The Ames Brothers got their beginning in Malden, where all four were born. The act consisted of Joe (born 3 May 1921), Gene (born 13 February 1923), Vic (born 20 May 1925 - died 23 January 1978) and Ed (born 9 July 1927).
Born into a non-professional but musical family, the boys were brought up on classical and operatic music. Their parents, David and Sarah Urick, were Russian Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine who read Shakespeare and semi-classics to their nine children from the time they were old enough to listen.
The brothers formed a quartet with a cousin Lennie, and had been touring United States Army and Navy bases entertaining the troops and were offered a job at the Foxs and Hounds nightclub, one of the fanciest clubs in Boston. This one week engagement turned into several months when the word got around of their appearance. At the time, they were going by the name of the Amory Brothers, a name taken from Vic's middle name and they were becoming quite popular in the area. It was at this time that Joe decided to rejoin the group. He said they were just having too much fun together for him to miss out. Taking their act to New York they got a job with bandleader Art Mooney. One day while at Leeds Publishing Company in search of a song called "Should I" that their mother had asked them to sing, Milt Gabler of Decca Records heard them singing it and had them cut a few sides for Decca Records just before the ban which started in January, 1948.
A year later when the ban was lifted, the Ames Brothers were the first artists to record for Coral Records. The name Amory was shortened to Ames. They were swept into national top billing with their first hit record, "Rag Mop," in January, 1950. Doing radio shows for free at times just for the experience, they later became regulars on such shows as The Arthur Godfrey Hour. One of the first acts to appear on the original Ed Sullivan Show when it was known as Toast of the Town, they made their debut with him when the show was telecast live from Wanamaker's Department Store.
Soon, they were the top paid group in nightclubs and supperclubs everywhere and their popularity on television was nationwide. In 1956 they starred in their own show, The Ames Brothers Show, which was seen on Friday nights. It was the first syndicated television show to be shown in foreign countries.
Over their fifteen year career the prolific Brothers notched up 50 U.S. chart entries, 21 of them on the Coral label before signing with RCA Victor. The group disbanded in the 1960s but Ed Ames went on with a successful singing and acting career, including playing Daniel Boone's sidekick, Mingo, on the successful Daniel Boone television series (1964-1970).
They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
Only Only You
The Ames Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me
The Ames Brothers's song It's Only a Paper Moon is a sweet and playful piece that explores the transformative power of love. In the first verse, the lyrics describe a paper moon sailing over a cardboard sea and a canvas sky hanging over a muslin tree. These images are representations of things that are not real, but they take on meaning and weight when someone believes in them. The chorus reinforces this idea, singing that without the love of the person the singer is addressing, the world is just a honky-tonk parade or a melody played in a penny arcade - empty and meaningless. However, if the person believed in the singer, the world would be transformed - a phony, Barnum and Bailey world would become real and happy.
The song's lyrics suggest that by believing in someone, a person can imbue their world with meaning and magic. It's an idea that the singer finds incredibly appealing, as evidenced by the last line: "How happy I would be if you believed in me." The song's message is that love has the power to make the ordinary extraordinary and the unreal real, as long as one believes in the other.
Line by Line Meaning
Say, it's only a paper moon
I want to make it clear that what I'm describing is not real, only a facsimile of the truth
Sailing over a cardboard sea
The ocean I'm describing is not the vast, awe-inspiring body of water you're picturing
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Even if the things I'm describing are not real, they can still be meaningful and significant
If you believed in me
It is only through your trust and belief in me that we can create something special together
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
The sky above us may be nothing more than a painted backdrop, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful
Hanging over a muslin tree
Even the trees we see may only be prop pieces, but their beauty can still be appreciated
Without your love
Without your emotional support, everything I see around me is dull and lifeless
It's a honky-tonk parade
My life becomes a cheap, tacky spectacle without the warmth of your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
The soundtrack to my life becomes reduced to a trite and simplistic tune without your love
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Our reality can sometimes seem like a manufactured circus, with phony, over-the-top displays all around us
Just as phony as it can be
There are so many aspects of our reality that are inauthentic and unfulfilling
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Despite all of these falsehoods, we can still find meaningful connections with each other
If you believed in me
As long as we have each other's trust and support, we can overcome the superficial and find true meaning
It's phony it's plain to see
I acknowledge that the world we live in can often be shallow and fake
How happy I would be
But with your love, I can still find happiness and fulfillment, despite the artificiality of everything around us
If you believed in me
Again, everything hinges on the strength of our relationship and the faith we have in each other
Lyrics © S.A. MUSIC, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Rose, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrPatricioMelo
You you you,
I'm in love with you you you,
I could be so true true true
To someone like you you you.
Do do do what you ought to do do do,
Take me in your arms please do,
Let me cling to you you you.
We were meant for each other
To have to hold and to love.
You you you, there's no one like you you you,
You could make my dreams come true
If you say you love me too.
You you you,
I'm in love with you you you,
I could be so true true true
To someone like you you you.
Do do do what you ought…
@durwoodfoote9607
As a high school junior, I remember this song being played at our Junior-Senior Prom in our high school gym.... the lyrics fairly echoed through the gym, it was beautiful and magical. I am now 82, still married to my then, 15 year-old sweet heart and this beautiful song reminds me of our youth and wonderful life together!
@lonniestevens7963
Durwood Foote So happy for you GOD BLESS
@saldemaio7280
I was a sophomore… I remember dancing with my girlfriend at the winter formal. Tragically she died in automobile accident before we graduated school . This song reminds me of her . I wonder what could have been had we stayed together and married
@wmbmorgan
@Sal DeMaio Sorry for your loss.
@MiaHessMusic
HOw sweet!
@nolafeliks6630
I know exactly your feelings!!
@loriannhudson4190
This was my parents favorite song. They would sing every night before going to sleep. We even played at my daddy's funeral. 💞💟
@bisonette5
Beautiful
@Jerry-gu7yp
Hello Lori, how is everything going with you?
@midnightmagnet1035
This was the very first song I learned to sing when I was 12 months old....but could only sing, "You, you, you"...my Mom wrote it on the back of my birth card , noting all the things I was learning to do since my birth!🥰