JAMAICA FAREWELL
HARRY BELAFONTE
SONGWRITER: IRVING BURGUIE
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: CALYPSO
LABEL: RCA VICTOR
GENRE: MENTO/POP
YEAR: 1956
Harry Belafonte(born Harold George
Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, songwriter, activist,
and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical
style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso(1956)
was the first million-selling LP by a single
artist.
Belafonte is best known for his recordings of
"The Banana Boat Song",
with its signature "Day-O" lyric, and "Jamaica Farewell".
He has recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American
standards. He has also starred in several films,
including Carmen Jones(1954),
Island in the
Sun(1957), and Odds Against
Tomorrow(1959).
Belafonte considered the actor, singer and
activist Paul Robeson a
mentor, and was a close confidant of Martin Luther
King Jr. in the Civil Rights
Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. As he later
recalled, "Paul Robeson had been my first great formative influence; you
might say he gave me my backbone. Martin King was the second; he nourished my
soul." Throughout his career, Belafonte has been an advocate for political
and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid
Movement and USA for Africa. Since
1987, he has been a UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador. He was a vocal critic of the
policies of the George W.
Bush presidential administrations.
Belafonte acts as the American
Civil Liberties Union celebrity
ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
Belafonte has won three Grammy Awards(including
a Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In
1989, he received the Kennedy
Center Honors. He was awarded the National
Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category and
is the oldest living person to have received the honor.
"Jamaica Farewell" is a
Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The
lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an
American-born, half-Barbadian songwriter. It
is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.
The song appeared on Harry Belafonte's 1956
album Calypso. It
reached number 14 on the Billboard Pop chart.
Down the way
Where the nights are gay
And the sun shines daily on the mountaintop
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
Down at the market you can hear
Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear
Ackee, rice, saltfish are nice
And the rum is fine any time of year
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
Sounds of laughter everywhere
And the dancing girls swing to and fro
I must declare my heart is there
Though I've been from Maine to Mexico
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
Down the way
Where the nights are gay
And the sun shines daily on the mountaintop
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop
But I'm sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
Sad to say I'm on my way
Won't be back for many a day
My heart is down
My head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.