LOUIS ARMSTRONG - NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I‘VE SEEN

NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I‘VE SEEN

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

SONGWRITER: JÖRGEN ELOFSSON

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

ALBUM: I’ve GOT A WORLD ON A TRING

LABEL: CBS RECORDS

GENRE: JAZZ

YEAR: 1999

"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" is a spiritual song that originated during the period of slavery but was not published until 1867. The song is well known and many cover versions of it have been done by artists such as Marian Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Paul Robeson, Sam Cooke among others. Anderson had her first successful recording with a version of this song on the Victor label in 1925. Horne recorded a version of the song in 1946. Deep River Boys recorded their version in Oslo on August 29, 1958. It was released on the extended play Negro Spirituals Vol. 1 (HMV 7EGN 27). The song was arranged by Harry Douglas.

It is one of the five spirituals included in the oratorio A Child of Our Time, first performed in 1944, by the classical composer Michael Tippett(1905–98).

Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901– July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo, Satch or Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different eras in the history of jazz.

Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also very skilled at scat singing.

{verse 1)

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

Nobody knows but Jesus

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

Glory Hallelujah

-repeat verse-

Sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down

Yes lord, you know sometimes I'm almost to the ground

O yes, Lord, still

-verse 1-

You got here before I do

O yes Lord, don't forget to tell all my friends I'm coming too

O yes Lord, still

-verse 1-