“Patty Andrews, the lead singer of the Andrews sisters group was born in Mound, Minnesota on February 16, 1918 in a house that occupied the property where The Gillespie Center stands today.
During the 1920’s Laverne, Maxene and Patty Andrews spent their summers in Mound, living with their parents in a house across the street from the grocery store that was owned by Pete and Ed Sollie, bachelor uncles of the three girls. (Today, Green T Accounting occupies the Sollie grocery store building and The Gillespie Center is on the land where the Andrews Sisters’ house once stood.)” - From a commentary by Tom Rockvam that appeared in The Laker Newspaper during 2005.
They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters. After singing with various dance bands and touring on Vaudeville, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937. Their music entertained Allied troops worldwide during World War II, sold war bonds, appeared in several films (including a few Abbott and Costello features), and performed for soldiers serving overseas. Their first film with Abbott and Costello, the pre-war comedy Buck Privates, introduced their best-known recording, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" which would win Best Song at the Academy Awards.
They also recorded many songs with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and other popular artists of the era. Their popularity was such that after the war they discovered that some of their records had actually been smuggled into Germany after the labels had been changed to read "Hitler's Marching Songs."
After a brief hiatus after the war, the sisters regrouped, performing in clubs throughout the United States and Europe. They broke up in 1953, with Patty's choice to go solo. Their last appearance together was in 1962 on The Dean Martin Show. Laverne, who had cancer, retired soon after; she died five years later, in 1967 at the age of 55.
After a long silence, the two surviving sisters had something of a comeback when Bette Midler recorded a cover of their song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Maxene and Patty appeared both together and separately throughout the 1970s, with Maxene releasing a solo album in 1986. Their most notable comeback; however, was in the Sherman Brothers' nostalgic World War II musical: "Over Here!" which premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in 1974. The musical featured the two then living sisters (Maxene and Patty) and was written with them in mind for the leads. It launched the careers of many, now notable theater and film icons (John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Ann Reinking, et al). Ironically it was the last major hurrah of the sisters and was cut short due to a frivolous lawsuit initiated by Patty's husband to the show's producers.
Throughout their long career, the sisters had sold over 60 million records. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
The last of the three sisters Patty Andrews died of natural causes at her home in Northridge, California on January 30, 2013, just 17 days before her 95th birthday. The sisters were interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, close to their parents.
Back In Your Own Back Yard
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoping ev'ry cloud will be silver lined.
But we all return as we live wo learn,
That we left our happiness behind.
When they sing you "Look for the Silver Lining,"
It is silver dollars they're looking for.
You will find my friend that the rainbow's end,
The bird with feathers of blue, is waiting for you,
Back in your own back yard,
You'll see your castle in Spain, through your window pane,
Back in your own back yard.
Oh you can go to the East go to the West,
But someday you'll come weary at heart back where you started from,
You'll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes,
Back in your own backyard.
The Andrews Sisters' song "Back In Your Own Back Yard" is a poignant reminder that sometimes we leave home in search of something better only to realize that what we were looking for was at home all along. The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, as they describe the expectation of finding happiness and success elsewhere. However, as the lyrics progress, it becomes clear that leaving home was not the answer, and that real happiness lies in returning to one's roots.
The second verse seems to be a critique of the American Dream, which promises upward mobility and prosperity to those willing to work hard, but often falls short. The Andrews Sisters sing that when people are told to "look for the silver lining," what they are really looking for is money – not the intangible pleasures of life. The song then becomes a celebration of small-town life and the joys of returning home. The bird waiting for you in your own backyard is a metaphor for the happiness that is always there, but is often overlooked in the pursuit of something better.
Overall, "Back In Your Own Back Yard" is a bittersweet song about growing up, leaving home, and coming back to where you belong. It speaks to the universal human experience of searching for meaning and fulfillment, only to realize that the answers were there all along.
Line by Line Meaning
We leave home expecting to find a blue bird,
When we leave our home, we have high hopes and expectations of finding happiness like a rare blue bird.
Hoping ev'ry cloud will be silver lined.
We hope that every challenge or difficult situation we face will have a positive outcome and be easy to overcome.
But we all return as we live to learn,
But as we grow and learn through life, we come to understand that our happiness isn't always where we think it is and often lies closer to home.
That we left our happiness behind.
We come to realize that the happiness we were seeking was something we already had and left behind, perhaps in our past or in a place we didn't expect it to be.
When they sing you 'Look for the Silver Lining,'
When people tell you to look for the good in a bad situation or to remain optimistic, they are often actually looking for material gain or monetary benefit.
It is silver dollars they're looking for.
Their motivation is driven by the desire for money or other valuable possessions, not genuine positivity or optimism.
You will find my friend that the rainbow's end,
The ultimate reward that people hope to attain is often located closer to home than they think, and not necessarily at the end of a rainbow.
Is somewhere around your kitchen door.
It is located within your own home or in a familiar and comfortable place where you feel at ease, such as your kitchen or backyard.
The bird with feathers of blue, is waiting for you,
The happiness or contentment you seek is nearby and readily available, waiting for you to recognize its presence in your life.
Back in your own back yard,
This happiness can be found in places closer to home than you might expect, such as your own backyard or familiar surroundings.
You'll see your castle in Spain, through your window pane,
You may have been chasing a dream or a distant goal, but in reality, your own home and surroundings can be just as charming and fulfilling.
Oh you can go to the East go to the West,
You may search far and wide for happiness, traveling to different places and experiencing different cultures or customs.
But someday you'll come weary at heart back where you started from,
But eventually, your travels will lead you back to your original home, where you will realize that your search for happiness was not necessary because it was with you all along.
You'll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes,
You will discover that the happiness you seek is located in places that you are already familiar with and that you may have overlooked before.
Back in your own backyard.
So, it's time to look no further and realize that the happiness you're searching for is right where you are, in your own backyard.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Al Jolson, Billy Rose, Dave Dreyer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J Parker
on Crazy Arms
And I'll move the mountains
If he wants them out of the way
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love, I'd say
I say I'll go through fire
And I'll go through fire
As he wants it, so it will be
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love, you see
Like the wind that shakes the bough
He moves me with a smile
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while
I say I'll care forever
And I mean forever
If I have to hold up the sky
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love am I
Like the wind that shakes the bough
He moves me with a smile
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while
I say I'll care forever
And I mean forever
If I have to hold up the sky
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love am I
sonichits has completely wrong lyrics for this song. Correct ones are - Now blue ain't the word for the way that I feel
And the storm's brewing in this heart of mine
This is no crazy dream I know that it's real
You're someone else's love now you're not mine
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new
But my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine
My troubled mind knows soon to another you'll be wed
And that's why I'm lonely all the time
Please take the treasured dreams I have for you and me
And take all the love I thought was mine
Someday my crazy arms will hold somebody new
But now I'm so lonely all the time
interlude
Crazy arms that reach to hold someone new
But my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine
My troubled mind knows soon that you soon will be wed
And that's why I'm lonely all the time
Crazy arms and lonely all the time
Harold Chernofsky
on Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
i love them