Banana Man
| Banana Man | |
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| Written by | Joe Hawley |
|---|---|
| Appears on | Banana Man (Single), Complete Demos, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum |
| Sung by | Joe Hawley |
| Genre | Rock |
| Language | English |
| Links: | Youtube Spotify Bandcamp Demo (Youtube) Demo (Bandcamp) Lounge Version (Bandcamp) |
Banana Man is a song by Joe Hawley.
History
Joe states that the song came from a time that he awoke in the middle of the night during his high school years to the sound of African villagers chanting on his TV (He thinks it may be due to his Samsung GXTV's timer). Later, at one of his younger sister's dance competitions in Myrtle Beach, he wrote the lyrics alone in their hotel room.[1]
Banana Man was recorded by Tally Hall in November of 2003 and first released as a single in the same year.[2] It was later released on Complete Demos in 2004.[3] This demo included an extended whistling bridge and had a general rougher feel to it.
Banana Man was later recorded for Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum the next year. In 2007, the song would be remixed and partially re-recorded for Atlantic Records. The intro vocals would be re-recorded, and the guitar and harmonies are mixed louder.
A "lounge" version of Banana Man was included on Admittedly Incomplete Demos, which was recorded for the Taken For A Ride episode of Tally Hall's Internet Show.
Song Meanings
When asked about its meaning in a 2005 chat on thecarpetedwall.com (Coz Baldwin's website), Joe stated "there is no hidden secret meaning, work vs. play".
Music Video
The music video for Banana Man was created as a class project for Jennifer Hardacker’s Video Art II class at the University of Michigan[4], during November or December of 2003.[5] It was directed and edited by Joe Hawley.[6] The video stars Joe Hawley as himself and the titular character of Banana Man, with the other members of Tally Hall (as the Zimbabwe songbirds) and friends from U of M. The video won "Best Music Video" at the 2004 Flint Film Festival.[7] The video was later uploaded to tallyhall.com where it could be streamed and downloaded.
On March 5th 2005, the video would make its way onto AlbinoBlackSheep, a website for videos and animations by internet creators.[8] There, it would gain immense popularity, becoming the most popular video on the site for a time. The video would reportedly be downloaded over 2 million times[9] and go on to accumulate 4.6 million views on YouTube as of April 2022.[10]
Banana Man also saw small success on television, being used in the MTV show "The Real World: Key West" as the theme song for Johnny Bananas.
Trivia
- The line "And then forget about de yellow from de beckoning man" originally said "colorful man".
- On the YouTube content ID system, they credit "Clifton Chenier" as the sole writer of Banana Man. Clifton Chenier was a musician that played zydeco, a combination of blues and indigenous music of the Louisiana Creoles. It's possible he was a big influence on the song and Joe himself.
- Joe mentions the existence of a "Dance Dance Revolution-style Playstation game influencer somewhere", but he doesn't remember the name.
- There is a quiet, (1, 2, 3, 4!) before the second verse and the music pops in.
- There are whispers during the instrumental section of the bridge, the demo version being transcribed by Skye and Andre.[11]
- Turn The Lights Off animator Drew Mokris owns the Zimbabwe songbirds and cage from the music video.[12]
- In 2009, a man named Vaughn English performed the song as a contestant on the show American Idol. He was eliminated shortly after.[13]
Lyrics
Ladies and gentlemen, Colonel P.T. Chester Whitmore is proud to present Bung Vulchungo and the Zimbabwe Songbirds! Do you see banana man Hopping over on de white hot sand Here he come with some for me Freshly taken from banana tree (1,2,3,4!) Banana man me want a ton Gimme double and a bonus one Gimme more for all me friends Dis banana flow will never end Do you want a banana? Peel it down and go Mmm mmm mmm mmmm Do you want a banana? Dis banana for you Tonight we dance around de flame Then we get to play de spirit game Spirit names we shout out loud Shake de thunder from de spirit cloud All de songbirds in de tree Chant a tune to let de spirits free Then we see them in de night Spirits jumping by de fire light Do you want a banana? Peel it down and go Mmm mmm mmm mmmm Do you want a banana? Dis banana for you Look you You too uptight, you know You could laugh and kick it back and go (wheee) But without a rhythm or a rhyme You do not banana all de time Fly away from city on de run Try to make a little fun Look you Come to de bungalow African't you tell me told you so Don't you love de bumping of de drum Make you shake until de bum go numb Let de bongo play you 'til you drop Dis banana never stop Forget all your troubles and go with the flow Forget about whatever you may never know Like whether whatever you doing is whatever you should And whether anything you do is ever anything good And then forget about banana when it stick in your throat And when it make you wanna bellow but you stuck in a choke And then forget about de yellow from de beckoning man Who make you take another one and make a mock of your plan Bungalay Bungalow Make up your mind And tell me no Well it's nine o'clock And it's getting dark And the sun is falling from the sky I've never left so early And you may wonder why Tomorrow morning on de plane No banana make you go insane Floating back to busy town No banana make you want to frown Do you want a banana? Peel it down and go Mmm mmm mmm mmmm Do you want a banana? Dis banana for you
Tabs/Chords
Unavailable, if you have made tabs or chords of the song please add them!
References
- ↑ Joe Hawley Email Interview. October 2019.
- ↑ TalentMatch Tally Hall website archive
- ↑ Banana Man (Demo). Bandcamp.
- ↑ WhaleJoey.com. About page.
- ↑ Jennifer Hardacker resume
- ↑ Jonk Music Tally Hall article
- ↑ Pingry Record April 29th 2005
- ↑ AlbinoBlackSheep 2005 archive
- ↑ TINA WHELSKI AUGUST 9, 2006 Joe Hawley Interview
- ↑ Tally Hall - Banana Man. YouTube.
- ↑ Video of isolated whispers in the song's bridge.
- ↑ Drew Mokris tweet
- ↑ Video of Vaughn's performance
| Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum | |
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* indicates tracks only available with 2008 digital downloads, a download code or with the 2021 non-vinyl releases ** indicates tracks only available with a download code or on the 2021 non-vinyl releases
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Banana Man (Demo) · Ruler Of Everything (Demo) · Good Day · Welcome To Tally Hall · Light & Night · You & Me · & · Nathan Naimark · Club Can't Handle Me (featuring Casey Shea) · Just A Friend · Turn The Lights Off (b-side: Light & Night)