Understanding What a Wonderful World – The Real Story Behind the Song
Most people who are looking for Louis Armstrong lyrics titled "Wonderful Life" are actually searching for "What a Wonderful World," and that mix-up happens constantly. The song was written in 1967 by Bob Thiele (using the pseudonym George Douglas) and George David Weiss. It wasn't a huge hit when it first came out. It barely charted at all. Armstrong's distinctive gravelly voice gave it life, but the record didn't catch fire until decades later when it was licensed for use in film and advertising. I once spent about forty-five minutes trying to track down the original session details for a cover project because someone sent me the wrong lyric sheet. They had merged two different songs together, complete with mismatched bridges. If you're working with the lyrics for any reason — cover, transcription, research — make sure you're using the correct version. The widely circulated versions online sometimes contain errors in the second verse or swap lines around entirely.
What a Wonderful World – Commonly Searched As "Wonderful Life Louis Armstrong Lyrics"
Here are the actual lyrics to the song as originally performed by Louis Armstrong: 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?"
They're really saying, "I love you" I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world One thing worth noting that most people miss: the song is in A major and uses a fairly standard folk-pop progression, but Armstrong's phrasing deliberately plays against the meter. He drags behind the beat in a way that makes the lyrics feel more conversational than sing-song. When you're learning to perform this, don't try to lock into a rigid tempo. The feel is what carries it.
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Another detail that doesn't get enough attention. The original 1967 recording features Harry “Sweets” Edison on muted trumpet, Barney Kessel on guitar, Billy Bean on bass, Larry Bunker on drums, and Al Cohn on tenor sax. The string arrangement was done by Marty Paich. That combination of a jazz rhythm section with a light orchestral backdrop is part of why the recording still sounds fresh sixty years later. It's not a big band number. It's an intimate studio session that captured something specific. There are also legitimate issues with lyric accuracy on many sites. A few popular pages list the line "They're really saying, 'I love you'" as "They're really meant to say, 'I love you'." That's wrong. The correct wording is "saying," not "meant to say." Another common error appears in versions where the rainbow verse gets cut entirely, probably because someone thought it was too long for casual singing. It isn't. If you want a reliable source for the lyrics, the Bob Thiele estate publications and the official Louis Armstrong discographies are your best bet. Streaming service metadata is surprisingly inconsistent on this one. I've seen the song credited to different writers depending on the platform, which shouldn't happen for a song this well documented.
