concludes by reiterating that loafing all day in the shade will not lead to success or earning a dime.
Overall, Lazy Bones is a fun, upbeat tune that delivers a meaningful message in a lighthearted way. It reminds listeners that success requires hard work and determination.
Line by Line Meaning
Lazybones, sleepin' in the sun
You're being lazy and lying in the sun, how do you expect to finish your daily work?
How you spect to get your day's work done?
You can't finish your work by being idle and lazy.
You can't get your day's work done
You won't able to complete your work if you spend all day sleeping in the sun.
Sleepin' in the noon day sun
You won't accomplish anything by sleeping in the sun and wasting the day.
Lazybones, layin' in the shade
You're being lazy and lying in the shade, how do you expect to finish your daily work?
How you gonna get your cornmeal made?
You won't be able to make anything if you continue loafing around.
You can't get no cornmeal made
You won't be able to make any cornmeal if you're not doing any work.
Sleepin' in that evening shade
You won't accomplish anything if you spend all day sleeping in the shade.
When taters need sprayin', I bet you keep prayin'
When you need to complete a task, you're probably hoping someone else will do it for you.
The bugs'll fall off of the vine
You're hoping that nature will take care of your work for you.
And when you go fishin' I bet you keep wishin'
When you go fishing, you probably hope that the fish will just jump into your boat.
Them fish don't grab your line
You're hoping that the fish won't require any effort or skill to catch.
Lazybones, loafin' all the day
You're being lazy and loafing around all day.
How you spect to make a dime that way?
You won't earn any money if you continue to be lazy and unproductive.
You won't make no dime that way
You won't be able to make any money if you're not doing any work.
Loafin' in the shade all day
You won't accomplish anything by loafing around in the shade all day.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cutielaner
My grandpa always called me Laineybones, and I never understood it lol. I had coffee with him the other day (he's now 90) and he sang this to me. What a special moment ill remember forever
@brendawolfe6002
My parents also sang that song to me and I and I sang it to my boys who are now 33 and 40
@bunchie1966
My mother used to have a 78 of Bing Crosby singing this by himself (I think I preferred that version). Nice to hear it again.
@alittlebitlocohere
They're brilliant together!
@kanifol62
Wonderful! )))))
@brahmin21
yes.....!!!!
@j.j.c.s2802
Love this song. Our geography teacher used to sing this as he beat seven types of shit out of us. Great days.
@samsonwilkinson8090
Sure.
Happy days...
@MalcolmMarshall57
One of the best singing duo's ever
@jamesmcinnis208
duo's what?