âPatty 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 1920âs 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 Sistersâ house once stood.)â - 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.
South America Take It Away
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The atom bomb and the Good Humor Man
We think our South American neighbors are grand
We love 'em to beat the band
South America, babaloo, babaloo, ayyiyi, babaloo
One favor you can do, ayyiyi, you can do
You beautiful lands below, don't know what you began
To that Pan American plan
Take back your Samba, ay, your Rumba, ay, your Conga, ayyiyi
I can't keep movin', ay, my chassis, ay, any longer, ayyiyi
Now maybe Latins, ay, in their middles, ay, are built stronger, ayyiyi
But all this takin' to the quakin' and this makin' with the shakin'
Leaves me achin', ol
First shake around and settle there
Then you shake around and settle here
Then you shake around and settle there
That's enough, that's enough, take it back
My spine's outta whack, there's a strange click, clack
In the back of my Sacroiliac
Take back your Conga, ay, your Samba, ay, your Rumba, ayyiyi
Why can't you send us, ay, a less strenu, ay, ous number, ayyiyi?
I got more bumps now, ay, than on a, ay, cucumber, ayyiyi
While all those Latin drums are cloppin'
Like a Jumpin' Jack I'm hoppin' without stoppin', ol
South America take it away
First you shake around and settle there, where?
Then you shake around and settle here, oh, there
And then you shake around and settle there, why Bing?
That's enough, that's enough, take it back
My spine's outta whack, there's a strange click clack
In the back of my Sacroiliac, oh, my achin' back
Take back your Conga, ay, your Samba, ay, your Rumba, ayyiyi
Bring back the old days, ay, of dancin', I remember, ayyiyi
My hips are crackin' ay, I am shriekin' ay carumba, ayyiyi
I got a wriggle and a diddle and a jiggle like a fiddle in my middle, ol
This fancy swishin' imposition wears out
All of my transmission ammunition, ol
Though I like neighborly relations all these crazy new gyrations
Try my patience, ol, South America, take it away
The Andrews Sisters' song South America Take It Away is a playful and humorous commentary on the cultural influence of Latin American music in the United States in the mid-twentieth century. The song is sung from the perspective of an American who has grown tired of the Latin rhythms that are popular in the United States at the time. The Andrews Sisters express their love for "South American neighbors," but they are frustrated by the physical tolls that come with dancing to Latin music, and the lyrics suggest that the cultural exchange between the two regions is perhaps unbalanced.
The lyrics of South America Take It Away are witty and well-crafted, reflecting the clever songwriting style that was a hallmark of The Andrews Sisters' music. The use of phrases like "babaloo ayyiyi" and "ay carumba" adds to the playful tone of the song, while the repeated refrain of "take it away" adds a sense of urgency to the lyrics. The song is also notable for its references to contemporary cultural phenomena in the United States, including the atom bomb and the Good Humor Man.
Line by Line Meaning
Up here in the land of the hot dog stand
The atom bomb and the Good Humor Man
We think our South American neighbors are grand
We love 'em to beat the band
We here in America, with our hot dogs and advanced technology, have a great admiration for South America and their people
South America, babaloo, babaloo, ayyiyi, babaloo
One favor you can do, ayyiyi, you can do
You beautiful lands below, don't know what you began
To put it plainly, I'm tired of shakin'
To that Pan American plan
Hey South America, while I appreciate your music and culture, I'm tired of all this dancing and wish you would ease up on the Pan American plan and take it easy
Take back your Samba, ay, your Rumba, ay, your Conga, ayyiyi
I can't keep movin', ay, my chassis, ay, any longer, ayyiyi
Now maybe Latins, ay, in their middles, ay, are built stronger, ayyiyi
But all this takin' to the quakin' and this makin' with the shakin'
Leaves me achin', ol
I can't keep up with all this dancing, and even though maybe Latin Americans are stronger in the middle, all this shaking and moving is painful for me
First shake around and settle there
Then you shake around and settle here
Then you shake around and settle there
That's enough, that's enough, take it back
My spine's outta whack, there's a strange click, clack
In the back of my Sacroiliac
The constant shaking and dancing is causing problems for my spine, so it's time to stop
Take back your Conga, ay, your Samba, ay, your Rumba, ayyiyi
Why can't you send us, ay, a less strenu, ay, ous number, ayyiyi?
I got more bumps now, ay, than on a, ay, cucumber, ayyiyi
While all those Latin drums are cloppin'
Like a Jumpin' Jack I'm hoppin' without stoppin', ol
Seriously, South America, I'm hurting from all this dancing and my body is covered in bumps. Can't you send us some easier music to dance to?
Bring back the old days, ay, of dancin', I remember, ayyiyi
My hips are crackin' ay, I am shriekin' ay carumba, ayyiyi
I got a wriggle and a diddle and a jiggle like a fiddle in my middle, ol
This fancy swishin' imposition wears out
All of my transmission ammunition, ol
I miss the simple days of dancing, my hips are cracking from all the fancy moves and my energy is running out
Though I like neighborly relations all these crazy new gyrations
Try my patience, ol, South America, take it away
While I appreciate the relationship between our countries, all this new and crazy dancing is testing my patience, so South America, please take it away
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAROLD ROME
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tinalewis3617
My 85-year-old mother started randomly singing bits and parts of this song. She couldn't remember the name of it or who sang it so it took me a while to find it. Thank you for posting it here. She's moving and shaking happily in her seat to this tune right now. Yay!!
@the78prof72
Great! đ
@n2bfw884
Awesome!
@fromthesidelines
Recorded on May 11, 1946.
@darrylcpreston4043
I was a big time fan of Buddy Clark, but he was up against both Bing and The Sisters here, and that simply isn't fair. Great record.
@nonasutherland2657
Doran Clark simply!
@Bishbud
Where else do you hear Sacroiliac in song lyrics? Grandmaster Flash in 1983 in his rap The Message but there was another song in the 1940s, can't recall title atm
@nonasutherland2657
âJourney archive Greats path with Your, selection to feel Stronger.â
There is a very famous {click clack}.
Merry White Christmas đ¶South, America đ¶đ§ââïž
@jasonnstegall
The late, great Desi Arnaz does NOT approve this message. At least I donât think he would.
@nre4d
Desi's version of "Babalu" came out in 1947, after this song. Noted that the song "Babalu" goes back to at least 1939. (Does Cuba count as "South America"?)