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 the other kids started calling me nicknames, I knew everything was all right. I have a pretty big mouth, so they hit on that and began calling me Gatemouth or Satchelmouth, and that Satchelmouth has stuck to me all my life, except that now it's been made into 'Satchmo' - 'Satchmo' Armstrong.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embracing and accepting one's unique identity can bring comfort and belonging.
In this quote, Louis Armstrong reflects on how being given nicknames by his peers, particularly the playful ones like 'Gatemouth' and 'Satchelmouth,' helped him embrace his individuality and find solace in his differences. Rather than being bullied, these monikers became a source of pride and identity, ultimately transforming into 'Satchmo,' a name that has become synonymous with his legacy as a legendary musician.
Themes
IdentityNicknamesAcceptanceUniquenessBelongingPride
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'Embrate the unique traits that shape your identity, as Louis Armstrong once reflected on his childhood nicknames.'
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.
Louis ArmstrongRead
My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn.
Louis ArmstrongRead
I've Got the World on a String.
Louis ArmstrongRead
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
Similar quotes
In his life, a man can change wives, political parties or religions but he cannot change his favourite soccer team.
Eduardo GaleanoRead
When you're a pro athlete, life is very narcissistic - everything relates back to you and how you play. When you are getting out of pro sports, you suddenly have to get a little more mindful of what's going on around you and how you affect the rest of the world.
Abby WambachRead
I know you're always supposed to want more of everything. But in truth, I'm having a nice ebb and flow of being in my daughter's life every day and getting to keep my work life alive. I'm not nominated for ten thousand everythings every minute, but I am acting and telling stories I love.
Helen HuntRead
I know what every colored woman in this country is doing... Dying. Just like me. But the difference is they dying like a stump. Me, I’m going down like one of those redwoods. I sure did live in this world.
Toni MorrisonRead
Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold, hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive.
Stephen LeacockRead
On balance, my life has been a constant stream of blessings rather than disappointments and failures and tragedies. I wish I had been re-elected. I think I could have kept our country at peace. I think I could have consolidated what we achieved at Camp David with a treaty between Israel and the Palestinians.
Jimmy CarterRead