- Jamaica Farewell
"Jamaica Farewell" is a famous calypso about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.
The lyrics for the song were written by
Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie ). Lord Burgess was born inBrooklyn, New York in 1926. His mother was fromBarbados and his father was fromVirginia . The song first appeared onHarry Belafonte 's phenomenally successful album "Calypso". It reached number fourteen on "Billboard"'s Pop chart.Though many, including Belafonte himself, have said that the song was popular in the West Indies since long before Burgess, it is believed that Burgess compiled and modified the song from many folk pieces to make a new song, and it is indubitable that it was Belafonte who popularised the song outside the
Caribbean Islands . Burgess acknowledged his use of the tune of another calypso, "Iron Bar".Other well-known singers of "Jamaica Farewell" include Sir Lancelot,
Jimmy Buffett andCarly Simon ..The term "ackee rice" found in the lyrics refers to the fruit of a tropical tree indigenous to the
Ivory Coast and Gold Coast ofWest Africa ; taken to Jamaica in 1793. It has some poisonous properties, yet if properly prepared the fruit is often used as a food additive.This song has been translated into many languages. For example, in
Bangla , there exist several translations, some of which are quite well-known. One Bengali version of the song became an important anthem for theNaxalite revolutionary movement in the 1970s and thus has significance for Bengali intellectuals inKolkata society.External links
* [http://www.janowick.net/jamaica.htm Song lyrics]
* Purdue University article on Ackee: [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/akee.html]
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