“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.
Pagan Love Song
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the starlit waters linger in our eyes
Native hills are calling, to them we belong
And we'll cheer each other with the Pagan love song
Come with me where moonbeams light Tahitian skies, oh skies
And the starlit waters linger in your oh pagan
Der rum dah lah dah lah dah lah dah dah lah
Dah lah dah lum doo ooh dle doo dah dah
Boo lah doo lah dah lah dah, lah doo lah dah
Doo lah doo dah lah doo lah dah dah
Oh, come with me
Where the moonbeams
Light up the skies
Shine in your eyes
Where we belong
Aaahh
Pagan love song
South Sea islands
I hear them call
To you, my all
And now I sing
Tah dah dah lah dah lah dah lah
Tah dah dah lah dah lah dah la
The lyrics to The Andrew Sisters's song Pagan Love Song transports the listener to a tropical paradise where moonbeams light up Tahitian skies, and starlit waters create a romantic ambiance. The beckoning of native hills adds to the allure of this idyllic setting where people belong together, sharing their love with the Pagan love song. The lyrics suggest a desire to escape from the drab reality of everyday life and to immerse oneself in a world of pure emotions, abandoning oneself to the powers of love.
The Pagan Love Song evokes the sense of nostalgia for a world that represents a simpler life, before western civilization had a significant impact on local customs and values. The lyrics emphasize the strong connections between people and their land, with the native hills "calling" for the lovers to return to where they belong. The song celebrates the beauty of a place where nature and people are in harmony and where love flows unconstrained. Overall, the lyrics of Pagan Love Song suggest the desire to relinquish oneself to the experiences of a magical place where love reigns supreme.
Line by Line Meaning
Come with me where moonbeams light Tahitian skies
Join me in a beautiful paradise lit by moonbeams in the Tahitian sky
And the starlit waters linger in our eyes
The shining water reflects in our eyes, giving us a mesmerizing view
Native hills are calling, to them we belong
The surrounding hills call out to us and we feel a sense of belonging there
And we'll cheer each other with the Pagan love song
Together, we will sing the joyous and romantic Pagan love song
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NACIO BROWN, ARTHUR FREED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
P H
The Virgin Prunes looked different, back in the day.