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.
Miller's Cave
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the swamps and the everglades.
There's a big ol' hole in Tiger Mountain.
God help the man who gets lost in Miller's Cave.
I had me a girl in Waycross, Georgia,
But she had unfaithful ways.
She made me feel I wasn't wanted,
I couldn't stand the way she did me.
Couldn't take her low down ways.
Before I'll stay with a cheatin' woman,
I'll go and live with the bears in Miller's Cave.
Caught her out, Sunday morning,
With some guy they call big Dave.
The meanest man in Waycross, Georgia,
I'd rather fight a mountain lion in Miller's Cave.
I said: "You'll pay both you and Davey,
"I'm gonna see you in your grave."
They laughed at me and then I shot 'em,
I took their cheating, scheming bones to Miller's Cave.
That woman made me feel unwanted,
But I guess I showed her I was brave.
The most wanted man in the state of Georgia,
But they're never gonna find me `cause I'm lost in Miller's Cave.
In the song "Miller's Cave" by Louis Armstrong, the lyrics depict a desolate and dangerous place called Miller's Cave, located in the state of Georgia. The song begins by describing the treacherous terrain of Georgia, including swamps, everglades, and a big hole in Tiger Mountain known as Miller's Cave. The lyrics imply that anyone who becomes lost in Miller's Cave will require God's help to survive.
The second paragraph introduces a personal story of heartbreak. The singer had a girlfriend in Waycross, Georgia, but she proved to be unfaithful. She made the singer feel unwanted, similar to the bats and bears that inhabit Miller's Cave. The lyrics convey the pain and frustration the singer experienced due to his girlfriend's betrayals.
The third paragraph reveals the singer's reaction to his girlfriend's infidelity. Unable to tolerate her deceitful behavior any longer, the singer declares that he would rather live with the bears in Miller's Cave than stay with a cheating woman. This line represents the singer's decision to end the relationship and seek solitude rather than endure ongoing hurt and mistrust.
In the final paragraph, the singer discovers his girlfriend with another man called big Dave on a Sunday morning. Big Dave is described as the meanest man in Waycross, Georgia. Fueled by anger and a desire for revenge, the singer resolves to make them pay for their actions. He confronts them, but they laugh at his threats. The singer then takes matters into his own hands and shoots them both.
The singer feels a sense of satisfaction in taking revenge on his unfaithful lover and her accomplice, symbolically represented by taking their "cheating, scheming bones" to Miller's Cave. The lyrics indicate that the singer's actions resulted in him becoming the most wanted man in Georgia, but he believes he can escape punishment because he is now lost in Miller's Cave.
Overall, "Miller's Cave" tells a story of heartbreak, betrayal, and revenge. The lyrics reflect the singer's decision to leave a toxic relationship and confront his unfaithful lover, ultimately seeking refuge in the dangerous and isolated Miller's Cave.
Line by Line Meaning
Way down in the state of Georgia,
Deep within the borders of the state of Georgia,
Through the swamps and the everglades.
Navigating through the marshy and forested areas.
There's a big ol' hole in Tiger Mountain.
There exists a large and ominous cavity within the Tiger Mountain.
God help the man who gets lost in Miller's Cave.
An expression of the imminent danger and despair one faces if they become trapped in Miller's Cave.
I had me a girl in Waycross, Georgia,
Once, I had a girlfriend in Waycross, Georgia,
But she had unfaithful ways.
However, she possessed a tendency to be disloyal and deceitful.
She made me feel I wasn't wanted,
She made me experience a sense of being undesired,
Like the bats and the bears in Miller's Cave.
Similar to the bats and bears that dwell in Miller's Cave.
I couldn't stand the way she did me.
I couldn't tolerate the manner in which she treated me.
Couldn't take her low down ways.
Unable to endure her dishonest and dishonorable actions.
Before I'll stay with a cheatin' woman,
Rather than remaining with an unfaithful woman,
I'll go and live with the bears in Miller's Cave.
I would rather choose to reside with the bears inhabiting Miller's Cave.
Caught her out, Sunday morning,
I discovered her in the act, on a Sunday morning,
With some guy they call big Dave.
Engaged in the company of another man referred to as big Dave.
The meanest man in Waycross, Georgia,
Regarded as the cruelest individual in Waycross, Georgia,
I'd rather fight a mountain lion in Miller's Cave.
I would prefer engaging in a fierce battle against a mountain lion within Miller's Cave.
I said: "You'll pay both you and Davey,
I proclaimed: "You two will face the consequences,
"I'm gonna see you in your grave."
"I shall witness your demise."
They laughed at me and then I shot 'em,
They scoffed at me, and consequently, I fired upon them,
I took their cheating, scheming bones to Miller's Cave.
I transported their deceitful, conniving remains to Miller's Cave.
That woman made me feel unwanted,
That woman inflicted upon me a sense of being undesirable,
But I guess I showed her I was brave.
However, I suppose I demonstrated my courage to her.
The most wanted man in the state of Georgia,
I am now the individual pursued relentlessly in the state of Georgia,
But they're never gonna find me 'cause I'm lost in Miller's Cave.
Nevertheless, they will never locate me since I am trapped and concealed within Miller's Cave.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jack H. Clement
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
cwcwful
No doubt about it, Louis sure loved country music.
Rick Keogh
Like everything he did, Satchmo nails it!
AdaMusolf
woooooooow! Love it, love it, love it!!!!! - You make my evening....
Gerard Ross
SPLENDID!!! Louis should have done more country. Even Charlie Parker a huge country and western fan. As always, the jazzmen have impeccable taste. Thanks for sharing this, Hank.
HifiCentret
How anyone can dislike this is beyond me!
jo luttringer
Great Jack Clement song by one of the alltime greatest jazz trompeter, Sir Louis Armstrong. Thank's for upload. Best wishes from France. Jo Luttringer Note : I discover this LP in Italy...it's very a great "thing" for me, with stu basore on steel guitar...Jo
hbrookes
Pretty rough but I love the man!!