- published: 20 Apr 2009
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The Ames Brothers were a singing quartet from Malden, Massachusetts, who were particularly famous in the 1950s for their traditional pop music hits.
The Ames Brothers got their beginning in Malden, where all four were born. The act consisted of brothers Joe (3 May 1921 – 22 December 2007), Gene (born 13 February 1923 – 4 April 1997), Vic (20 May 1925 – 23 January 1978) and Ed (born 9 July 1927).
Born into a non-professional but musically talented family, the boys were brought up on classical and operatic music. Their parents, David and Sarah Urick, were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine who read Shakespeare and semi-classics to their nine children from the time they were old enough to listen.
The brothers formed a quartet with a cousin named Lennie, and had been touring United States Army and Navy bases entertaining the troops and were offered a job at The Fox and Hounds nightclub, one of the fanciest clubs in Boston. This one week engagement turned into several months when the word got around of their appearance. At the time, they were going by the name of the Amory Brothers, a name taken from Vic's middle name and they were becoming quite popular in the area. It was at this time that Joe decided to rejoin the group. He said they were just having too much fun together for him to miss out.[citation needed] Taking their act to New York they got a job with bandleader Art Mooney. One day while at Leeds Publishing Company in search of a song called "Should I" that their mother had asked them to sing, Milt Gabler of Decca Records heard them singing it and had them cut a few sides for Decca Records just before the AFM recording ban which James Petrillo imposed in January, 1948.
"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.
The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.
The earliest recorded use[citation needed] of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." [dubious – discuss] In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.
Drums in my heart are drummin'
I hear the bagpipes hummin'
My Bonnie Lassie's comin' over the sea
My heart with her she's bringin'
I hear the blue bells ringin'
Soon we'll be highland flingin'
My love and me
Somewhere a ship and crew
Sails o'er the ocean blue
Bringing, oh, bringing
My bonnie back to me
That's why the drums are drummin'
That's why the pips are hummin'
My Bonnie Lassie's comin', comin' to me
Sad are the lads she's leavin'
Many a sigh they're heavin'
Even the heather's grievin', cryin' with dew
She's left her native highland
To come and live in my land
She'll love the folks who smile
And say, "how-de-do"
I'll meet her at the shore
Playin' the pipes for her
Dressed in a kilt and a tam o'shanter too
Drums in my heart are drummin'
I hear the bagpipes hummin'
My Bonnie Lassie's comin', comin' to me