SOUTH AMERICA, TAKE
IT AWAY
Rome
Bing and the Andrews
Sisters recorded this song on May 11, 1946. It spent 19
weeks in the
Billboard charts, including one week
as No. 2.
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
South America, baba-loo, ay-yi-yi,
baba-loo
One favor you can do, ay-yi-yi, 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
Take back your Samba, ay!, your Rumba,
ay!, your Conga, ay-yi-yi!
I can't keep movin', ay!, my chassis,
ay!, any longer, ay-yi-yi!
Now maybe Latins, ay!, in their middles,
ay!, are built stronger, ay-yi-yi!
But all this takin' to the quakin'
and this makin' with the shakin' leaves me
achin', olé!
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, ay-yi-yi!
Why can't you send us, ay!, a less
strenu-, ay!, -ous number, ay-yi-yi!
I got more bumps now, ay!, than on
a, ay!, cucumber, ay-yi-yi!
While all those Latin drums are cloppin',
like a Jumpin' Jack I'm hoppin'
without stoppin',
olé!
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, ay-yi-yi!
Bring back the old days, ay!, of
dancing I remember, ay-yi-yi!
My hips are cracking, I am shrieking
"Ay-Carumba!", ay-yi-yi!
I got a wriggle and a diddle and
a jiggle like a fiddle in my middle, olé!
This fancy swishin' imposition wears
out all of my transmission ammunition, olé!
Though I like neighborly relations
all these crazy new gyrations try my
patience, olé!
South America, take it away
