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.
The St. Loius Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hate to see de evenin' sun go down
'Cause ma baby, he done lef' dis town.
Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today,
Feel tomorrow like I feel today,
I'll pack my trunk, make ma git away.
Saint Louis woman wid her diamon' rings
'Twant for powder an' for store-bought hair,
De man ah love would not gone nowhere, nowhere.
Got de Saint Louis Blues jes as blue as ah can be.
That man got a heart lak a rock cast in the sea.
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me. Doggone it!
I loves day man lak a schoolboy loves his pie,
Lak a Kentucky Col'nel loves his mint an' rye.
I'll love ma baby till the day ah die.
Been to de gypsy to get ma fortune tole,
To de gypsy, done got ma fortune tole,
Cause I'm most wile 'bout ma Jelly Roll.
Gypsy done tole me, "Don't you wear no black."
Yes, she done told me, "Don't you wear no black.
Go to Saint Louis, you can win him back."
Help me to Cairo, make Saint Louis by maself,
Git to Cairo, find ma old friend Jeff,
Gwine to pin maself close to his side;
If ah flag his train, I sho' can ride.
Got de Saint Louis Blues jes as blue as ah can be.
That man got a heart lak a rock cast in the sea.
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me. Doggone it!
I loves day man lak a schoolboy loves his pie,
Lak a Kentucky Colonel loves his mint an' rye.
I'll love ma baby till the day I die.
You ought to see dat stovepipe brown of mine,
Lak he owns de Dimon' Joseph line,
He'd make a cross-eyed o'man go stone blin'.
Blacker than midnight, teeth lak flags of truce,
Blackest man in de whole of Saint Louis,
Blacker de berry, sweeter am de juice.
About a crap game, he knows a pow'ful lot,
But when worktime comes, he's on de dot.
Gwine to ask him for a cold ten-spot,
What it takes to git it, he's cert'nly got.
Got de Saint Louis Blues jes as blue as ah can be.
Dat man got a heart lak a rock cast in the sea.
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me. Doggone it!
I loves day man lak a schoolboy loves his pie,
Lak a Kentucky Col'nel loves his mint an' rye.
I'll love ma baby till the day ah die.
A black-headed gal makes a freight train jump the track, said a black-headed
Gal makes a freight train jump the track,
But a long tall gal makes a preacher ball the jack.
Lawd, a blonde-headed woman makes a good man leave the town, I said
Blonde-headed woman makes a good man leave the town,
But a red-headed woman makes a boy slap his papa down.
Oh, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, I said ashes to ashes and dust to dust,
If my blues don't get you, my jazzing must.
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong's "St. Louis Blues" convey the emotional pain and desperation of a woman who has lost her lover to another woman in St. Louis. The song opens with the lament, "I hate to see de evenin' sun go down, 'Cause ma baby, he done lef' dis town," expressing her sorrow at the departure of her lover. The woman then reveals that she feels as heartbroken today as she expects to feel tomorrow, adding that she plans to leave the town to escape her pain. She then goes on to describe her lover's new woman, a St. Louis woman with diamond rings, who has pulled him away from her.
Desperate to win him back, the woman turns to a gypsy to get her fortune told. The gypsy tells her to avoid wearing black and advises her to travel to St. Louis, where she believes she can win him back. She sets out on a journey to Cairo, hoping to find an old friend named Jeff. The woman ends the song by expressing her love for her baby, stating that she will love him until the day she dies.
Line by Line Meaning
I hate to see de evenin' sun go down,
I don't like seeing the sun set because it reminds me that my baby has left town.
Hate to see de evenin' sun go down
Same as above - I really can't stand it.
'Cause ma baby, he done lef' dis town.
My lover has left and I'm so sad about it.
Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today,
I know that tomorrow will be just as bad as today.
Feel tomorrow like I feel today,
Same as above - I'm not hopeful for the future.
I'll pack my trunk, make ma git away.
I'm going to leave town to try and forget my heartache.
Saint Louis woman wid her diamon' rings
There's a woman in St. Louis who has a lot of money and likes to show it off.
Pulls dat man 'roun' by her apron strings.
She controls her man and he does whatever she wants.
'Twant for powder an' for store-bought hair,
It's not just her money that makes her attractive, but also her beauty products.
De man ah love would not gone nowhere, nowhere.
If my man loved me, he wouldn't have left like he did.
Got de Saint Louis Blues jes as blue as ah can be.
I'm so sad and depressed about my situation.
That man got a heart lak a rock cast in the sea.
My lover's heart is cold and unfeeling.
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me. Doggone it!
If he cared about me at all, he wouldn't have left me like this.
I loves day man lak a schoolboy loves his pie,
I love my man very deeply, like a child loves their favorite food.
Lak a Kentucky Col'nel loves his mint an' rye.
My love is as strong and deep as a Kentucky colonel's love of their favorite drink.
I'll love ma baby till the day ah die.
I will love my man until I die, no matter what happens.
Been to de gypsy to get ma fortune tole,
I visited a fortune teller to try and find out what will happen to me and my lover.
To de gypsy, done got ma fortune tole,
Same as above - the fortune teller gave me some information.
'Cause I'm most wile 'bout ma Jelly Roll.
I'm very worried and upset about my situation.
Gypsy done tole me, "Don't you wear no black."
The fortune teller advised me not to wear black - perhaps because it's associated with mourning.
Yes, she done told me, "Don't you wear no black.
Same as above - just reworded.
Go to Saint Louis, you can win him back.
The fortune teller told me that if I go to St. Louis, I might be able to win my lover back.
Help me to Cairo, make Saint Louis by maself,
I need someone to help me get to Cairo so I can go to St. Louis alone.
Git to Cairo, find ma old friend Jeff,
I have an old friend in Cairo named Jeff, and I plan to visit him.
Gwine to pin maself close to his side;
I plan to stick close to Jeff while I'm in Cairo.
If ah flag his train, I sho' can ride.
If I can catch my lover's train, I might be able to ride with him to St. Louis.
A black-headed gal makes a freight train jump the track, said a black-headed
People say that a woman with black hair is very attractive and powerful.
Gal makes a freight train jump the track,
Same as above - just continued from the previous line.
But a long tall gal makes a preacher ball the jack.
A tall woman has a lot of power over men - even a preacher.
Lawd, a blonde-headed woman makes a good man leave the town, I said
People say that a woman with blonde hair is very attractive and can make a good man leave his home.
Blonde-headed woman makes a good man leave the town,
Same as above - repeated for emphasis.
But a red-headed woman makes a boy slap his papa down.
A woman with red hair is very powerful and can make a man act out of character - even to the point of violence towards his own father.
Oh, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, I said ashes to ashes and dust to dust,
This is a common saying at funerals - it's a reminder that everyone dies eventually.
If my blues don't get you, my jazzing must.
If my sadness and depression don't affect you, maybe my music will make you understand how I feel.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CECIL MACK, JAMES P. JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robertmickleburgh1092
My Dad played trombone for Louis on a few occasions when Louis came to England and called Dad up to play and once in Nice jazz festival. He said to Dad ' you play just like my boy Jack' (Teagarden). This comment from Louis was probably the highlight in Dad's jazz career of approximately 70 years. Dad is now 96 and is currently recovering from double pneumonia in hospital with the help of great nursing at Bath Royal United hospital, antibiotics for the body and lashings of Louis being played in his ear for the soul ! Thanks Louis for literally bringing Dad back from the precipis. miracles do happen!
@GReYSTOKE2012
lOUIS SAYS ..YOU'RE WELCOME!
@Django44
Your father could not have had a stronger tribute. God speed his recovery - Pops' music will help him along the way.
@ellenmarysullivan6993
god bless him. hope he is doing better
@vova47
Robert Mickleburgh - High praise indeed! Here's to your father's speedy recovery, Robert!
@stanvanderlugt8271
Great story
@hillbillyhippie4235
63 years old, been enjoying this music for 50 years it does not get any better eh ?
@judithrawlins3732
This is fabulous I am very old now but was a vocalist professionaly Al my life fromthe age of 17 and loved to be able to sing to thislouis Armstrong St Louis I've been in heaven today xxxxx
@Gerardnolan191
Smiles, hi Judith🙂
@VoodooDewey69
Louis is the undisputed King of Jazz.. Everyone needs to go to the french quarter at least once in their life Go down to Jackson square and hear all the brass bands .Theres no place in the world like it ..While your there get a bowl of real Nola gumbo .😎