βPatty 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 1920βs 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 Sistersβ house once stood.)β - 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.
Three Little Sisters
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Three little sisters
And each one only in her teens
One loved a soldier
One loved a sailor
And one loved a lad from the marines
For the three little sister
They were the fairest
So said the soldier
So said the sailor
And so said the lad from the marines
And when the boys marched away
The girls said they'd be true until
The boys came back someday
Now the three little sisters
Three little sisters
Stay home and read their magazines
You can tell it to the soldier
Tell it to the sailor
And tell it to the marine
(scat singing)
Three little sisters
Two little sisters of mine
And each one's only in her teens (ah-h-h-h)
One loved a soldier
One loved a sailor boy
I loved the man from the marines
Oh, my two little sisters
They were the fairest of all
From Iceland right to the Philippines (ah-h-h-h)
So said the soldier
So said the sailor boy
So said the guy from the marines
And when the boys marched away
The girls said they'd be true until
The boys marched back someday
Now, the three little sisters
The three little sisters
Stay home, home and read their magazines
You can tell it to the soldier
Tell it to the sailor
Ooh, tell it to the marine
The Andrews Sistersβ song Three Little Sisters is a catchy and nostalgic tune about three young ladies, each in her teenage years, who fall in love with men from different branches of the military. One of them loves a soldier, the second loves a sailor, while the third is head over heels for a marine. The three girls are considered the fairest from Iceland to the Philippines, and as the song says, this fact is acknowledged not only by the girls themselves but also by their respective sweethearts. The lyrics talk about how the girls promised to stay true to their men and wait for them to come back home from the war, regardless of how long they may be away.
However, as the song continues, we learn that the soldiers have marched away, and the girls are left home reading magazines. Through scat singing and repetition, the song drives the message of longing and the uncertainty that comes with separation. Gender roles are also highlighted in the lyrics, as it is the girlsβ responsibility to stay faithful to their lovers while they are fighting for their countryβs freedom.
Overall, Three Little Sisters is a simple and playful song that captures the mood and ethos of an era in which war was a constant presence. It highlights the love and sacrifice of young Americans who were separated by distance and conflict, and their longing to return to their loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
There were three little sisters
There were three sisters who were young in age and presumed to be naive.
Three little sisters
Re-emphasizing the number of sisters being referred to.
And each one only in her teens
All three sisters were in their teenage years and regarded as inexperienced.
One loved a soldier
One of the sisters was in love with a soldier.
One loved a sailor
Another sister was in love with a sailor.
And one loved a lad from the marines
Lastly, the third sister was in love with a man from the marines.
For the three little sisters
Commenting on the sisters' physical appearance and beauty.
They were the fairest
Reinforcing the sisters' beauty and attractiveness.
From Iceland to the Philippines
The sisters' beauty was recognized and admired in different parts of the world.
So said the soldier
The soldier who was in love with one of the sisters confirmed their beauty.
So said the sailor
Similarly, the sailor in love with another sister also confirmed their beauty.
And so said the lad from the marines
Lastly, the marine who was in love with the third sister also confirmed their beauty.
And when the boys marched away
When the men enlisted and were sent away to war.
The girls said they'd be true until
The sisters promised to remain faithful to their respective lovers.
The boys came back someday
Until the time when the soldiers were to return home from war.
Now the three little sisters
Re-visiting the sisters' present state.
Stay home and read their magazines
The sisters presently live a mundane life, passing the time by reading magazines.
You can tell it to the soldier
Suggesting that the sisters are indifferent to what their former lovers are doing.
Tell it to the sailor
They do not care about updates regarding their former sailor lover.
And tell it to the marine
Repeating that the sisters are uninterested in news about their marine lover.
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: VIC MIZZY, IRVING TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
n00se
There were three little sisters
Three little sisters
And each one only in her teens
One loved a soldier
One loved a sailor
And one loved a lad from the marines
For the three little sister
They were the fairest
From Iceland to the Philippines
So said the soldier
So said the sailor
And so said the lad from the marines
And when the boys marched away
The girls said they'd be true until
The boys came back someday
Now the three little sisters
Three little sisters
Stay home and read their magazines
You can tell it to the soldier
Tell it to the sailor
And tell it to the marine
Three little sisters
Olivia Gonzales
I love Patty's performance. She makes all of their songs more enjoyable!!! I'm almost 22 and wish more people around my age sang like this, and just had fun!!!
Rian
I hope we can meet.
CryoBombz
Iβm 13 and couldnβt agree more!
Dennis Pierson
The Andrews Sisters make me smile every time I hear them. :)
Denyse Lake
LOVE the music from this era!!!!
Platinum 1860
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spambedam
I was a tiny kid when this was new and I remember it on the radio - Everything you saw and heard then was about the war and soldiers and sailors - I tear up hearing it again
Rico Juan
i saw this movie just this year, when i heard about it last year. i got bored and looked it up on my little roku. this movie is called private buckaroo and its on amazon prime video. i absolutely love the andrews sisters and i love this movie. i showed it to my grandma after i watched it and she thought patty rolling her eyes like that was freaky. i think it took alot of skill, because i tried to do it and i couldnt. much less sing while doing so. i miss them so much. most of my playlists consist of them.
JonahTheFurious
Patty is so expressive and exciting to watch, I absolutely love watching her perform as much as I enjoy listening to her! She was a born entertainer, that's for sure.
Russell Adams
Magical to say the least. And to think, pop music of our time is all so seedy and processed these days.