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 Little Lyric of Great Importance
Harry Belafonte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

This evening there is quite a program in store for you
What? s with the Chad Mitchell trio, Odetta
and there? s Miriam Makeba and the Folk Singers
They? re going to be here for quite a while
And earlier today during the rehearsals
we have decided that we have better put
all of the most strenuous pieces up front.
So that after we have keeled over from exhaustion

There would not be any great effort
Needed for the end of the program
Consequently this next song we? re about to do
Is the most difficult song that we have on the program this evening
Ah we had a much larger choir to start with
There was some 40 members, but during the rehearsal period
So strenuous was this piece
Most of the men had to take off because of laryngitis
Ah enough said about that because if I talk to much
I won? t have the energy to sing the song
A Little Lyric Of Great Importance

I wish, I wish

I wish the rent, I wish the rent
Was heaven sent

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Harry Belafonte's "A Little Lyric of Great Importance" present a humorous and self-referential introduction to a musical performance featuring various folk singers. The singer sets the stage for the program by explaining that they have arranged the most challenging songs at the beginning of the performance, so that they can get them out of the way before exhaustion sets in. The singer then humorously alludes to the difficulties of rehearsal, including the loss of many choir members to laryngitis. The song itself, "A Little Lyric Of Great Importance," is introduced as the most difficult song of the evening.

The lyrics can be interpreted as a commentary on the nature of performing arts and the idea that a certain degree of struggle and sacrifice is often involved in creating beautiful and moving music. By highlighting the challenges of rehearsal and the difficulty of the songs in the program, the singer points to the fact that music requires hard work and dedication, but that the end result is worth the effort.

Line by Line Meaning

This evening there is quite a program in store for you
There is an interesting show tonight, consisting of performances by the Chad Mitchell trio, Odetta, Miriam Makeba and the Folk Singers.

And earlier today during the rehearsals we have decided that we have better put all of the most strenuous pieces up front.
During rehearsals it was decided that they would place the most difficult performances at the beginning of the show, in case performers became too tired to complete the show.

So that after we have keeled over from exhaustion there would not be any great effort needed for the end of the program
The decision was made so that if performers became too tired to perform at the end of the show, no one would be disappointed.

This next song we’re about to do is the most difficult song that we have on the program this evening
The upcoming song is the most difficult one in the show.

Ah we had a much larger choir to start with. There was some 40 members, but during the rehearsal period so strenuous was this piece most of the men had to take off because of laryngitis
Initially, there were forty vocalists in the choir, but due to the difficulty of the song, most of the male vocalists had to take a break during rehearsals because of laryngitis.

Ah enough said about that because if I talk too much I won’t have the energy to sing the song
The performer decides not to explain further because he needs his energy to perform the song.

I wish, I wish
The performer has a desire.

I wish the rent, I wish the rent
The performer specifically wants rent to be something specific.

Was heaven sent
The performer wants it to be ideal and comfortable, just like heaven.

A Little Lyric Of Great Importance
The name of the song.

Writer(s): Harry Belafonte, Robert Corman, Langston Hughes

Contributed by Natalie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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