“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.
One Meat Ball
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To find an eatin' place in town.
He looked the menu thru and thru,
To see what a dollar bill might do.
One meat ball,
One meat ball,
One meat ball,
He told that waiter near at hand,
The simple dinner he had planned.
The guests were startled one and all,
To hear that waiter loudly call.
One meat ball,
One meat ball,
One meat ball,
All he could get was one meat ball.
Little man felt so ill at ease,
He said: "Some bread Sir, if you please."
The waiter hollered down the hall:
You get no bread with your one meat ball.
Little man felt so very bad,
One meat ball is all he had.
And in his dreams he can still hear that call
You get no bread with your one meat ball.
The Andrews Sisters’ song One Meat Ball tells a story of a hungry little man who enters a restaurant looking for a meal, only to realize that he can afford only one meatball with his dollar bill. He comically and politely requests some bread from the waiter to go with his one meatball, but the waiter responds rudely, informing him that he doesn't get to have bread with such a small meal.
The lyrics highlight the economic struggles that many people faced during the Great Depression, and how a small inconsequential aspect like a bread loaf can make all the difference to someone who has nothing to eat. The story told in the song can be seen as a metaphor for the economic inequalities and hardships of the time.
Line by Line Meaning
Little man walked up and down,
A small man was walking around trying to find a place to eat.
To find an eatin' place in town.
He was searching for a restaurant or diner to have a meal.
He looked the menu thru and thru,
He carefully examined the options available in the menu.
To see what a dollar bill might do.
He was trying to find a meal that he could afford with the limited money he had.
One meat ball,
He ordered only one meatball for his meal.
One meat ball,
He repeated his order of one meatball.
One meat ball,
Yet again, he was served only one meatball.
All he could get was one meat ball.
He could not afford more than one meatball with the money he had.
He told that waiter near at hand,
He shared his simple meal plan with the waiter standing nearby.
The simple dinner he had planned.
He had planned and hoped for a basic and affordable meal.
The guests were startled one and all,
Other diners were surprised to hear his order for just one meatball.
To hear that waiter loudly call.
The waiter made his order known to the other guests as well.
Little man felt so ill at ease,
The small man was uncomfortable and embarrassed.
He said: "Some bread Sir, if you please."
He asked for some bread politely.
The waiter hollered down the hall:
The waiter shouted loudly from a distance.
You get no bread with your one meat ball.
He was told that he could not get bread with his limited meal.
Little man felt so very bad,
The small man felt extremely sad.
One meat ball is all he had.
He had to make do with just one meatball for his entire meal.
And in his dreams he can still hear that call
He remembers the moment even in his dreams.
You get no bread with your one meat ball.
The waiter's words were etched in his memory.
Lyrics © DELLA BLUE MUSIC LLC
Written by: HY ZARET, LOUIS C. SINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
AdAstra45
My Mom got me hooked on this group. Then one day, I finally heard this one - she and I laughed over this. So this reminds me of my late mother. <3
Bill Freese
When I was a child, if you asked my mother to pass the bread, there was a fair chance she would declare, "you gets no bread with one meatball."
Carissa Kirksey
Thank you for posting this. It is the version from radio that I first heard this ridiculously funny song! Happy to find it!
Suzanne Tyrrell
My mother wrote in my baby book that this was my favorite song when I was a baby. So now I found it online.
Michael Arsham
Our dad used to sing this to us when we were little kids.
Ruben Nogales
Great lyrics lol love it
Paulo spurgeon de paula De paula
Great memories... one meat ball & no spaghetti! 🤩
M. Jay
My thanks, too. Born in '61, I was a fan of the Andrews Sisters at ten years old. Go figure.
Kid Named Finger
@utub 2002 here i love 40s and Andrew sisters ❤️
utub
Born in 2004 and a fan of the Andrews Sisters at age 7. I might just be the only one in this world aha