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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Fifteen
Harry Belafonte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is the fruit on the vine
The sweetest love and our truth
Is the love of your youth
At fifteen I saw her and thought her
So beautiful I kissed her from a distance
For my young love was locked inside
The sweetest wine in the world
Is the fruit on the vine
The sweetest love neath the skies
Is the love she denies
At sixteen I met her and Yet her
Sweet loving lips were eager for another
And my young love was cast aside
The sweetest wine in the world
Is the fruit on the vine
The sweetest love I had learned
Is the love thats returned
At eighteen I mood her
Afraid love would once again you loot her
I pursued her and I made her my darling bride
Shes mine now forever and ever
Ill sip the wine of fifteen, sixteen, eighteen
For the fruit on the vine is mine
These lyrics from Harry Belafonte's song Fifteen depict the coming-of-age experience of a young man, who learns about love and heartbreak. The song refers to the sweetest wine and the fruit on the vine, as a metaphor for the beauty and sweetness of youth and love. The first stanza of the song talks about the sweetness of love in one's youth, when the world is full of possibilities and dreams. The young man sees a beautiful girl when he is fifteen and falls in love with her from afar, too shy to approach her. The sweetness of his love is locked inside him, unable to be expressed.
The second stanza describes what happens when the singer is sixteen and meets the girl again. He finds out that she is interested in someone else, and his young love is cast aside. The sweetness of his love is once again left unfulfilled. The third stanza is about the same protagonist at the age of eighteen, who is afraid to lose the love of his life, and so he decides to pursue her. He is successful in making her his bride, and he sips the wine of his memories to cherish the sweetness of his youth and his first love.
Overall, the song Fifteen is a poignant reminder of the bittersweet experience of growing up and learning about love, loss, and finding happiness. It captures the essence of youth and the fleeting nature of time, and serves as a touching tribute to the memories we cherish.
Line by Line Meaning
The sweetest wine in the world
Harry Belafonte believes that the best wine comes from the fruit that grows on vines.
Is the fruit on the vine
The best wine should come from the natural fruit found on a plant.
The sweetest love and our truth
Harry Belafonte argues that the most genuine and sweetest love comes from a person's youth.
Is the love of your youth
People's sweetest and most honest love comes from when they are young.
At fifteen I saw her and thought her
When Harry was fifteen, he first saw a girl that he thought was beautiful.
So beautiful I kissed her from a distance
Although he thought the girl was beautiful, Harry did not approach her directly but kept his distance and admired her from afar.
For my young love was locked inside
Harry was too shy and inexperienced to express his feelings for the girl he liked.
The sweetest love neath the skies
The purest love is the one that remains unrequited and unfulfilled.
Is the love she denies
The girl Harry likes never returns his love, which makes it all the more precious to him.
At sixteen I met her and Yet her
The following year, Harry finally had the chance to meet the girl he liked.
Sweet loving lips were eager for another
However, the girl had already found someone else and was not interested in Harry.
And my young love was cast aside
Harry's infatuation with the girl ended when he realized that she did not feel the same way about him.
The sweetest love I had learned
Through his experience, Harry has learned that the most profound love is the one that is reciprocated.
Is the love thats returned
The love that is given back to a person is the sweetest kind of love.
At eighteen I mood her
Two years later, Harry had another chance to pursue the girl he liked.
Afraid love would once again you loot her
Harry was afraid that the girl would end up with someone else again and he would lose his chance with her.
I pursued her and I made her my darling bride
Despite his fears, Harry was able to successfully woo the girl and marry her.
She's mine now forever and ever
Harry is now happily married to the girl he had a crush on when he was fifteen.
I'll sip the wine of fifteen, sixteen, eighteen
He will always cherish the memories of his youthful infatuation, but he now has an even deeper love for his wife.
For the fruit on the vine is mine
The best things in life are the ones that you work hard for and earn.
Writer(s): Robert Nemiroff, Alan Greene
Contributed by Daniel Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Frederique Roberge
on Angelina
What a joy to discover this site ..and relive that show , something so needed to end the day with a smile !