TELL ME A SIMPLE THING, PLEASE

That song of Louis Armstrong's all those years ago, the one about the World being a Wonderful place, why did so many of us like it?

Was it him, his voice, or the trumpet or the tune? Just what  was it made us think it was Top of the Pops? 

He wasn't exactly a great singer, was he? Not a patch on Pavarotti. Louis wasn't really singing at all, more a sort of affectionate growl, but he blew us all away with it, didn't he?

And the words, they're not exactly the greatest words ever composed in praise of things, are they? By no means a great lyric and as poetry a complete disaster, and yet, when Arthur a dear old friend of mine, had it played at his funeral, we all knew what the song was saying for Arthur. He had chosen wisely. He opted for something bigger than himself and that alone had us all in tears.

Now and then someone chooses "I did it my Way" and I don't know about you but for me it always sounds a bit  boastful and wrong. Louis's song makes us think of a child playing with pebbles on the beach and that feeling of smallness makes us all feel a great deal happier. It's that feeling of smallness  that makes us warm to the song and sense its greatness.

I hope I haven't offended anyone by kicking "My way" into the long grass, but sometimes thinking about these simple things brings us home to ourselves and helps us discover again just what's great about life. 

Please let us know how you feel. A simple email and no names mentioned unless you give permission. Thanks.

Here's the Song:
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
But they're really saying I love you.

I hear baby's cry, and I watched 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.