Harry Chapin sings BANANAS Live 1977

[oldgoober1]

he has a heart attack while driving, pulls in front of truck....and his wife sues and wins..thats fucked up...glad he's gone

[Encinobro]

I sang background vocals on this song on the album. What a great time I had in the studio with Harry that day. After the recording, we went to do a show in Scranton, PA and sang with Harry on stage. What a memory and what a great time we had. I really miss Harry. We will always be blessed with his music.

[BlackSabbathFan98]

I live in the town next to Scranton Pa. Its an honor to know that where i go to my favorite diner, a truck crashed and bananas went everywhere.

[GrrrWhatAWasteOfTime]

That's gotta be about the lamest crowd in concert history. Great performance, though, despite the lack of audience participation.

[PigletPrideWithLove]

i have 3000 pounds of bananas inmy trunk:)

[tjs2474]

Guys, show a little respect. HC was awarded the Congressional medal of honor posthumously for his efforts to end world hunger. He literally gave all his net proceeds to charity. And for god's sake, this song is intended to be a satire. Seeing flippant people call this man a sick fuck hurt's my soul.

[thedude1347]

@tjs2474 I agree.  It hurts my soul too.

[AllieJ123]

Miss ya Harry!

[sgt10383]

DID HARRY give ALL the proceeds to the widow and her children like he said he would? I read how he gave tons of money to "end world hunger"...???

[LWOPP]

@sgt10383 His widow won a huge settlement in the wrongful death case against the trucking company whose driver hit Harry, and she gave most of it to her late husband's charities.

[wwhud]

@rich629paHE IS A SICK FUCK

[wwhud]

SICK SONG HARRY SICK VERY VERY SICK

[mminner123]

i live near scranton (where the truck crashed)

[barnaby2011able]

I was going from New Jersey to Pittsburg PA down I 80 pulling a heavy trailer with a F250. Had to fly down a mountain about 100mph to get up the next at 30. I saw a sign for Scranton and reminded me of this song.

[mminner123]

@barnaby2011able cool that must have ben EXCITING/SCARY

[12962terry]

My frind owens the house that the truck ran in to in scranton PA its just down the street from wher my MOM lives what a small world we live in

[mokeymina]

@shadowninja479- hey whats wrong with afro-haired trannys who play bass and can easily make them appear and disappear at will? nothing wrong on my end what do you think?

[GrrrWhatAWasteOfTime]

@mokeymina Bad lighting combined with bad choice of shirt, not that you would care.

[aquasandswampechidna]

man it sucked that he die

we will all miss you

[MrGrnJns]

Wish I was at this concert... must have been 30 people there...



[MrGrnJns]

Wish I was at this concert... must have been 30 people there...

[shadowninja497]

At 3:something when it's showing the Afro guy an the piano guy the the Afro guy has boobs *.*

[motokops22]

My aunt sent me Greatest Stories Live on tape not long after I got my CDL. She is crazy :)

[Calistogakid2u]

@motokops22

LOL! She sounds very cool.

[GrrrWhatAWasteOfTime]

@motokops22 but she probably got your attention!

[ReginaVipers2009]

i have the atrack of harry chapin

[superfag5000]

Fuck yea Harry!!!!Sing it man!!!!See you when I get up there buddy!!

[chefjoeyrof]

I know this hill....played this song for years every time I drove down this hill..and roared out loud with laughter every time!...We miss you Harry. You were one of a kind. I still have my World Hunger Year sweatshirt that I bought from WNEW radio way back when with your caricature on it!

[AllieJ123]

Harry, keep the change. You can still count on the cheap seats. I still love and miss you <3

[tashaLuv1]

The Banana Man,I remember the T shirt my father wore.

[s5sprite]

I just looked up picture of hurricane Agnes, and it showed a picture of a banana truck crashed...It said 15 tons of bananas....So I remember the song, "30,000 pounds of bananas!".... Haha Good times :D

[GordoTheJap]

My buddy Rusty bought this album, just for this song. He really got a kick out of it.

[Racquetballplayer76]

Ease that long-cramped day away! I love this song.

[lulubelle410]

I remember the day he died as if it was yesterday. What a loss. A great musician who really knew how to get an sudience involved. I saw him at least 5 times a year in his heyday. I once traveled over 1000 miles to attend a concert

[ladyarwen3]

RIP Harry .... I miss you

[alancw3]

thank you bearznorthcathy for bananas. harry was so great and ashame that we lost him at such an early age.

[samhainlives]

This song is so rad. I like it even better because I'm from Scranton.

[cogsandgags]

i was nine years old and i loved this song and still do but this live version sucks

[clebo99]

I'm a big fan....but there is something that bothers me about him and this song....and it's that is he moves the capo up the neck with the key changes. It's like he couldn't play the tougher chords of the song. Kind of a rookie move, but he did sell millions of records so who am I to judge him.

[bupkiss24]

why does John hold his ear

[mollyswitchblade]

@bupkiss24

Singers often cup the ear to stay in tune; They want to hear the air vibration from their mouth louder than bone conduction

[crockettslate]

@bupkiss24 so he can hear him self

[kapsicom]

Is it just me who thinks he looks a lot like Jason Segel at times?

[mostindubitably]

Where in Germany was this filmed?

[Demspissmeoff]

Not really. German audiences were VERY stoic and reserved back then. Not familiar with American humor.

[skitfel]

@Demspissmeoff yea so what they wernt into it at all.

[skitfel]

what a shitty audience

[Evan2451]

Best ever

[brews666]

I had no idea this was a true story! Thank you youtube and Harry.

[TheYAPPAR]

i love bannas and heavy weights so this song is perfect!!!!!!!! YOU ROCK HARRY CHAPIN

[jom184]

a true story for sure. Scranton was the banana capital or the East coast.

[sirlonghair]

slayer needs cover this song it's bad ass

[b55k57]

I don't know what it is, every show that takes place at "Rockpalast" in Germany, they may as well put zombies in the audience. I'm German descent, and believe me, I don't want nothing to do with my ethnic background, German people are too stiff, no emotions! Same thing with a show that Leo Kottke does there in 1977, no enthusiasm by the audience.

[PFCHarrie]

There's never going to be a great singer like Harry Chapin again. My whole childhood was raised on this mans music.

[JKevorkian]

The first song I ever heard from him.Ive since bought the box set :)

[39zonk]

I'd almost forgotten about this wonderful song until I was driving my neice to school this morning. She was eating a banana and so we started singing "Yes, we have no bananas..."

Then this song came back to me. I can't wait to show her this when she gets home this afternoon!

Thanks Harry, we miss you.

[88musicrox]

I never get tired of this song. It is such a great song

[88musicrox]

this is my favorite song by Harry Chapin next to coreys coming

[sharooni71]

Harry Chapin played this for my son, Paul, at his last concert in Loiisville, KY. He was taking requests and my 5 year old son yelled "Play the Banana Song." Harry Chapin really knew how to put on a concert that everyone could enjoy. Taken from us much too young.

[plasticnapoleon22]

i love that growl he had in the 70's, he kinda lost it later though

[Dan18green]

My whole family was born and raised in Scranton, PA but me.....Now we live in Florida (it sucks) Im only 15 but i know what good music is..This is my 2ed fav song, cats in the cradle is my fav......I love these songs...they really make me think about life now and later and in the past, hes the only singer that makes me think at all.....

[antarcticafreeze]

me 2... except i still live here

[Kauwhaka]

It's based on a real truck crash (with bananas) from March 26, 1965. Couldn't find any info on the crash, just the date.

[MW277j]

That was Harrys talent taking a snippet of a story and building a song around it.

[88musicrox]

i disagree

[MW277j]

I stayed in a hotel in Scranton, PA. in 2007, the Bar had a internet connected juke box. I of course input my money just to hear this song . As the song played the cook came from the kitchen just to talked about how how it was based in a true incident. Not sure if he was really recalling the actual incident Harry sang about but if you have ever spent any time in Scranton PA its not hard to picture a truck driver losing control coming down a hill to fast.

[M4thU]

Its true. My grandparents live on the hill and street he went down. Lol, as u might guess, they moved shortly after that

[Yawzacorp]

this just made my day :)

[JustaSmuck]

That audience didn't understand a word he said so it's hard to get into the song. If he sang it in Hebrew, we probably wouldn't get it either.

[theincrediblehurt]

Stupid crowd.... I love this song .... Wish I was there

[selatik1]

THey were German. Probably couldn't follow all the English vernacular

[jimmysmith999]

That audience needs to wake the heck up! I would be screaming with Harry!!

[sirlonghair]

norman tubuculuar LOL

[brougham89]

Colloquially it may refer to something deviant, bad, dull, or weird. The song is awesome by the way.

[sirlonghair]

this song needs a remake love to hear velvet revlover cover it

[Ppedoroblwcitp75]

I'm gonna say........ NO!

[surfside48]

What Kind of lover is A velvet revlover? Or, did you just SKREW UP your spelling?

[BroadwayGalGA]

OK, great performance. The audience was GERMAN. No other comment needed. I feel badly that Harry couldn't get a better response - not possible!

[mhanimemastr2]

gay in literal sense does not mean bad, or dumb, but in the sense that society has come to adopt it as, it means something ungood or bad, stupid, etc. Gay hasn't always meant homosexual, either. Gay originally meant happy or gleeful, not homosexual. so gay really doesn't have a meaning in reality. anyways, yeah, the crowd was very unenthusiastic, i want to smack each of them across the face. lol.

[wheatfarmermt]

This video brings back many happy memories of Harry's music. I saw him in concert in Omaha, NE in 1978. What a tremendously gifted and giving performer. I bought one of his "You can always count on the cheap seats" tee shirts. My kids wore that thing as pajamas for ever. Thanks so much for posting :)

[takemasu45]

lol i first heaqrd this song when i was a little girl, i didnt understand it but it was my most favourite song!!! when i got older i listened toi the words properly and balled my eyes out! not sure why but felt i had to share xox haha

[RUReady2BUnplugged]

I did like the alternate endings,

LEGEND!:)

[WatchMeShred]

the audience...lame!

[RockingJamboree]

It's a German crowd,. The lyrics stream by at an ever speeding pace. And it has a sing along part. It would be hard for an English speaking audience to follow this.

[starwarsfreak007]

Gee... Tough Crowd

[saywhatmachine]

boy harry is trying so hard to get the audience into the song and they're dead... harry really knew how to put on a concert

[scatmaster125]

god this has to be the most depressing song set to a fun tune...wish this was the version from the live album

[SheriffTankStoner]

Big John looks like Jeff Lynne

[wesleyco09]

4:34..."you sound the Mormon Tuberculer Choir" hahahaha im moromn.....i thot that was funny XD lmao

[AeonsDead]

This audience is shit.

[shadowfangal101]

I luv this song!

[rich1050]

If I could figure out how,I found a picture of the truck Harry was singing about.I tried cut and paste,but wouldn't work.

[geysergary]

We all went crazy on the "of bananas" part when I saw Harry in concert. Thanks for posting this.

[geftargnabl]

im watching this on my wii lol

[flaha40]

Yeah, it happened on Moosic Street in Scranton.

[lakelandchief]

I am from pa. I think my dad saw the accident. He told me about it. I thought it was near Moosic street? Isn't that in Scranton? I forgot I am in school about four hours from there I do not go home alot. I forgot. lol.

[jsmitty88]

i was driving through scranton on my way home from college, and lo and behold, a dole truck sped right past us while i was playing this song on the ipod.

[M4thU]

this happened right down the street of my uncle

[FuturamaFreak69]

I swear I was at this concert! I am a bit confused though, as I recall? Harry was an older man? Now as I see him again, it's clear that he's obviously younger than I am? What the...Ohhh, wait. So ...the 30+ (give or take 5 or 10) concerts I saw when I was between 17 and 20 was 25+ years ago? God I miss Harry. Can I go back?

[vmgr252]

I dirve a truck and have been on the hill that leads to Scranton, Pennsylvania. I used to train guys and always played this song as we were getting close.

[radiofan6872]

It's great to see him do this live. I've been a Harry Chapin fan since I could walk, but given that he died eight years before I was born, I never got the chance to see him in concert. Thank goodness for videos, eh?

It's kind of funny to hear the confused German people repeat back "of Bananas". They probably understand the word "bananas" but the rest of the song is probably completely lost on 'em. I wouldn't understand a German song any better.

[HarrysDa]

We named our boy after Harry Chapin I fell in love with his story telling at the age of 12 in 1981 I then was a budding poet and lyricist, we are lucky That Sandy and the family keep his memory and his stop world hunger efforts going , Harry was more than a great muso and storyteller he was a true humanitarian , RIP Harry .....

[biglarry57]

Well I read the comments and it's great song.. the hill was rt 115 going down into Wilkes Barre.. but he sang Scranton... the road was also known as the Sullivan Trail..

[burke1776]

route 307 scranton, moosic street, the one that the bus to NYC runs up.

As a Nativity boy I know people that saw the wreck, Kids were grabbing the bannanas So I was told in 1972 or so.

Chapin Generally never played this song in Scranton, I saw him play it At Rocky Glen in 77 or so.

[dodge1976w200]

@biglarry57

Born and raised in west scranton, it was RT.307 Moosic ST.

Truck was on it way to the wholesale block on lackawanna ave.

This was just one of many runaway truck's, the road is still banned to big trucks from lake Scranton to the bottom at the Krispy Kreme shop.

[powerliftingmama]

did you know that harry and john lennon were buds.hope you guys are having fun palying together

[donjuleon]

i love this song

thanks for you tube

[michigantreaties]

Harry, you were the best. We miss you. You really are in A BETTER PLACE TO BE.

[jzerony]

Great song.... horrible audience....

[likewowmanhey]

I have always liked this song.I was first introduced to Harry's music in 1991 by an old boyfriend. Of course I had heard Cats in the Cradle many times but that's not my favorite song by him. I love so many more of his other songs..

[farmergirl122]

yaaaaay Scranton PA!!! <3

[hazelfawn]

OMG! It's so Great that you have posted this!

I was wondering if anyone besides me knew this song even. Love Harry Chapin!

[thrapsen]

i love this song. ive been a fan of harry for my entire life (18 yrs) and i used to live on the street that this happened on

[jedley777]

Not only was he comfortable on stage but he liked people. I saw him in concert 3 times in the 70's. each time he invited people to come back and meet him at his hotel, buy some stuff and support "World Hunger Year" his self-founded charity to feed the world. He was genuine, seemingly always energetic and one of the most "alive" entertainers I have ever seen. Probably why his battery gave out so early, but what a life and legacy in music and love for humanity!

[MewFushisDad]

I saw Harry Chapin in concert twice back in the late 70's.

He was a wonderful singer/story teller.

[EymHye]

I had never heard Harry Chapin sing until 3 days ago. I will now listen to him for the rest of my life. I've never seen someone so comfortable on stage.

[SweetCass22]

For some reason i like this song. if my friends heard me listenin to it.. they wuld laugh their heads off. oh well... good old harry =)

[buddmar]

Scranton, a town I have been to maybe 100 times (I live in Philly)is the very quintessence of tired rusting urban decay a melancholy but noble tribute to working class Pennsylvanians.

[sugaree17033]

This is a true song, The hill he is referring too is HUGE, my dad raised me listening to Harry.

[xmakara]

Thanks BearsNorthCathy,

This guy is a legend and the fact that the Germans don't understand the parochial aspects of the song it not a problem (I am sure we would not understand their's either) but Harry sings in chapters for the English speakers and he will always be a favourite for many people like me. RIP Harry

[shipoke]

Well i live in Harrisburg Pa. and i can tell you this is a true story, The truck was from a local grocery distributer. And i like just about everything Harry did.

[PerVBmx]

I did not like this song but i like all the rest of his songs.

[nutballgazette]

Great concert song. But that German crowd did not have a clue. I have this Video on CD. It is good but no emotion. The Video of the Final Concert is great. though the DVD vesion picture quality is poor, but it is still worth it if you are a Harry fan and have been to his concerts.

[captaineasychord1]

I remember this song from his Greatest Stories Live LP from 1977. My eldest sister's friend had that album. Such a funny song, surprising considering his best known songs were pretty depressing. What a great performance, too..Harry really knew how to engage his audience!

[fanilow717]

thank for the scranton trivia Rich! Legend is, and Harry had said, it was a true story, but I never knew the entire story. Hope you were as fortunate as I was to enjoy Harrys show when he came to the Scranton area to play so many times. Its very sad that there is not an entertainer around today that can tell stories like he did. I truly miss him and am so glad that these videos are here to watch. Sure does bring me back a few years! Thanks Harry, you will never be forgotten!

[emgreen1]

i was living outside of wilkes barre when that concert was there. as you know he did not sing 30000 pounds at that concert.

[lisababy85]

wasnt this based on a true story?

[Pendercrafts]

Yes...on "GSL" he mentioned he ended the song just as he heard it from an old man while on a greyhound bus riding through Scranton PA in 1965.....

[rich1050]

To those who really listen to the song,You have to understand the town he is talking about.I was born and raised there,lived across a project parking lot from the driver he sings about,Gene Seski.The young driver,was also a guitar player.I have listened to several versions that Harry Chapin has done,this isn't bad.

Of all the versions I've heard,this one though paced very well,ends more in a mockery of a great family man,than a tribute!!

[harrybyrd]

To Cathy: This here was a TV show; when they played here in Bremen for a radio show Harry explained all songs in long introductions and he had a VERY warm response from the audience. BTW: It was on 11th April 1977, 1 Minute from my home, 4 Deutsche Mark fee (2 Dollars) And: This one is hard to understand for Germans; I still don't get it. And real fans should have been there? Well, nearly nobody knew him here.