“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.
Sing a Tropical Song
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where Caribbean breezes play
The quaint little natives will greet you
And smile as they welcome you
This way
As they welcome you
This way
We have a national characteristic
Which is very strong
Because we put the accent upon a wrong syllable
And we sing a tropical song
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
The point of interest beside the coconuts
Is that we put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And we sing a tropical song
We could show the natural wonders of the scenery
To you
We could show the native birds & perhaps give two or three
To you
And describe the climate & also tell the elevation
We could very hastily introduce the population
We could show you the hotel & the need of places
We could take you to the bar & visitors may fall upon their faces
If only we had a track we could probably take you to the races
But we prefer to accquaint you with the following interesting fact
That on the isle I'm on from which we come
We have a national characteristic
Which is very strong
And if you should remain here
You will discover one peculiar thing
Before very long
That you have put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And you sing a tropical song
And so we say welcome
To you
The Andrews Sisters' song "Sing a Tropical Song" is a cheerful and upbeat tune that captures the essence of the beautiful tropical island of Trinidad. The song is primarily a cheerful welcome to the island where the Caribbean breezes play and the locals are happy to introduce their home to visitors. The lyrics express enthusiasm and highlight the charming and welcoming nature of the island's inhabitants. However, the song is also an exploration of the quirks of the island's unique culture. The performer reveals that on the isle they come from, the national characteristic is a tendency to put the accent on the wrong syllables while singing a tropical song.
The lyrics effectively capture the charm, vibrancy, and character of the island, revealing that the locals are hospitable and accommodating to visitors, and create a delightful atmosphere while singing their tropical songs. The song is crafted in a way that showcases the people's pride in their island and its culture, with cleverly constructed verses and catchy musical arrangements. The singer's unique accent adds to the layers of authenticity in the song.
Line by Line Meaning
On beautiful tropical Trinidad Isle
We are from the stunning and tropical Trinidad Isle.
Where Caribbean breezes play
The Caribbean winds are blowing around us as we speak.
The quaint little natives will greet you
The locals on the island are friendly and will greet you.
And smile as they welcome you
They will be happy to see you and greet you with a warm smile.
This way
They will show you where to go and welcome you to their place.
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
We come from a place where our national characteristic is strong.
We have a national characteristic
Our nationality has a distinctive trait.
Which is very strong
It's a significant part of our identity.
Because we put the accent upon a wrong syllable
We emphasize the wrong syllables when we speak.
And we sing a tropical song
Our music is tropical and upbeat.
The point of interest beside the coconuts
Aside from the coconuts, our accent is a notable characteristic.
Is that we put the accent upon the wrong syllable
We misplace emphasis on syllables when we talk.
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
We're from an island where this is common.
We could show the natural wonders of the scenery
We have many beautiful sights to show you.
To you
We'll gladly share them with you.
We could show the native birds & perhaps give two or three
We can introduce you to the local birds, and maybe even give you a couple as a gift.
And describe the climate & also tell the elevation
We can explain the weather patterns and tell you about the island's geography.
We could very hastily introduce the population
We can quickly introduce you to the people who live here.
We could show you the hotel & the need of places
We can direct you to places like the hotel and other important locations.
We could take you to the bar & visitors may fall upon their faces
If we take you to a bar, you might have too much fun and end up falling over!
If only we had a track we could probably take you to the races
If we had a racetrack, we could show you some exciting horse races.
But we prefer to acquaint you with the following interesting fact
Instead, we want to share with you this fascinating fact.
That on the isle I'm on from which we come
We're from an island where the accent is often misplaced.
We have a national characteristic
It's a defining trait for our nationality.
Which is very strong
It's a significant and noticeable feature.
And if you should remain here
If you stay with us for a while.
You will discover one peculiar thing
You'll soon notice something interesting.
Before very long
It won't take long.
That you have put the accent upon the wrong syllable
You'll start to also mispronounce certain syllables.
And you sing a tropical song
You'll start to sound like you're singing a tropical tune too.
And so we say welcome
We welcome you to our beautiful tropical island.
To you
We're excited to have you here!
Contributed by Ella J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
n00se
On beautiful tropical Trinidad Isle
Where Caribbean breezes play
The quaint little natives will greet you
And smile as they welcome you this way
As they welcome you this way
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
We have a national characteristic
Which is very strong
Because we put the accent upon a wrong syllable
And we sing a tropical song
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
The point of interest beside the coconuts
Is that we put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And we sing a tropical song
We could show the natural wonders of the scenery to you
We could show the native birds and perhaps give two or three to you
And describe the climate and also tell the elevation
We could very hastily introduce the population
We could show you the hotel and the need of places
We could take you to the bar and visitors may fall upon their faces
If only we had a track we could probably take you to the races
But we prefer to accquaint you with the following interesting fact
That on the isle I'm on from which we come
We have a national characteristic
Which is very strong
And if you should remain here
You will discover one peculiar thing
Before very long
That you have put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And you sing a tropical song
And so we say welcome to you
Dominic Martinelli
On beautiful tropical Trinidad isle,
where Caribbean breezes play.
The quaint little natives will greet you and smile,
as they welcome you this way.
As they welcome you this way.
Upon the island from, which we come,
We have a national characteristic which is very strong.
Because we put the accent upon the wrong syllable,
and we Sing A Tropical Song.
Upon the island from, which we come,
The point of interest besides the coconut and the sarong,
Is that we put the accent upon the wrong syllable,
and we Sing A Tropical Song.
We could show the natural wonders of the scenery - to you.
We could show the native birds and perhaps give two or three - to you.
And describe the climate and also tell the elevation,
We could very hastily introduce the population.
We should show you the hotel and many of the fascinating places.
We could take you to the bar where visitors may fall upon the faces.
If we only had a track, we could probably take you to the races.
But we prefer to acquaint you with the following interesting fact.
That on the island from which we come
we have a national characteristic which is very strong.
And if you should remain here, you will discover one peculilar thing,
Before very long
That you have put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And you Sing A Tropical Song
And so we say welcome -
To you
Lesco Brandon
Three voices with 100 percent identical harmony. How did they do that?
beyoncetyratina
It's so wonderful to hear their voices :D It was idiotic of me to stop listening to their songs. Love their harmonic voices!
n00se
On beautiful tropical Trinidad Isle
Where Caribbean breezes play
The quaint little natives will greet you
And smile as they welcome you this way
As they welcome you this way
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
We have a national characteristic
Which is very strong
Because we put the accent upon a wrong syllable
And we sing a tropical song
Upon the isle I'm from which we come
The point of interest beside the coconuts
Is that we put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And we sing a tropical song
We could show the natural wonders of the scenery to you
We could show the native birds and perhaps give two or three to you
And describe the climate and also tell the elevation
We could very hastily introduce the population
We could show you the hotel and the need of places
We could take you to the bar and visitors may fall upon their faces
If only we had a track we could probably take you to the races
But we prefer to accquaint you with the following interesting fact
That on the isle I'm on from which we come
We have a national characteristic
Which is very strong
And if you should remain here
You will discover one peculiar thing
Before very long
That you have put the accent upon the wrong syllable
And you sing a tropical song
And so we say welcome to you
Matt Leinhauser
Absolutely love these ladies so beautiful and great music ❤❤❤❤
Degsie
What witty lyrics! We put the acCent upon the wrong syllAble! Priceless! This is REAL class!
jpp452
More talent here than in all of pop music in 2020.
Richard Jones
What a gem - from start to finish - a flawless diamond!
lwellsnyc
I DO love this, too! Philip Azzollini and Tim Hunter did this at Maxene's Memorial in NYC - and through all the tears it brought so many smiles! Maxene would have LOVED it....
Bobbie Andrews
Wonderful Game and all the music is so wonderful and beautiful
Paladingrad1992
My grandparents had the original record of this. I never could understand exactly what they were saying, but this version along with the video made it understandable, Thanks for posting.