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.
W P A
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It ain't daybreak, but it's four O'clock
Oh, no, no, no, Pops, you know that ain't the play
What you talkin' 'bout? It's the W.P.A.
The W.P.A.
Sleep while you work, while you rest, while you play
Lean on your shovel to pass the time away
T'ain't what you do; you can't die for your pay
The W.P.A.
The W.P.A.
The W.P.A.
Now don't be a fool; working hard is passe
You'll stand from five to six hours a day
Sit down and joke while you smoke; it's okay
The W.P.A.
I'm so tired, I don't know what to do
Can't get fired, so I'll take my rest until my work
Is through
The W.P.A.
The W.P.A.
Don't mind the boss if he's cross when you're gay
He'll get a pink slip next month anyway
Three little letters that make life okay
The W.P.A.
The song "W.P.A." by Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers is a satirical take on the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program created in 1935 to provide employment to millions of out-of-work Americans during the Great Depression. The lyrics of the song suggest that the WPA was a place where workers could take it easy, lean on their shovels, and pass the time away. The singer encourages his fellow workers to sleep while they work, to sit down and joke while they smoke, and to enjoy their jobs because they can't get fired.
Despite the upbeat tone of the song, there is a sense of resignation and exhaustion in the lyrics. The singer admits, "I'm so tired, I don't know what to do," and suggests that the WPA is a place where workers go to "take [their] rest until [their] work is through." The repeated refrain, "The W.P.A., the W.P.A.," becomes almost a mantra, suggesting that the workers have resigned themselves to their fate and are finding solace in the fact that they at least have a job.
Overall, "W.P.A." is a fascinating glimpse into the lives and attitudes of Depression-era workers, and it offers a satirical commentary on the WPA and its impact on American society.
Line by Line Meaning
Now wake up, boys, get out on the rock
Come on guys, it's time to start working
It ain't daybreak, but it's four O'clock
It's early, but we have to start working now
Oh, no, no, no, Pops, you know that ain't the play
We don't want to work hard
What you talkin' 'bout? It's the W.P.A.
We're part of the Works Progress Administration
The W.P.A.
Works Progress Administration
Sleep while you work, while you rest, while you play
You can rest while you're working, resting, or playing
Lean on your shovel to pass the time away
Don't work too hard, just lean on your shovel and take it easy
T'ain't what you do; you can't die for your pay
Don't work too hard, it's not worth dying for your salary
Now don't be a fool; working hard is passe
Working hard is out of fashion, don't be stupid
You'll stand from five to six hours a day
You only have to work for a few hours each day
Sit down and joke while you smoke; it's okay
You can sit and relax, smoke and joke around if you want
I'm so tired, I don't know what to do
I'm exhausted and don't know how to cope
Can't get fired, so I'll take my rest until my work is through
I can't be fired, so I'll take my time to finish my work
Don't mind the boss if he's cross when you're gay
Don't worry about the boss if he's upset - he'll be gone soon
He'll get a pink slip next month anyway
He'll be getting fired soon
Three little letters that make life okay
WPA - the letters that make our lives better
The W.P.A.
Works Progress Administration
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: J. STONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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