When It's Sleepy Time Down South
Encyclopedia
"When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931 jazz
song written by Clarence Muse
, Leon René
and Otis René. It was sung in the movie Safe in Hell
by Nina Mae McKinney
, and became the theme song
of Louis Armstrong
, who recorded it almost a hundred times during his career. The song is now considered a jazz standard
.
The lyrics concern the Great Migration
in the United States, the movement of African-Americans from the South to cities in the North, with the singer talking about the "dear old Southland... where I belong", and contain many racial stereotypes. Armstrong's popularity among African American audiences dropped because of the song, but at the same time it helped the trumpeter to make his fan base broader. There is a 1942 film short of the song where Armstrong and others played slaves and farm workers.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
song written by Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse
Clarence Muse was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies.-Life and career:Born in...
, Leon René
Leon René
Leon René was an American music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas. He also established several record labels...
and Otis René. It was sung in the movie Safe in Hell
Safe in Hell
Safe in Hell is a 1931 pre-Code Warner Bros. melodrama film directed by William Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Noble Johnson and Nina Mae McKinney.-Plot:...
by Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney
Nina Mae McKinney was an American actress who worked internationally in theatre, film and television after getting her start on Broadway and in Hollywood...
, and became the theme song
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
of Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, who recorded it almost a hundred times during his career. The song is now considered a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
.
The lyrics concern the Great Migration
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...
in the United States, the movement of African-Americans from the South to cities in the North, with the singer talking about the "dear old Southland... where I belong", and contain many racial stereotypes. Armstrong's popularity among African American audiences dropped because of the song, but at the same time it helped the trumpeter to make his fan base broader. There is a 1942 film short of the song where Armstrong and others played slaves and farm workers.
External links
- "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" at jazzstandards.com