Yes, We Have No Bananas
Encyclopedia
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song
by Frank Silver
and Irving Cohn
from the 1922 Broadway
revue
Make It Snappy. Sung by Eddie Cantor
in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones
, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman
, and others. It was covered later by Benny Goodman
and his Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers, and many more. It is one of the top songs
of the 20th century. It also inspired a follow-up song, "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues", recorded by Billy Jones and others in 1923.
shortage caused by a banana blight in Brazil is usually suggested as the inspiration for the song. The town of Lynbrook
on Long Island, New York, claims the songwriters composed it there and that the catchphrase "Yes! We have no bananas" was coined by Jimmy Costas, a local Greek American
greengrocer
. However, a 1923 article in the Chicago Tribune
stated that the phrase originated in Chicago
in 1920. Cartoonist Thomas A. Dorgan
(1877–1929) is also credited with inventing and/or popularizing the phrase.
The song was the theme of the Outdoor Relief protests in Belfast
in 1932. These were a unique example of Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland
protesting together, and the song was used because it was one of the few non-sectarian songs that both communities knew. The song lent its title to a book about the depression in Belfast.
The term has been resurrected on many occasions, including in Britain
during World War II
, when the British Government banned the importing of bananas for an entire five years. Shop owners put signs stating "Yes, we have no bananas" in their shop windows in keeping with the war spirit.
The song also appeared in the popular Archie Comics
and was mentioned in the 1939 film Only Angels Have Wings
and the 1954 movie Sabrina
. It appears as a leit motif in The Comic
, often to underscore serious moments in the life of the film's protagonist (played by Dick Van Dyke
). In The English Patient
, a few verses are sung as a joke. The song was also subject to parody in The Muppet Show
, sung by Swedish Chef
and various anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables. A German version, "Ausgerechnet Bananen", was featured in Billy Wilder
's 1961 slapstick comedy One, Two, Three
, played by an over-the-hill dance band at a drab East Berlin hotel bar. In the 1970s, Harry Chapin
used this phrase in the chorus to his song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas". More recently, the phrase was used in 2006 when Cyclone Larry
destroyed a large portion of Australia's banana crop, leading to a shortage for most of the year.
The song was the subject of a column by Sigmund Spaeth
, who suggested that the melody could have been derived from a combination of parts of other songs including the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah
by Handel
, "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean
", and "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls
". Spaeth subsequently repeated his argument as an expert witness
.
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
by Frank Silver
Frank Silver
Frank Silver , a U.S. songwriter. He co-wrote & co-composed the popular song "Yes, We Have No Bananas" in 1923 with Irving Cohn. Frank Silver was a jazz band drummer.-References:...
and Irving Cohn
Irving Cohn
Irving Cohn was a British-American songwriter, best known for "Yes, We Have No Bananas", which he co-wrote with Frank Silver in 1923....
from the 1922 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Make It Snappy. Sung by Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
in the revue, the song became a major hit in 1923 (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones
Billy Jones (singer)
William Reese Jones was a tenor who recorded during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on The Happiness Boys radio program....
, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman
Irving Kaufman (singer)
Irving Kaufman born Isidore Kaufman Syracuse, New York was a prolific early twentieth century singer, recording artist and Vaudeville performer...
, and others. It was covered later by Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
and his Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers, and many more. It is one of the top songs
Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
of the 20th century. It also inspired a follow-up song, "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues", recorded by Billy Jones and others in 1923.
History
A bananaBanana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
shortage caused by a banana blight in Brazil is usually suggested as the inspiration for the song. The town of Lynbrook
Lynbrook, New York
Lynbrook is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 19,427 at the 2010 census. The Village of Lynbrook is inside the Town of Hempstead. The Village of Lynbrook's current mayor is William Hendrick....
on Long Island, New York, claims the songwriters composed it there and that the catchphrase "Yes! We have no bananas" was coined by Jimmy Costas, a local Greek American
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
greengrocer
Greengrocer
A greengrocer or fruiterer is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables; that is, in green groceries. Greengrocer is primarily a British and Australian term, and greengrocers' shops were once common in suburbs, towns and villages...
. However, a 1923 article in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
stated that the phrase originated in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1920. Cartoonist Thomas A. Dorgan
Thomas A. Dorgan
Thomas Aloysius Dorgan also known as Tad Dorgan, was an American cartoonist who signed his drawings as Tad. He is known for his cartoon panel Indoor Sports and the many words and expressions he added to the language.He was born in San Francisco on April 29, 1877...
(1877–1929) is also credited with inventing and/or popularizing the phrase.
The song was the theme of the Outdoor Relief protests in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
in 1932. These were a unique example of Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
protesting together, and the song was used because it was one of the few non-sectarian songs that both communities knew. The song lent its title to a book about the depression in Belfast.
The term has been resurrected on many occasions, including in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the British Government banned the importing of bananas for an entire five years. Shop owners put signs stating "Yes, we have no bananas" in their shop windows in keeping with the war spirit.
The song also appeared in the popular Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
and was mentioned in the 1939 film Only Angels Have Wings
Only Angels Have Wings
Only Angels Have Wings is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences.It inspired the 1983 television...
and the 1954 movie Sabrina
Sabrina (1954 film)
Sabrina is a 1954 comedy-romance film directed by Billy Wilder, adapted for the screen by Wilder, Samuel A. Taylor, and Ernest Lehman from Taylor's play Sabrina Fair...
. It appears as a leit motif in The Comic
The Comic
The Comic is a 1969 drama/black comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars former Disney regulars Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright and Michele Lee as Bright's love interest...
, often to underscore serious moments in the life of the film's protagonist (played by Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
). In The English Patient
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
, a few verses are sung as a joke. The song was also subject to parody in The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
, sung by Swedish Chef
Swedish Chef
The Swedish Chef is a Muppet that appeared on The Muppet Show. He was operated by Jim Henson and Frank Oz simultaneously and is now puppeteered by Bill Barretta.-Character:...
and various anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables. A German version, "Ausgerechnet Bananen", was featured in Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's 1961 slapstick comedy One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and written by him and I.A.L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettö, három by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed partly from" Ninotchka, a 1939 film co-written by Wilder...
, played by an over-the-hill dance band at a drab East Berlin hotel bar. In the 1970s, Harry Chapin
Harry Chapin
Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
used this phrase in the chorus to his song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas". More recently, the phrase was used in 2006 when Cyclone Larry
Cyclone Larry
Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005-06 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season. Larry originated as a low pressure system over the eastern Coral Sea on 16 March and was monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in...
destroyed a large portion of Australia's banana crop, leading to a shortage for most of the year.
The song was the subject of a column by Sigmund Spaeth
Sigmund Spaeth
Sigmund Gottfried Spaeth was a musicologist who traced the sources and origins of popular songs to their folk and classical roots...
, who suggested that the melody could have been derived from a combination of parts of other songs including the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
by Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean
My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
"My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" is a traditional Scottish folk songwhich remains popular in Western culture.-History:The origin of the song is unknown, though it is often suggested that the subject of the song may be...
", and "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls
I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls
I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls or "The Gipsy Girl's Dream" is a popular aria from The Bohemian Girl, an 1843 opera by Michael William Balfe, with lyrics by Alfred Bunn. It is sung in the opera by the character Arline, who is in love with Thaddeus, a Polish nobleman and political exile. It has...
". Spaeth subsequently repeated his argument as an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
.
See also
- Gros Michel banana – banana cultivarCultivarA cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
blighted by Panama diseasePanama diseasePanama disease, a Fusarium wilt, is a banana plant disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The fungus attacks the roots of the banana plant. The disease is resistant to fungicide and cannot be controlled chemically.-History:...
and said to be the inspiration for the song.