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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Mark Twain
Harry Belafonte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd hobnob with them southern belles and ev'ry roustabout. I'd listen to them paddle wheels and hear the leadsman shout!
Chorus:
Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below. Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show.
Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico.
There were gamblers, crooks and fakers and a minstrel man who'd dance. A singin' gal, Simone Lamour, imported straight from France.
(Chorus)
The calliope is quiet now. The rudder's thick with rust. The main deck and the paddle wheels are covered high with dust.
But granddad's in his glory, still standin' on the bow. A halo 'round his pilot's cap and I can hear him now.
(Chorus)
The lyrics of Harry Belafonte's "Mark Twain" are an ode to the golden age of Mississippi's steamboats, specifically one called "The Stage". Through the voice of the singer, who relates his grandfather's tales, the song describes the lively and diverse community that used to inhabit these boats. Along with "southern belles and ev'ry roustabout", there were "gamblers, crooks, and fakers", minstrel men, and imported French singers like Simone Lamour. However, the real star of the show is the Mississippi River itself. The chorus begins with a call to "Mark Twain", the penname of Samuel Clemens, who worked as a riverboat pilot before becoming a famous writer. The repeated line "Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below" is a reference to his most famous work, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", where "mark twain" means that the water depth is two fathoms or 12 feet.
The song creates a vivid picture of a time and a place that no longer exists. The image of the showboat as a "floating palace" is a reminder of the important role these boats played in entertainment and culture. The calliope, a musical instrument powered by steam and often found on boats, is mentioned in the final verse as "quiet now", emphasizing the decay and disappearance of this once-thriving world. However, the singer's granddad is still "in his glory", standing on the boat's bow and proudly recalling his days as a river pilot. The song celebrates this legacy and the enduring spirit of those who once sailed down the Mississippi.
Line by Line Meaning
My granddad used to tell me, "Boy, when I was just your age, I was a river pilot on a showboat called The Stage.
My grandfather used to recount his story of being a river pilot on a showboat called The Stage when he was my age.
I'd hobnob with them southern belles and ev'ry roustabout. I'd listen to them paddle wheels and hear the leadsman shout!
I mingled with the southern rich and the common folk aboard the vessel. I would enjoy the paddle wheels and hear the leadsman's call.
Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below. Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show. Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico.
Mark Twain, the popular pen name of a riverboat pilot, indicates that the boat is currently in two fathoms deep of water. The crew is preparing to disembark and begin the show. As we sail down the Mississippi and around the Gulf of Mexico, the banjos play on.
There were gamblers, crooks and fakers and a minstrel man who'd dance. A singin' gal, Simone Lamour, imported straight from France.
The showboat had an eclectic mix of people aboard, such as gamblers, crooks, fakers, a minstrel man who would entertain and a singer named Simone Lamour imported from France.
It was a floatin' palace, boy, that showboat called The Stage, and granddad was the king of it when he was just my age.
The Stage, a showboat, was a floating palace, and my grandfather was the king of it when he was my age.
The calliope is quiet now. The rudder's thick with rust. The main deck and the paddle wheels are covered high with dust.
The calliope is no longer played, and the rudder's condition has worsened due to rust. The main deck and paddle wheels are barely visible under the thick layer of dust.
But granddad's in his glory, still standin' on the bow. A halo 'round his pilot's cap and I can hear him now.
Despite the boat's current state, my grandfather still stands proud on the bow with a pilot's cap and halo around it. I can still hear him describing his time on The Stage.
Mark Twain, it's two fathoms deep below. Mark Twain, heave the gang plank. Start the show. Mark Twain, play those banjos as we go down the Mississippi, 'round the Gulf of Mexico.
Again, referring to Mark Twain warning of the two fathoms deep of water, the crew prepares to disembark and start the show. The banjos play and the boat sails down the Mississippi and around the Gulf of Mexico.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: HARRY BELAFONTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Merle Molofsky
Perfect! Thank you so much for posting this. I've been looking for this, without knowing the title. Finally, I Googled "Marking on the twine is four fathoms lyrics", and found the lyrics attributed to Harry Belafonte. Of course I immediately went back to YouTube, and found this. I should have remembered that the singer was Harry Belafonte, since his voice and style is so unique and recognizable. And the sound quality is excellent, which I assume is due to your remastering the original. Anyway, finally! I recently told someone that Mark Twain took his pen name from the act of gauging, and cited the one line I remembered of this song, "Marking on the twine was four fathoms", but the person with whom I discussed this insisted the gauger probably was calling "Marking on the twain". Now I can share this video, and prove my point! And, of course, I can enjoy hearing this whenever I like....