12 Comments

For many of us, the only possible exposure to what Bananaland would have been like was a popular song made famous by Harry Belafonte in the mid-1950s: "Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!"

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Yes and that was a protest song that most people understood as just a fun tropical ditty

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And Stan Freberg parodied in the presence of a musician after my own heart ("It's too shrill, man...").

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Wow, you sent me down a rabit hole. I was curious to know who really owned UFC, only to find out that they became Chiquita Bananas which continued with the horror/terror until quite recently. They employed the right-wing paramilitary AUC who up to 2003 (maybe later) killed people to force them give up their land, then to be sold to the corporation. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/14/americas/colombia-chiquita-banana-intl-latam/index.html

Background: https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/chiquita-made-killing-colombias-civil-war

NOW I have to find out who owned Chiquita, and what happened to them -- thanks a lot! 😉

I really mean this; I love stories that encourage me to dig deeper.

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Yep, a lot of dirty business behind the cheerful facade...

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I really enjoy reading your stories! They are informative and I love the pictorial attributes! I look forward to reading it on Sunday mornings!

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Thanks -- I really appreciate it!

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Belafonte's adaptation is rooted in a long long history of "call and response" work songs found in all cultures. The lyrics are apolitical.

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You're right that it's a traditional song, but it seems that Belafonte's choice to record it when he did was an act of protest, or at least commentary... https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/harry-belafonte-and-the-social-power-of-song

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Looked it up: Day-O was No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts 1956. Pretty cool.

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Yes. He was a widely recognized social activist and many critics at the time embraced the tune for political reasons. I'm only commenting on the lyrics and his incredible voice. Very traditional work song without explicit political commentary. That most likely explains it's mass popularity.

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Louis Prima does a great version:

https://youtu.be/8QqkrIDeTeA?si=-Wia-Wy4oSDsZfcv

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