♫ What A Wonderful World ♫ (Redux)

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I was in the mood for a song with a positive spin tonight, and I came across this.  I played this before … March 2019 … but to me, it is worth hearing again.

I was probably around ten years old when I saw Louis Armstrong in person.  I remember being agog at how big he could make his cheeks when playing the trumpet!  I also fell in love with his gravelly voice and the look of kindness in his eyes.  Ever since, I have been a Louis Armstrong fan.

I just finished writing a post about the slaughter of beautiful animals, and was feeling the need for a song about appreciating the beauty around us.  This song is just that.

Although Louis Armstrong was mainly a jazz musician, this song is the one most often associated with him.  Though it was first released in 1967, it didn’t become a hit in the U.S. until 20 years later when it was used in the Robin Williams movie Good Morning, Vietnam.  However, it went to #1 in the UK.

The song was written by Bob Thiele (as “George Douglas”) and George David Weiss, both of whom were prominent in the music world (Thiele as a producer and Weiss as a composer/performer).  Armstrong’s recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

What a Wonderful World
Louis Daniel Armstrong

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 saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world

Songwriters: George Weiss / Robert Thiele
What a Wonderful World lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC, Carlin America Inc

40 thoughts on “♫ What A Wonderful World ♫ (Redux)”

  1. Pingback: ♫ Wonderful World ♫ | Filosofa's Word

    • Oops … another movie I haven’t seen, and while I’ve heard of it, I don’t have a clue what it is about. Anyway, I am glad you loved Louis singing this … just for you! ❤

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        • Ahhhhh … Meet Joe Black it will be, then! AND Legends of the Fall! They are added to my TBW list! Now, could you add about 6 hours to my days so I have time to watch them? 😉

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              • It is very intriguing and Pitt pulls it off magnificently. The entire cast is brilliant. Being tissues. Legends of the Fall reminds us that America has always been political, racist and forwarding the wrong agendas. But the cinematography and the family aspects are what really drive the film. (Oh and Brad Pitt with long blonde hair😉)

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                • I watched the trailers for both this evening, and now I’m not sure which I want to watch first … probably Meet Joe Black, though … it seems less intense. I always think of Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter … perhaps this will change that image for me!

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                  • He is an icon for acting to me. The first film I saw him in was a paranormal thriller called Audrey Rose and I fell in love. He is the epitome of classic British acting and his diversity is amazing. He and Tom Hanks can pull off any role as far as Im concerned. I refused to swatch Silence of the Lambs.I have a real aversion to stalker and kidnapping movies. I guess I was right to skip it. The only one I ever watched was the Ted Bundy story and Im glad I did I don’t trust any stranger really. I worked with a doctor whose brother was John Wayne Gacy’s last victim. 😞I will be eager to know how you liked them .

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  4. Pingback: ♫ What A Wonderful World ♫ (Redux) | The Inglorius Padre Steve's World

  6. I share a similar love for Armstrong since childhood. It’s a shame that what a wonderful world is his most famous. His early recordings are the brilliant ones. The great genius of jazz was a great treasure.

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  9. Jill, this is an unusually poignant song, especially when sung by Louie Armstrong. There are more gifted singers, but his gravitas and style lend itself.

    His rendition reminds me of Moms Mabley singing Dion’s classic “Abraham, Martin and John.” Ironically, she was asked by Sammy Davis, Jr. to sing the song on a Hugh Hefner special. Like Louie, there are better singers than her, but she lifts the song to new heights, as does Louie with this one. Keith

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    • Yes, there may be more gifted singers, but I simply cannot imagine anyone other than Louis putting the same feeling into this one. I haven’t heard Moms Mabley doing “Abraham, Martin and John” … I’ll check it out!

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