Portrait of Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Jazz trumpeter

Modern influential 115 sayings

Sayings by Louis Armstrong

You know, white folks, they got their own problems. They got to deal with them.

Undated — Reported by friends and biographers
General Unverifiable

I'm not a politician. I'm a musician. I play music. That's all I do.

Undated — Frequent response to questions about politics
Political Unverifiable

My whole life, my whole soul, my whole everything, I give to music. And I don't care what nobody says.

Undated — Interview
Religious Unverifiable

I never tried to be anything but myself. I just played my horn the way I felt it.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

To me, jazz is a way of life, not just music.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

Every time I close my eyes, I see my trumpet.

Undated — Reported in biographies
General Unverifiable

I never hurt a soul, I never stole a dime, I never lied to a woman. That's my life.

Undated — Reported in interviews
Religious Unverifiable

I don't dig that modern jazz stuff. I like to hear a melody.

1940s-1950s — Reported in interviews and biographies, expressing his views on bebop
General Unverifiable

You blow your horn, and you get paid. That's it.

Undated — Reported in biographies
General Unverifiable

I don't have any regrets. I've lived a good life.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

Black people have been through a lot. We still got a long way to go, but we'll get there.

Undated — Reported in interviews and biographies
General Unverifiable

I never thought I'd live to see the day when a black man could walk into a white restaurant and eat.

Late 1960s — Reported in interviews, reflecting on changes in society
General Unverifiable

I just play what I feel. That's all I know how to do.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

I don't care if it's hot or cold, I'm gonna play my horn.

Undated — Reported in biographies
General Unverifiable

I always say, 'never play a thing the same way twice.'

Undated — Reported in biographies
General Unverifiable

I'm just a messenger for the music.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

It's all about the feeling, man. If you don't feel it, it ain't jazz.

Undated — Reported in interviews and biographies
General Unverifiable

I've been blessed with a good life. I can't complain.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

My music is for everybody. Black, white, green, yellow. Everybody.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable

I don't like to talk about my past. I like to live in the present.

Undated — Interview
General Unverifiable
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