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.
Would You Like to Take a Walk?
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Am I nosy? Very, very
I'd like to be a juicy huckleberry
What you're after is a gal
We're both in luck, for introductions
Are not necessary
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, how about a sarsaparilla?
Gee, the moon is yeller
Sump'n good'll come from that
Mmm, have you heard the latest song?
Mmm, it's a very pretty strain
Mmm, don't you feel a little thrilly?
Gee, it's getting chilly
Sump'n good'll come from that
When you're strolling though the wheresies
You need a whosies to lean upon
But when you have no whosies
To hug and whatsies, gosh, darn
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Mmm, ain't you tired of the talkies?
I prefer the walkies
Sump'n good'll come from that
My little heart is full of palpitation
What I need is consolation
I'd like to stage a little celebration
In the moonlight, right away
I'll feel all pepped if you'll accept
My friendly invitation
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Mmm, how about a sarsaparilla?
Gee, the moon is yeller
Sump'n good'll come from that
Mmm, have you heard the latest song?
Mmm, it's a very pretty strain
Mmm, don't you feel a little thrilly?
Gee, it's getting chilly
Sump'n good'll come from that
When you're strolling though the wheresies
You need a whosies to lean upon
But when you have no whosies
To hug and whatsies, gosh, darn
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Mmm, ain't you tired of the talkies?
I prefer the walkies
Sump'n good'll come from that
The lyrics of the song "Would You Like to Take a Walk?" by Louis Armstrong describe a man who sees a woman walking alone and expresses his interest in getting to know her. He suggests taking a walk together, discussing the possibility of rain and enjoying a sarsaparilla while admiring the yellow moon. As they walk, he asks if she has heard the latest song and if she feels the same thrill he does. He emphasizes the importance of having someone to lean on when walking through difficult times and offers his company to be that person for her.
Through these lyrics, Armstrong romantically conveys his desire to spend time with this woman and offers the possibility of a relationship by the end of the song. The lyrics also reflect a simpler time when walking and enjoying one's surroundings were considered leisurely activities worth doing for their own sake. The reference to "talkies" versus "walkies" also highlights how technology has replaced some of these simple pleasures.
Louis Armstrong's "Would You Like to Take a Walk?" was written by Billy Rose, Mort Dixon, and Harry Warren and was originally performed in the 1933 film, "Footlight Parade." The song went on to become a popular standard and was covered by other artists such as Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. Interestingly, the lyrics were later revised to fit a more gender-neutral perspective, and the song gained new life in the 1960s during the rise of the Great American Songbook.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you strolling by your solitary
I noticed you walking alone
Am I nosy? Very, very
Is it okay that I'm showing interest in you?
I'd like to be a juicy huckleberry
I would like to be a desirable companion for you
What you're after is a gal
I can tell you're looking for a woman
We're both in luck, for introductions are not necessary
Fortunately, we do not need to be introduced to one another
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Would you like to go for a walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Do you think it will rain soon?
Mmm, how about a sarsaparilla?
Would you like to grab a drink of sarsaparilla?
Gee, the moon is yeller
Wow, the moon looks yellow
Sump'n good'll come from that
Something great will happen as a result
Mmm, have you heard the latest song?
Have you listened to the newest song?
Mmm, it's a very pretty strain
It's a beautiful melody
Mmm, don't you feel a little thrilly?
Don't you feel a bit excited?
Gee, it's getting chilly
Wow, it's getting cold outside
When you're strolling though the wheresies
When you're walking through unknown places
You need a whosies to lean upon
You need someone to rely on
But when you have no whosies
But when you have no one to lean on
To hug and whatsies, gosh, darn
To embrace and talk to, gosh darn it
Mmm, ain't you tired of the talkies?
Aren't you tired of just talking?
I prefer the walkies
I would rather go for a walk
My little heart is full of palpitation
My heart is beating quickly
What I need is consolation
What I need is comfort
I'd like to stage a little celebration
I want to have a small party
In the moonlight, right away
Right now, in the moonlight
I'll feel all pepped if you'll accept
I will become very happy if you agree
My friendly invitation
My kind offer to spend time together
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MORT DIXON, BILLY ROSE, HARRY WARREN
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