For us, this image of Louis Armstrong playing his trumpet for his wife Lucille at the Sphinx during their trip to Egypt in 1961 describes “sublime”. It reminded us of that feeling when everything is rich with pleasure, without worries.
Our friend Crab Man Mike eloquently described that feeling with a sweep of his hand one day, saying, “you can go for months when life is just like velvet, and then suddenly, before you know it, everthing changes”.  That was right after he had fallen and broken his arm, and we were talking about how things can turn in a moment. Bad things happen.
Armstrong had a powerful answer for this dilemma when people questioned What a Wonderful World, one of his most famous songs. (Video link here):

Love baby, love. That’s the secret, yeah.
If lots more of us loved each other
we’d solve lots more problems.
And then this world would be gasser.

What a Wonderful World is about a world that is “a gasser”, a lullaby for a new week. (Video link here.)

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, 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, sayin’, “How do you do?”
They’re really sayin’, “I love you”

I hear babies cryin’, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more, than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Oh yeah!

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2 replies on “Louis Armstrong’s Secret to A More Wonderful World”

  1. thanks. I was looking to see what he said because I didn’t understand the word “gasser”. I’m guessing that is a version of “It’s a gas.” Louie was a very hip cat and like to use hip language. Loved him.

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