“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.
I Did't Know the Gun Was Loaded
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through the west she won her fame
Being handy with the gun
But she drove the men insane
'Cause she'd whip out her pistol
And shoot most any guy
And sing out this alibi
I didn't know the gun was loaded
And I'm so sorry, my friend
I didn't know the gun was loaded
And I'll never, never do it again
But one night she made a slip
Shot the sheriff in the hip
So the law, it took a hand
And made Effie take the stand
And she pled, "Oh, your honor
I'll know you'll turn me loose
When you hear my one excuse"
I didn't know (she didn't know) the gun was loaded
And I'm so (and I'm so) sorry, my friend
I didn't know (she didn't know) the gun was loaded
And I'll never, never do it again
I didn't know (she didn't know)
The gun was loaded (that the gun was loaded)
But regarding the gun that I toted
All I did was hold it high
And go
I'll never, never do it again
Yes, the jury all agreed
That Miss Effie should be freed
But the sheriff's jealous wife
Was indignant (yes, indeed)
So she borrowed a pistol
And shot this village belle
And sang as Miss Effie fell
I didn't know the gun was loaded
And I'm so (and I'm so) sorry, my friend
I didn't know (she didn't know) the gun was loaded
And I'll never, never do it again
I didn't know (she didn't know)
The gun was loaded (that the gun was loaded)
But regarding the gun that I toted
All I did was hold it high
And go
I'll never, never do it again
The Andrews Sisters' song "I Didn't Know the Gun Was Loaded" tells the story of a woman named Miss Effie who was known for being handy with a gun in the wild west. She was also notorious for whipping out her pistol and shooting any man who crossed her. However, one night she accidentally shot the sheriff in the hip, which landed her in court with the law. She claimed that she didn't know that the gun was loaded and promised never to do it again.
The lyrics of the song are satirical in nature, as they poke fun at the idea that one can casually use a gun without knowing whether the bullets are loaded or not. The line "All I did was hold it high and go, I'll never, never do it again" serves as a metaphor for the carelessness of gun use, and how it can have harmful consequences.
The song highlights the dangers of guns and how they can cause harm, even if the person using them doesn't intend to do so. It also reflects a society that was accustomed to guns, and how the use of guns was seen as a normal aspect of everyday life.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Miss Effie was her name
Introducing the character, Miss Effie
Through the west she won her fame
Miss Effie became famous in the west
Being handy with the gun
Miss Effie was skilled with firearms
But she drove the men insane
Men were attracted and enamoured by her skill and beauty
'Cause she'd whip out her pistol
Miss Effie would show off her firearm
And shoot most any guy
Miss Effie would use her gun to intimidate men
And sing out this alibi
She would give this common excuse when people were hurt
I didn't know the gun was loaded
Miss Effie claimed she didn't know the gun was loaded
And I'm so sorry, my friend
She expresses remorse for what happened
But one night she made a slip
Miss Effie made a mistake one night
Shot the sheriff in the hip
Miss Effie accidentally shot the sheriff
So the law, it took a hand
She was arrested for what she had done
And made Effie take the stand
Miss Effie had to give a testimony in court
And she pled, "Oh, your honor
Miss Effie begged the judge for mercy
I'll know you'll turn me loose
She believed she would be set free
When you hear my one excuse"
Miss Effie pleads for leniency from the judge
I didn't know (she didn't know) the gun was loaded
She repeats her excuse
And I'll never, never do it again
She promises she will never make the same mistake again
Yes, the jury all agreed
The jury came to a collective decision
That Miss Effie should be freed
Miss Effie was exonerated from her charges
But the sheriff's jealous wife
The sheriff's wife was jealous of Miss Effie
Was indignant (yes, indeed)
The sheriff's wife was furious
So she borrowed a pistol
The sheriff's wife acquired a gun illegally
And shot this village belle
The sheriff's wife killed Miss Effie
And sang as Miss Effie fell
The sheriff's wife sang as Miss Effie was dying
But regarding the gun that I toted
She wants to clarify her side about the gun
All I did was hold it high
She only used the gun to show off
And go I'll never, never do it again
She repeats her promise to not repeat her mistake
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HANK FORT, HERBERT LEVENTHAL
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