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.
http://singyoursongthemovie.com
Simple Simple Simple
Harry Belafonte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Simple, simple, simple like an exercise
That's the song I'm writing Âbout my darling's eyes
Play it on the piano or a sweet celleste
Just so when she hears it
She will feel she's been caressed
Simple, simple, simple not a symphony
Play it sweet and simple, gently I insist
Just so when she hears it
She will know that she's been kissed
Life is oh so simple like a melody
When I can give all my love to thee
Life is oh so simple like a melody
When he can give all his love to me
Simple, simple, simple like an exercise
That's the song I'm singing
ÂBout my darling's eyes
I will sing it softly like a cooing dove
I put it on a record and I'll send it to my love
The lyrics to Harry Belafonte's song "Simple Simple Simple" express the simplicity and sweetness of love. Belafonte compares love to a "simple tune" and an "exercise," suggesting that it requires minimal effort or complexity. The song is specifically written about Belafonte's lover's eyes, as he muses about playing it on the piano or a sweet celleste so that she will feel "caressed" upon hearing it. The simplicity of the song, in this context, draws out the beauty and joy of love, and the singer repeats that "life is so simple...because my love loves me."
The singer's love for their partner is characterized by its ease and simplicity, with no need for grand or elaborate gestures. Belafonte even insists that when the song is played, it should be done gently and sweetly so that it will communicate a sense of being "kissed" or loved. Love is seen as an uncomplicated and natural melody that Belafonte and his lover share together. The final stanza reiterates this simplicity, love is compared to a "cooing dove," and the singer suggests that they will record the song and send it to their love as a simple but heartfelt gift.
Overall, Harry Belafonte's "Simple Simple Simple" is about celebrating the beauty of love and how it can be expressed through the simplest and most tender of gestures. It is an ode to the joy that can be found in simplicity and how sometimes sticking to the basics can be the most beautiful thing of all.
Line by Line Meaning
Simple, simple, life is a simple tune
Life is simple and beautiful, like a simple tune.
Simple, simple, simple like an exercise
Life is easy, like a simple exercise.
That's the song I'm writing Âbout my darling's eyes
I'm writing a song about how beautiful my lover's eyes are.
Play it on the piano or a sweet celleste
Play the song on a piano or a sweet cello to make it sound more beautiful.
Just so when she hears it
She will feel she's been caressed
When my lover hears the song, she will feel like she's been caressed, touched, and loved.
Simple, simple, simple not a symphony
The song is simple and not complex like a symphony.
Life is oh so simple Âcause my love loves me
Life is simple and beautiful because my lover loves me.
Play it sweet and simple, gently I insist
Just so when she hears it
She will know that she's been kissed
I insist on playing the song sweetly and simply so that when my lover hears it, she feels like she's been kissed.
Life is oh so simple like a melody
When I can give all my love to thee
Life is simple and beautiful like a melody when I can give all my love to my lover.
Life is oh so simple like a melody
When he can give all his love to me
Life is simple and beautiful like a melody when my lover can give all his love to me.
I will sing it softly like a cooing dove
I put it on a record and I'll send it to my love
I will sing the song softly and gently like a cooing dove, and then record it to send it to my lover.
Contributed by Kayla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
lrh1966
@DJDrugless Thank you Dougless for giving these obscure Harry Belafonte songs a listen to, it is fun to find rare items(when possible) for posting here...Friends, Lloyd.
VNRose3
It was first issued in 1960 on Coronet a cheap vinyl label . 6 of the tracks are early Belafonte, the others, never in the studio with him, are filler by the Islanders, whoever they were. When my mother bought this record for me she wondered if it were Harry at all. Venezuela, my favoritie, the B side of Mama Looka Bubu, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, cover of a Platters hit, Annabelle Lee, Simple Simple Simple, Only One Like Me, are obscure early Harry.
lrh1966
Thanks for listening and have an awesome week from Lloyd :)