Poor little Sweet Pea, Billy Strayhorn, William Thomas Strayhorn, the biggest human being who ever lived, a man with the greatest courage, the most majestic artistic stature, a highly skilled musician whose impeccable taste commanded the respect of all musicians and the admiration of all listeners.

Ellington’s piling up of names—nickname (“Sweet Pea”), professional identity (Billy Strayhorn), and full legal name—reads like a ceremonial roll call, enlarging a figure often treated as Ellington’s “behind-the-scenes” collaborator. The hyperbolic praise (“biggest human being,” “majestic artistic stature”) is less about physical scale than moral and artistic magnitude: courage under pressure, refinement of judgment (“impeccable taste”), and mastery recognized by peers. The line functions as a corrective to historical under-crediting, asserting Strayhorn’s authorship-level importance within the Ellington universe and framing musicianship as an ethical as well as aesthetic achievement.