Saturday, May 9, 2026

Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte

Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte
3:05
Calypso, 1956
Written by Irving Burgie, a.k.a. Lord Burgess

This is a gentle mento folk song about someone, presumably a sailor, who is leaving Kingston and a lovely girl the narrator met there.  The lyrics evoke detailed memories of a cherished place ("Down at the market you can hear / Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear / Ackee rice, salt fish are nice / And the rum is fine any time of year"), sung in Belfonte's delicate, precisely enunciated baritone.  It's an emotional declaration of nostalgia wrapped in a beautiful melody.

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Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte

Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte 3:05 Calypso , 1956 Written by Irving Burgie, a.k.a. Lord Burgess This is a gentle mento folk song about...