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.
My Man
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But there's one thing that I've got
It's my man
Cold and wet, tired you bet
But all that I soon forget
With my man
He's not much for looks
And no hero out of books
Two or three girls has he
That he likes as well as me
But I love him!
I don't know why I should
He isn't good, he isn't true
He beats me too
What can I do?
Oh, my man I love him so
He'll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don't care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is bright, all right
What's the difference if I say
I'll go away, When I know
I'll come back on my knees some day?
For whatever my man is
I am his forever more
Oh, my man I love him
Sometimes I say
If I could just get away
With my man
He'd go straight sure as fate
For it never is too late
For a man
I just like to dream
Of a cottage by a stream
With my man
Where a few flowers grew
And perhaps a kid or two
Like my man
And then my eyes get wet
I most forget till he gets hot
And tells me not to talk such rot
Oh, my man I love him so
He'll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don't care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is bright, all right
What's the difference if I say
I'll go away, When I know
I'll come back on my knees some day?
For what ever my man is
I am his forever more
Louis Armstrong's song "My Man" tells the story of a woman deeply in love with her partner, despite his flaws and infidelities. The lyrics explain that the woman's love for her man has cost her greatly, but she still remains devoted to him. She describes how being in his arms brightens her world and helps her forget her problems, even though she knows he isn't good or true and sometimes beats her. Despite this, she is willing to stay with him forever, even if it means coming back to him on her knees someday. The woman dreams of a life with her man, where they have a cottage with a few flowers and children.
The song conveys a sense of desperation and acceptance of a painful reality for the woman. Her love for her man is all-consuming, even though she knows he isn't good for her. The song speaks to the complexity of relationships and how love can be both beautiful and destructive. Armstrong's unique jazz voice lends a soulful quality to the lyrics, making the listener feel the pain and passion of the woman's story.
Line by Line Meaning
It's cost me a lot
I have gone through a lot of trouble and hardships for this situation
But there's one thing that I've got
Despite all my difficulties, there is one thing that I have and cherish
It's my man
It is the man in my life who gives me comfort and support
Cold and wet, tired you bet
Although I may face harsh weather and experience exhaustion, I hardly mind
But all that I soon forget
Because he's there to make me forget it all and make me feel better
With my man
When he's around, everything just feels better
He's not much for looks
He may not be considered conventionally attractive
And no hero out of books
He may not be the stereotypical hero from movies or books
Is my man
But to me, he is all that I need in a man
Two or three girls has he
He may be involved with other women, as well as me
That he likes as well as me
And he may even like them in a similar way to me
But I love him!
However, despite all that, I still choose to love him
I don't know why I should
I am not entirely sure why I still love him, despite everything
He isn't good, he isn't true
He may have many flaws, and he may not be entirely honest
He beats me too
He may even physically abuse me
What can I do?
Despite all that, I still feel drawn towards him and do not know what to do
Oh, my man I love him so
Despite everything, I still always love and cherish him
He'll never know
He may never understand or realize how much he means to me
All my life is just despair
All the ups and downs in my life just seem meaningless without him
But I don't care
I don't mind or care about anything else as long as I am with him
When he takes me in his arms
When he embraces me, everything just feels perfect
The world is bright, all right
Everything looks and feels better than it actually is
What's the difference if I say
It does not really matter or make a difference whether I say or do anything else
I'll go away, When I know I'll come back on my knees some day?
Even if I leave him, I know that I will eventually come back to him, begging him to take me back
For what ever my man is
No matter what kind of man he may be
I am his forever more
I still choose to love him and there is nothing that can separate us
Sometimes I say
Although I am devoted to him, sometimes I still have doubts or frustrations
If I could just get away
If only I could escape this situation
With my man
While still staying with him, of course
He'd go straight sure as fate
If we could leave this place, I know he would finally settle down and act more responsibly
For it never is too late
It is never too late for him to change his ways and to start again
For a man
All he needs is a little bit of faith and love
I just like to dream
Despite it all, I still have my dreams and my hopes for the future
Of a cottage by a stream
I dream of building a peaceful and happy home for us
Where a few flowers grew
In which I can grow just a few flowers that could always bring me joy
And perhaps a kid or two
In which we could raise a child or two to love us both dearly
Like my man
Just as much as I love my man
And then my eyes get wet
And then I feel moved and emotional
I most forget till he gets hot
I forget about everything else until he gets angry or violent once more
And tells me not to talk such rot
And scolds me for talking about such unrealistic and foolish things
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Written by: JOSE RAMON GARCIA FLOREZ, MARELLA CAYRE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tootsierool8624
My man's gone now
Ain't no use a listenin'
For his tired footsteps
Climbin' up the stairs
Old man sorrow's
Come to keep me company
Whisperin' beside me
When I say my prayers
Sint that i mind working working i a travellers journeying together to the promised land I say my prayers
He come aroud
He come up, he come around
Ain't that I mind workin'
Workin' means travelers
Journeyin' togheter
But old man sorrow
Mountin' all the way with me
Tell' me that I'm old now
Since I lose my man
Since I lose my man
Since I lose my man
@iwpchi303
Spectacular jazz arrangement of the Gershwin classic, performed by an amazing jazz string & horn section arranged by jazz genius Russell Garcia and sung by the immortal Ella Fitzgerald. Congratulations on your web journey to this location on the Internet where the soul of music never dies! This version is the standard against which all others must be judged!
Thanks for posting this!
Workers of the World, Unite!
Independent Workers Party of Chicago
@danielboyer3272
Ella Fitzgerald !! La voix d'un Ange !
@justice5992
SANG!!!
@arsenalius6855
Ella & Louis forever!!!
👍❤️
🙏
@EricPeron
Sometimes, the best can born from a combination of many talents. Often, it can't pleasing to everyone...
@MrBassflute
Love Ella and Louis...listen to Audra McDonald's performance of the classical version.
@robertofernandesbastos218
Ella can not have the pathos of Mc Rae, but her voice and sense of the melody are so strong that made her version unpair
@juliolazzagonzalez
RIP #GeorgeGershwin
@larrycohen5830
Just listened to Carmen McRae's and am in total agreement with jazzyscookie (although Ella's voice is that of Hashem.)
@jazzyscookie
Attached Carmen's version to this video