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.
Talk to the Animals
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Disk: 1967 - She knows/Talk to the animals (Atlantic 2433)
Disk 1967 - Talk to the animals/After you've gone (Atlantic 2433)
If we could talk to the animals, just imagine it,
Chattin' to a chimp in chimpanzee,
Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting to a cheetah,
What a neat achievement it would be!
If we could talk to the animals, learn all their languages,
Maybe take an animal degree,
We'd study elephant and eagle, buffalo and beagle,
Alligator, guinea pig, and flea!
We would converse in polar bear and python,
And we would curse in fluent kangaroo,
If people ask us "can you speak rhinocerous?"
We'd say "of courserous! Can't you?"
If we conferred with our furry friends, man to animal,
Think of all the things we could discuss
If we could walk with the animals, talk with the animals,
Grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals,
And they could talk to us!
(If I consulted with quadrupeds) and ever happen
(Think what fun we'd have asking over) crocodiles (crocodiles for tea!)...
(Or maybe lunch with two or three lions, walruses and sea lions
What a lovely place the world would be!) other know... Eh eh
(If I spoke slang to orangutans) ooh orangutans
(The advantages any fool on earth could plainly see!) eh...
Discussing Eastern art and dramas, With intellectual llamas
That's a big step forward you'll agree!)
We'd learn to speak in antelope and turtle
Our Pekinese would be extremely good
If we were asked to sing in hippopotamus
Yeh we'd say "whynotamous?" and (I) would!
And we are sure every octopus, place and platapus
So itny would see it has a plus
If we could walk with the animals, talks with the animals
Grunts and squeaks and squawks hee with the animals
And they could talk to war! Yeah.
The song "Talk to the Animals" by Leslie Bricusse, famously performed by Louis Armstrong, is a fun and whimsical tune that imagines what it would be like if humans could communicate with animals. The lyrics evoke images of chatting with chimpanzees, tigers, and other creatures, and the idea of learning their languages and having conversations with them is presented as an incredible achievement. The song suggests that if we could truly connect with animals and understand them, we would have a different perspective on the world and could engage in fascinating conversations with them.
The lyrics use playful rhymes and clever wordplay to create a joyful and entertaining atmosphere. The idea of speaking slang to orangutans, discussing Eastern art and dramas with intellectual llamas, and singing in hippopotamus are all examples of the playful language used in the song. The chorus encourages us to imagine a world where we can walk with the animals, talk with the animals, and "grunts, and squeaks, and squawks" with them. By suggesting that we could learn so much from our furry friends, the song is also advocating for greater empathy and understanding of the animal kingdom.
Line by Line Meaning
If we could talk to the animals, just imagine it,
Imagine being able to communicate with the animals.
Chattin' to a chimp in chimpanzee,
Having a conversation with a chimpanzee using their own language.
Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting to a cheetah,
Being able to talk to and have conversations with wild animals.
What a neat achievement it would be!
It would be a great accomplishment to talk to animals and understand their language.
If we could talk to the animals, learn all their languages,
Being multilingual in animal languages and understanding their modes of communication.
Maybe take an animal degree,
Pursuing higher education in animal languages and communication.
We'd study elephant and eagle, buffalo and beagle,
Learning and understanding the communication of diverse animals such as elephants, eagles, buffalos, and even beagles.
Alligator, guinea pig, and flea!
Even tiny animals like fleas or guinea pigs would be studied and understood for their communication patterns.
We would converse in polar bear and python,
Having the ability to talk easily with both cold-climate animals like polar bears and reptiles like pythons.
And we would curse in fluent kangaroo,
Being able to express frustrations in the language of kangaroos, as if it were a natural way of speech.
If people ask us 'can you speak rhinocerous?'
If an individual inquired if you could speak the language of a rhinoceros.
We'd say 'of courserous! Can't you?'
Responding in rhyme that of course, you can speak the language of the rhinoceros and questioning whether the person asking can speak it as well.
If we conferred with our furry friends, man to animal,
If humans could converse with their fellow hairy creatures as equals.
Think of all the things we could discuss
There would be endless topics to converse about with animals.
If we could walk with the animals, talk with the animals,
Being able to walk alongside the animals and converse with them in their natural environment.
Grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals,
One would interact with animals in their natural ways of communication, even if that means grunting, squeaking, or squawking.
And they could talk to us!
Having animals communicate back to humans in a conversation, rather than merely people understanding them.
(If I consulted with quadrupeds) and ever happen
If someone could actually speak with four-footed animals and talk about anything.
(Think what fun we'd have asking over) crocodiles (crocodiles for tea!)...
Imagine the enjoyment that would come from having a conversation with a crocodile and inviting them to tea.
(Or maybe lunch with two or three lions, walruses and sea lions
Hypothetically accepting the invitation to enjoy lunch with lions as well as sea mammals.
What a lovely place the world would be!) other know... Eh eh
If humans could communicate without barriers with other living beings, the world would be a perfect place.
(If I spoke slang to orangutans) ooh orangutans
If one spoke casual or informal speech to orangutans.
(The advantages any fool on earth could plainly see!) eh...
This is something even a foolish person would understand to be highly beneficial.
Discussing Eastern art and dramas, With intellectual llamas
Exchanging cultural and intellectual conversations with highly intelligent and advanced animals like llamas.
That's a big step forward you'll agree!
This would be a huge and significant step for humanity to communicate and understand other living beings.
We'd learn to speak in antelope and turtle
Acquiring the knowledge of the unique communication patterns of antelopes and turtles.
Our Pekinese would be extremely good
Even smaller, domesticated animals like Pekinese dogs would be advanced in their communication skills.
If we were asked to sing in hippopotamus
If requested to sing in the language of a hippopotamus.
Yeh we'd say 'whynotamous?' and (I) would!
Playfully rhyming and agreeing to sing, despite the language barrier.
And we are sure every octopus, place and platapus
All creatures, from eight-legged octopuses to unique ones like platypuses, would be understood.
So itny would see it has a plus
Every animal would have its own unique value if humans could talk to them.
If we could walk with the animals, talks with the animals
Envisioning a world where animals and humans could interact and establish a mutual understanding.
Grunts and squeaks and squawks hee with the animals
Speaking articulately in many unique animal languages, regardless of how one may normally communicate.
And they could talk to war! Yeah.
Imagining a world where animals and humans could converse with each other.
Contributed by Brayden L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world