Popular Jazz vocal group during the 1930's. Martha, Connie, and Vet perfect… Read Full Bio ↴Popular Jazz vocal group during the 1930's. Martha, Connie, and Vet perfected a mix of rhythm and harmony that would define Jazz vocal groups to come and influence The Andrews Sisters and dozens of other "Sister" acts, both Black and White, along with The Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, ( as well as current groups The Pfister Sisters and The Stolen Sweets.)

From New Orleans, they were classically trained and switched over to jazz as they grew up along with the form. First recorded in 1925, they went on to play vaudeville and ended up on radio in California. After being heard coast to coast on one of the first nationwide radio hookups, they became stars of radio in NYC headlining both their own programs, as well as working on shows with Bing Crosby and The Mills Brothers until the trio disbanded in 1936, mainly due to their marriages. They also appeared in many films of the time. (See youtube)

Connie Boswell, who later changed the spelling of her name to Connee, continued as a solo singer after the demise of the group, influencing singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. She did all this despite being unable to walk alone due to childhood polio and other back injuries.

"There is only one person I ever tried to sing like and that person was Connee Boswell."
Ella Fitzgerald, NBC News interview

"Connee Boswell is, without a doubt, the most widely imitated singer of all time."
Frank Sinatra

The best website on them is www.bozzies.com.
www.TheBoswellSisters.com
www.Facebook.com/theboswellsisters
www.Twitter.com/thesistasdotcom

Why Don't You Practice What You Preach?
The Boswell Sisters Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You're always tellin' me
What I ought to do
Tellin' me it's wrong to look at somebody new
You're tellin' me and I'm tellin' you
Why don't you practice what you preach?

You're always tellin' me
To wait until you call

I wait and wait and wait
And then you don't call at all
You're callin' me, well I'm callin' you
Why don't you practice what you preach?

You tell me I'm your sugar pie...
Yeah!
You swear you'll never tell a lie
Yeah!
You even say you hope to die
Well how come you say it with your fingers crossed.

You're always askin' me
To name that certain day
Then you change the subject
And you think it's OK
You're askin' me, well I'm askin' you
Why don't you practice what you preach?
(Bridge)
I've had a lot of time to do some thinkin'
Stayin' home alone every night...
And now I'm takin' time to view some talkin'
Separatin' wrong from right!

Now, you're always tellin' me
What I ought to do
Tellin' me it's wrong to look at somebody new
You're tellin' me, well I'm tellin' you
Why don't you practice what you preach?

Always tellin' me to wait until you call
I wait and wait and wait
And you don't call at all...
You're callin' me, well I'm callin' you
Why, why don't you practice what you preach?

You tell me I'm your sugar pie
You swear you'll never tell a lie
You even say that you hope to die
How come you say it with your fingers crossed?

You're always askin' me
To name that certain day
Then you change the subject
And you think it's OK
You're tellin' me, I'm tellin' you
Why don't you practice what you preach?

Why don't you tell me
Why don't you practise what you preach?
Why don't you tell me
Why don't you practise what you preach?

Why don't you practise what you preach?!

Overall Meaning

The Boswell Sisters' "Why Don't You Practice What You Preach?" is a song that is centered around the idea of hypocrisy. The lyrics describe a partner who continually tells their significant other what to do, but doesn't follow their own advice. The song starts with the partner telling the singer not to look at someone else, but it is clear that the partner has done this themselves. The singer questions why the partner doesn't practice what they preach. The partner also tells the singer to wait until they call, but doesn't follow through. They are constantly requesting things from the singer but not reciprocating, which leads to the singer questioning why they continue to put up with it.

Line by Line Meaning

You're always tellin' me What I ought to do Tellin' me it's wrong to look at somebody new You're tellin' me and I'm tellin' you Why don't you practice what you preach?
You're always criticizing me and telling me what to do, saying I shouldn't look at anyone else. But it's hypocritical because you don't follow your own advice. Why don't you practice what you preach?

You're always tellin' me To wait until you call I wait and wait and wait And then you don't call at all You're callin' me, well I'm callin' you Why don't you practice what you preach?
You always tell me to wait for your call, but then you don't follow through. It's not fair. Why don't you do what you say you'll do?

You tell me I'm your sugar pie... Yeah! You swear you'll never tell a lie Yeah! You even say you hope to die Well how come you say it with your fingers crossed.
You tell me sweet things and swear you're truthful, even promising you'd die before lying. But your actions say otherwise, as you're not trustworthy at all.

You're always askin' me To name that certain day Then you change the subject And you think it's OK You're askin' me, well I'm askin' you Why don't you practice what you preach?
You ask me to pick a specific day or make plans, but then you avoid the subject or change it. You shouldn't do that if you don't want me to do it to you. Why don't you practice what you preach?

Why don't you tell me Why don't you practise what you preach? Why don't you tell me Why don't you practise what you preach? Why don't you practise what you preach?!
Why don't you be honest and consistent instead of telling me what to do without doing it yourself? Practice what you preach!

Writer(s): Al Hoffman, A Goodhart, Maurice Sigler

Contributed by Brayden L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS