Lyr Req: Armstrong (John Stewart)

Subject: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong
From: stevethesqueeze
Date: 13 May 03 - 06:55 AM

I have checked but just can't find the tune and lyrics to a half remembered song. I heard it at the height of the Great Folk Scare back in the early seventies. a beautiful song contratsting hunger and suffering in the world with the fact that Armstrong had just "walked upon the moon."

You guys are bound to know it.

stevethesqueeze

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong
From: GUEST,Bernie
Date: 13 May 03 - 11:56 AM

it's "Armstrong" written/sung by John Stewart on an RCA lp "Cannons in the Rain" circa 1973.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong
From: Wolfgang
Date: 13 May 03 - 12:02 PM

Assuming Bernie has identified the song it is here:
Armstrong

Wolfgang

Subject: Lyr Add: ARMSTRONG (John Stewart)
From: MMario
Date: 13 May 03 - 12:04 PM

ARMSTRONG
(Words By John Stewart)
© Bug Music, INC. / Burgle Publishing (BMI) )

Black boy in Chicago
Playing in the street
Not near enough to wear
Not near enough to eat
Don't you know he saw it
On a July afternoon
He saw a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon

Young girl in Calcutta
Barely eight years old
The flies that swarm the market place
Will see she don't get old
Don't you know she heard it
On that July afternoon
She heard a man named Armstrong
Had walked upon the moon
She heard a man named Armstrong
Had walked upon the moon

The rivers are getting dirty
The wind is getting bad
War and hate are killing off
The only earth we have
But the world all stopped to watch it
On that July afternoon
To watch a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
To watch a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
To watch a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
And I wonder if a long time ago
Somewhere in the universe
They watched a man named Adam
Walk upon the earth

Subject: DTADD: Armstrong
From: GUEST
Date: 13 May 03 - 12:12 PM

Black boy in Chicago,playin' in the street
not enough to wear,not near enough to eat
but dont you know he saw it,on a JUly afternoon
Saw a man named Armstrong walk upon the moon
He saw a man named Armstrong walk upon the moon.

Young girl in Calcutta,barely eight years old
flies that swarm the marketplace will see SHE don't grow old
but don't you know she heard it on a July afternoon
She heard a man named Armstrong walked upon the moon
She heard a man named Armstrong walked upon the moon

River's gettin' dirty,wind is smellin' bad
wars and hate are killin' off the only earth we have
but the world all stopped to watch it on that July afternoon
Watched a man named Armstrong walk upon the moon.

And I wonder if,a long time ago,somewhere in the universe
They watched a man named Adam walk upon the earth
{Repeat}

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong
From: stevethesqueeze
Date: 14 May 03 - 06:38 AM

thank you friends for getting me this information. I loved this song and it conjures up a little folk club I used to play in wilmslow in cheshire. We wern't very good but this one guy came in and sang the song. We were all excited in those days about the moonshots and the song really challened us to think again. You could have heard a pin drop when the guy sang it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 10:02 AM

heyyy, anyone got this song so that it can be uploaded????

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Jun 09 - 10:30 AM

Isn't it strange that I should think of this old song walking to work today and google it. I heard it when it came out and at that age was singing and playing my melancholy stuff all around Kent and London. And it's still just that one line that sticks in my head. Brilliant.

Subject: ADD: Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Jun 09 - 01:41 PM

"Armstrong" is on John Stewart's Airdream Believer retrospective CD (which has a great photo of an Airstream trailer on the cover). The track can be heard at Last.fm.

-Joe-

---

After listening to the CD, I'd like to add a few corrections to the text MMario posted.

ARMSTRONG
(Words By John Stewart)
© Bug Music, INC. / Burgle Publishing (BMI) )

Black boy in Chicago
Playing in the street
Not enough to wear
Not near enough to eat
(But) Don't you know he saw it
On that July afternoon
He saw a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon

(A) Young girl in Calcutta
Barely eight years old
The flies that swarm the marketplace
Will see she don't get old
(But) Don't you know she heard it
On that July afternoon
She heard a man named Armstrong
Had walked upon the moon
She heard a man named Armstrong
Had walked upon the moon

The rivers are getting dirty
The wind is getting bad
War and hate is killing off
The only earth we have
But the world all stopped to watch it
On a July afternoon
To watch a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
To watch a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
To watch a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon

And I wonder if a long time ago
Somewhere in the universe
They watched a man named Adam
Walk upon the earth

transcribed by ear from the John Stewart Airdream Believer: Retrospective CD. A slightly different recording is available on the John Stewart American Originals CD.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Jun 09 - 04:00 PM

I generally use my hand to write. How and why the hell do you use your ear?   I can't imagine it being even vaguely legible which makes your version suspect. You still drinking that fockin' mushroom tea or what?

Spaw

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Jun 09 - 05:27 PM

Well, Spaw, Mom told me not to stick that ball-point pen in my ear - but I didn't listen...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: Gurney
Date: 25 Jun 09 - 05:50 PM

You'll fing Geordies everywhear. Caant keep the buggers at houm.

Why aye! That bonnie lad went the furthest, though.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a man called Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jun 09 - 08:46 AM

Nanci Griffith does a really nice version of this song

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: GUEST
Date: 13 May 10 - 07:43 AM

i used to have an old lp in which lobo sang this song back in the 70's - i am trying to by a cd with this song on it but no luck i am also looking to dowloading this song but cannot find anything

great song takes me back years

barry   south africa

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: Johnny J
Date: 03 Apr 26 - 05:59 AM

I just thought I'd revive this song.

There's great scope for updating and adding new lyrics but it's as relevant as ever.

So much suffering in the world, unnecessary wars etc and they are astronauts on their way to The Moon again as I type. A distraction?
Shouldn't we be sorting out the issues here first?

Anyway, I've always liked the song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 03 Apr 26 - 08:46 AM

> Shouldn't we be sorting out the issues here first?

Not so much a distraction as an inspiration: something to cause people to look up at the sky, not down at their shoes.

Eventually, aliens will get to the Earth, only to find that we have gone and all our works are long since dust. Then they'll go to the Moon, decode the plaque on the Apollo 11 landing stage, and wonder what a Richard M Nixon was. Mankind's Ozymandias moment, if you will, but no less a message to the future.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Armstrong (John Stewart)
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 03 Apr 26 - 09:46 AM

Coverage of Artemis II on the Beeb included: "The earth is a small pale dot in the rear-view mirror". My immediate thought: *There's* four people who are glad to be getting away from everything at the moment.

.... then I read that the on-board portapotty is (of course) malfunctioning. Where's Howard Wolowitz when you need him?