Louis Armstrong’s Its a Wonderful World
I’ve loved Louis Armstrong’s version of It’s a Wonderful World since I first heard it in 1967.
Please take two minutes to listen.
What do you think? How does it make you feel?
The song was written by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele as a salve for the horrors of the Vietnam War. (source)
But it’s timeless and universal.
Armstrong’s life, as a Black man in America, and his role in the American civil rights movement give the words additional power and depth.
Yesterday, I found it on Spotify for my running errands soundtrack. As I turned onto our street, we passed the familiar entrance to our town’s cemetery, just as the sun was dying, and Louis was repeating verse three.
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
Oh Yeah!
