Monday, June 20, 2016

Music Love: "Let the Good Times Roll" by Louis Jordan


Louis Jordan first appeared on my radar screen around 2009, when I was living on Maui. One day, while I was driving to my volunteer gig, I heard his song “(You Dyed Your Hair) Chartreuse.” At the time, I thought it was hilarious and downloaded it. The more I listened to it, however, the more I found the song a bit annoying. “Why does this guy care so much what color she dyes her hair?” I would think to myself. “Why is he threatening to tell her mom? What a tattle tale!”

Fortunately, falling out of love with that song didn’t make me fall out of love with Jordan himself. I’ve continued to listen to, enjoy, and download his music. And my absolute favorite is “Let the Good Times Roll.”

I’m not going to say a lot about this song. I’d like to let it stand for itself. The music, while simple, is catchy. The lyrics are pretty simple too. What I really love the sentiment. “Hey everybody, let’s have some fun,” he invites you into it, “you only live but once, and when you’re dead you’re done. So let the good times roll.” 

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit dark, but I still maintain that it’s a feel-good song. It’s all about enjoying life while you’ve got it, a sentiment I occasionally need to remind myself of. I recommend that you turn up the volume, kick back, groove along to this smooth piece, and always, always let the good times roll.

2 comments:

Patricia said...

There is an oft-played song on the classic rock stations that utilizes the phrase "let the good times roll" There is also a 50's era duet about letting the good times roll. But this is neither. I like it!

I happen to think when you are dead you are dead, and I too need a good reminder to enjoy what's going on today.

balyien said...

Yep, I think the same thing. This is a good song to play when you're down in the dumps.