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: βYou canβt play nothing on modern trumpet that doesnβt 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.
When the Saint Go Marching In
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
D - - - / G - - - / D - A - / D - - - //
V: O when the Saints go marching in
When the Saints go marching in
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
And when the sun refuse (begins) to shine
And when the sun refuse (begins) to shine
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
When the moon turns red with blood
When the moon turns red with blood
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
On that hallelujah day
On that hallelujah day
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
O when the trumpet sounds the call
O when the trumpet sounds the call
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
B: Some say this world of trouble
Is the only one we need
But I'm waiting for that morning
When the new world is revealed
(As )
V: When the revelation (revolution) comes
When the revelation (revolution) comes
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
When the rich go out and work
When the rich go out and work
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
When the air is pure and clean
When the air is pure and clean
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
When we all have food to eat
When we all have food to eat
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
When our leaders learn to cry
When our leaders learn to cry
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in
Bo Peterson
Louis Armstrong's song "When the Saints go marching in" is a gospel classic that originated from the African American religious community. It is a joyful song that often serves as a celebratory anthem at big events like parades, funerals, and sporting events. The melody is upbeat, and the lyrics speak of a desire to be included among the saved when the end of time comes. The lyrics employ a significant amount of metaphor and religious language, and it is a popular song in the jazz canon.
The opening verse declares a desire to be in that number when the saints march triumphantly into the afterlife. It is an expression of faith, and the song's intended audience is those already part of the faith community. The following verses describe various moments of apocalyptic speculation- the sun not shining, the moon turning red with blood, the trumpet sounding the call when the faithful are taken home. The metaphors are used to describe the end of time and the judgment day when the faithful will be saved and enter Heaven. The chorus serves as a joyful reminder of the ultimate goal, which is to walk with the saints in joy and triumph.
The last verse speaks to the hoped-for future of an idealized society of social inequity and corruption that ends when everyone has enough to eat and work together in peace. The song's final line explains that one must be a part of this idyllic society when it is built to achieve salvation alongside the saints.
Line by Line Meaning
O when the Saints go marching in
I want to be among the righteous souls when they ascend to heaven
When the sun refuse (begins) to shine
In the face of the world's end, I want to be counted among the elect
When the moon turns red with blood
Even in the face of global catastrophe, I want to belong to the chosen
On that hallelujah day
When the world transforms, I want to be redeemed
O when the trumpet sounds the call
I eagerly await the to call to the celestial parade
When the revelation (revolution) comes
When the time of reckoning arrives, I want to belong to the group that will be saved
When the rich go out and work
When even the powerful are humble, I want be among the meek who inherit the earth
When the air is pure and clean
In the age of environmental justice, I want to join the company of those who embody purity
When we all have food to eat
In the age of plenty, I want to belong to the assembly of those who share resources
When our leaders learn to cry
In the age of empathy, I want to part of the community that experiences and expresses deep emotion
Contributed by Audrey A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@BuddyBrownMusic
He truly was and is the spirit of New Orleans. God Bless this legend!
@peaceman4u
Buddy Brown u ain't lying
@troyandrew6154
Buddy Brown new Orleans? I'd say all of Louisiana
@rosettaquartz6012
Troy Andrew Yea!
@WilhelmWilder
Even though the man who wrote it was from arkansas
@TheModShopCO
Garrett Baker he, meaning Louis Armstrong. Forget this particular song, Louis is the embodiment of Louisiana Soul.
@hicow6075
The woman singing along side Louis is Jewel Brown. She's still alive at 85 years old and is very well renowned within the jazz and blues world as a singer!
@joecox6931
Thanks for that information......she is wonderful ......πππ
@williammallory5553
Old Satchmo was a slick old dog. Lol
@user-nt1ik5tm7y
Thank you so much. Leon