Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in Harlem, NYC, on 1 Ma… Read Full Bio ↴Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in Harlem, NYC, on 1 March 1927; died 25 April 2023) was an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Caribbean-American pop star, he popularized Jamaican mento folk songs which was marketed as Trinbagonian Calypso musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso, released in 1956, was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.

Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing the "Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career, he was an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes.

Belafonte 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 was the oldest living person to have received the honor.

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A Day In The Life Of A Fool
Harry Belafonte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A day in the life of a fool
A sad and a long lonely day
I walk the avenue
And hope I'll run into
The welcome sight of you
Coming my way

I stop just across from your door

But you're never home any more
So back to my room
And there in the gloom I cry
Tears of goodbye

"Till you come back to me

That's the way it will be
Every day in the life of a fool

Overall Meaning

Harry Belafonte's "A Day In The Life Of A Fool" is a song that portrays feelings of loneliness, longing, and unrequited love. Belafonte sings of his daily routine, walking down the avenue, hoping to see the person he loves. However, his love interest is never home, which leaves him saddened and crying in his gloomy room. The lyrics show the pain of unrequited love, as he longs for his love interest to return to him, but knows that things will stay the same until they do.

The song's lyrics are relatable to many people who have experienced heartbreak and longing for someone who is not available. The repetition of the line "Every day in the life of a fool" displays how the singer feels – foolish, for continuing to hope for a love that may never materialize, yet powerless to do anything about it. The song's melody is melancholic, and Belafonte's voice conveys the sorrow of the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

A day in the life of a fool
A description of the life of a foolish person

A sad and a long lonely day
A day filled with sadness and loneliness

I walk the avenue
Walking down the street

And hope I'll run into
Wishing to meet

The welcome sight of you
Seeing a friendly face

Coming my way
Approaching me

I stop just across from your door
Pausing near your residence

But you're never home any more
But you're hardly ever around

So back to my room
Returning to one's living quarters

And there in the gloom I cry
Crying in the darkness

Tears of goodbye
Experiencing sadness and separation