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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Scratch Scratch
Harry Belafonte Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, we went out to a party
It was me and Ben and Mac
And before I know what happen
I get an itchin' on me back

Scratch, scratch me back
Scratch, scratch me back
It really is a fact

The less I itch, the more I scratch

Well I was quite embarrassed
'Till my two friends I did see,
Well they were madly itching
And they were screaming louder that we

Scratch, scratch me back
Scratch, scratch me back
It really is a fact
The less I itch, the more I scratch

Now dis scratching was contagious
And it didn't take very long
Everybody dere was itching
As dey join me in dis song

Scratch, scratch me back
Scratch, scratch me back
It really is a fact
The less I itch, the more I scratch

Well de host he got excited
Picked up de phone in haste
Quickly dial a number
And said "Man come spray dis place"

Scratch, scratch me back
Scratch, scratch me back

It really is a fact
The less I itch, the more I scratch

Overall Meaning

The song "Scratch Scratch" by Harry Belafonte tells the comical tale of an itchy situation that quickly spirals out of control. Belafonte recounts a night out with his friends, Ben and Mac, where they attend a party. At some point during the party, Belafonte begins to feel an itch on his back, which he tries to relieve by scratching. However, the more he scratches, the worse the itch becomes, leading him to believe he may be embarrassing himself. It is then that Belafonte sees his friends also scratching themselves and making a scene.

Belafonte notes the contagiousness of this kind of scratching, as more and more people at the party join in on the action. Eventually, the host of the party calls someone to come "spray" the place, most likely referring to some sort of bug spray. The song is whimsical in nature and highlights the idea of how infectious certain behaviors can be among groups of people. The catchy refrain of "scratch, scratch me back" is a clever way of emphasizing the idea of contagiousness, both in behavior and thoughts.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, we went out to a party
I went to a party with my friends Ben and Mac

It was me and Ben and Mac
Three of us were at the party

And before I know what happen
Suddenly something happened to me

I get an itchin' on me back
I started feeling an itch on my back

Scratch, scratch me back
I started scratching my back

Scratch, scratch me back
I continued to scratch my back

It really is a fact
It's true

The less I itch, the more I scratch
The more I try not to itch, the more I end up scratching

Well I was quite embarrassed
I felt ashamed

'Till my two friends I did see,
Until I realized my friends Ben and Mac were also itching

Well they were madly itching
They were itching a lot