The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. Things like old folks singing in the moonlight in the back yard on a hot night or something said long ago.
Louis ArmstrongRead
When I play, maybe 'Back o' Town Blues,' I'm thinking about one of the old, low-down moments - when maybe your woman didn't treat you right. That's a hell of a moment when a woman tell you, 'I got another mule in my stall.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the emotional experiences of love and heartbreak expressed through music.
In this quote, Louis Armstrong articulates how music serves as a vessel for conveying deep personal emotions, particularly those associated with love and betrayal. By referencing moments of sorrow tied to relationships, he illustrates how the blues genre captures the essence of human experiences, offering a voice to feelings of loss and longing that many can relate to.
Themes
BluesLoveHeartbreakMusicEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a music appreciation class to highlight the emotional depth of the blues genre.
More from Louis Armstrong
All quotes →Making money ain't nothing exciting to me. You might be able to buy a little better booze than the wino on the corner. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is.
Louis ArmstrongRead
Very few of the men whose names have become great in the early pioneering of jazz and of swing were trained in music at all. They were born musicians: they felt their music and played by ear and memory. That was the way it was with the great Dixieland Five.
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My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn.
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I've Got the World on a String.
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It's America's classical music ... this becomes our tradition ... the bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? ... we contributed Louis Armstrong
Louis ArmstrongRead
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