Roaring Twenties: Sam Lanin - Yes! We Have No Bananas, 1923

[hoss73ford1]

like many others of the era, this is hot & awesome & who better than Irving Kaufman to do the vocals. Love it!!!

[oikra]

People that like old stuff should also check out the 1938 "Yes! Nós Temos Bananas", a carnival march which was written as a response to this very song.

[pseudonul654]

it's the song that we heard in Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn, on the boat with Humphrey Bogart ;)

[hoss73ford1]

@pseudonul654 you're right,,just a different version

[ggrtard]

sunrise sunset, sunrise sunset, cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, yes we have no bananas

[mrevillemon]

What a ridiculous statement, was the question "excuse me, do you have no bananas?" lol good song though

[LilyV687]

The one dislike obviously has a banana and no one wants it.

[TheGhostoast101]

@LilyV687 maybe because theres no words

[WorldChallenge]

My grandfather loved to sing this once in awhile. I never knew what it was.

[BURNOUTRS]

I was researching banana's and heard about this song on wikipedia. then I checked it out cause I had nothing better to do

[grod805]

@BURNOUTRS

That's what I did too. I was eating a banana and then thought about looking it up on wikipedia. I don't think I've heard this song before

[cellosareawesome]

I heard about this song on the Brady Bunch

[robertorojas411]

I came here because of Stan Lee's Superhumans

[Lengo67]

p.s. Are you a fan of Ted Weems?

[Lengo67]

Nice video. Where did you get all those images?

A 1923 recording is rare. This must have come from a wax cylinder. The boom in the industry took place in 1928, after vinyl was invented. The quality improved immensely, and it was the beginning of super-sales of records.

Thanks for posting this. The sound quality is great for this year. The images conjure up the imagination. Great job!

[thordurfrimann]

wow I used to play this song in a brass band some years ago! Thanks for posting!

[cameracritic]

My band director passed this out, I thought, What a weird name of a song, The rythems were weird and it was at a very fast tempo. Now I know that it's a cartoon song, explains a lot, it was super fun to sight read though!

[chasewhatever23]

My great great grandmother use to sing this all the time. 17th of march 2011 would have been her 100th b day. She passed two years ago.

[Lengo67]

@chasewhatever23 That's wonderful. You might be interested in Wikipedia's article about this song. Search for

Yes! We Have No Bananas

Take a look. You'll learn more about this novelty song.

[drplbiftin]

who came here because of The Simpsons?

[shogsothoth]

@drplbiftin nope, The Muppets ^^

[Tokopol]

@drplbiftin Not me. I came here because of an East German film about Ernst Thalmann.

[quickstepqueen]

Thanks for posting. Years ago I turned the radio on, adhoc and heard this one sunday afternoon on the Desmond Carrington show on radio2. I remember them singing about "no bananas" and tried telling others about it and they just laughed at me, like I was mad...so thank you for proving my sanity!!

[arequipa1]

vintage vaudeville

[finnstralian]

I dissapprove of such joke as a rule, but it seems 1 person had a banana. Sorry....

[robertomasymas]

thank you so much for this :) what a find

[011QuikSilver]

Lol we randomly asked our Geometry teacher what her fave song was, and this was it. She sings surprisingly well, too. It was a hilarious song though.

[DurhamRebel]

my parents have my great grandparents records and the machine to play them. i grew up with songs like these. haha. fun

[63filmbuff]

Good sound for the "Perfect" label. Many of these have lots of surface noise

[fandarzelig]

They donnt make songs like this anymore! Now its all boybnds and nu metal bandz! Its a more simpler tiem!

[verbusen]

That trumpet at 33 seconds sounds like a wet fart! lol.

[crysjumar1]

@verbusen not a trumpet...either sax or trombone.

[impCaesarAvg]

Was Sam Lanin related to Vladimir Lanin?

[spidero1000]

@impCaesarAvg No. Sam was my great uncle. No Vladimers in the family.

[missswanlover22]

Does anyone know where I can find the disney version of this song? With Goofy singing?

[SkattyTom]

lies they did have bananas

[TheYoJango]

I love how this sounds!

[SacValleyDweller]

@TheYoJango

TOTALLY! That 1920's recording tech sure made a unique sound didn't it?

[scootrnc]

Killer!

[68sgstandard]

The snappy banjo playing contributes a lot to the sound and swing of this old classic.

[VinceValentine]

H.P. Lovecraft tried to play this song on a church organ once. It's true, look it up.

[bombsutra]

@VinceValentine By god, you're right

[watcher18893]

coulda made the fallout3 soundtrack

[DerekDeluxe]

@watcher18893 ppshaw Bioshowck!

[watcher18893]

@DerekDeluxe hmmm yeah extra creepiness

[thatguy30000]

@watcher18893 Too old. The oldest song on Fallout 3 is Cole Porter's "Anything goes" Which was from 1934, 11 years after this song.

[PaulHassing]

Many thanks! I've linked to this great song from a comment on our Small Business Owner blog. The post is called Carried Away. We've been talking about fruit and vegetable sellers. Best regards, P. :)

[MrXnews]

Probably one of the best Gennett acoustics I've heard...or an even better transfer!

[willgonow]

wikid stuff !!!!!

[FalconSupreme]

Wonderful sound ! Love it.

[kred65]

Thanks for the posting - I used to play this song on the piano while my grandparents sang it - it was from their era. It brings tears to my eyes when I hear this song.

[suziequzie1995]

can i use this video for a school project?

[cheater30]

@suziequzie1995 schnitzel

[scumbuddy]

oh my god! I had know idea this song has been around for so long

[chkjns]

Lots of songs have been around forever. I've made 110 music playlists for every year back to 1900, a trip back in time through music is waiting . . . . . .

[sbchelldiver]

The Hymn for Optimysm...YES!!! We have NO Bananas!!!

[genatzvalee]

I like this song a lot, I enjoy playing/singing it myself. Lyrics are so funny. "Old-fashioned tomato, Long Island potato" ;D Those who wrote it were brilliant.

[luvebug21]

we have no bananas today:P

[bummercucumber]

I love this song!

Did you know it's the answer to every secret code that can't be cracked? Well, it's true.

[ddraculdiablo]

I first heard this song on the older version of the movie Sabrina with Humphrey Bogart and I love it, thanks for posting!

[tlibber]

My Grandmother passed away 3 years ago at the age of 98. She would've been 15 when this song was released. She used to sing it all the time and I never knew where it had come from. Thanks so much for posting the original. Lotta great memories here.

[bjsparntz]

Liar

[janaughty]

@tlibber my dad passed way 10 yrs ago he wud be 101 january coming and yes he sang this song alot must of been a real big hit them days i miss him dearly

[brazilianboyfilipe13]

@janaughty ? O.O

[janaughty]

@brazilianboyfilipe13 lol  why the question mark ?

[seanharv610]

@tlibber My grandmother was the same way.

[JeffHendrie]

@tlibber You're tellin' me, my Grandma was born in 1929, and my great grandma died in 2001, almost two or three weeks before 9-11, and I'd hear somthing like this playing somewhere once in a while in the basement, or wherever noone else was around, (garadge, bastement, garden, etc.), and I wasn't playing it... and I forgot about it until now when I hear this. XD Memory lane isn't as good as THIS is, never will be again. XD Also, I've cought on now to singing it. XD idk why.

[alfredroberthogan]

I was introduced to this memorable, delightful, and poignant novelty song via the wonderful CBS-TV children's educational series "Captain Kangaroo" circa the mid-to-late 1960s. It popped up every now and then, and I have often referenced it since then. It makes me cry wistful tears.--AR Hogan (UMCP graduate student)

[srawcliffe]

Very 1920s, with the intro far longer than the vocal bit. Real feel-good music. Thanks for posting!

[bananapropaganda]

I'm reading Dan Koeppel's book "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World" and just had to hear this song. Thanks for putting it on YT.

[666olrik]

I ended up here for the same reason! Excellent book, BTW.

[sims2haxorz101]

oh my gosh my social studies teacher was singing this the other day! that is hilarious.

[CherryMielita]

I read Kane and Abel last year when I was fourteen and this song was mentioned in the book! I've always loved old music and this song is so wonderfully bizarre one can't help but enjoy it! Shame none of my friends have heard of it, though *sigh* I wish I'd taken history for GCSE; my friend is learning about the Roaring Twenties while I'm stuck learning French adverbs. Blast.

[shakespeare1599]

It's a shame people don't say "blast" much any more. But if you like the spirit of the Roaring Twenties you might enjoy early P.G. Wodehouse. I've always thought the Blandings Castle books "Something Fresh" and "Summer Lightning" sum up the age as well as anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Very different writers of course...

[Fancypants753]

this girl showed us this song on her Harlem renaissance(roaring 20's) project

[lilimeicecream]

This song title was in a book I was reading and since it was set in the twenties I really wanted to hear it. Now that I have, it's one of my favorite songs.

[hrisy96]

lmao they mean we have no dicks lmfao

[bummercucumber]

This reminds me of Berryman's commentary on Ford's lack of political ambition in '28. Lanin and Berryman were clever men.

[pollyanna4163]

My teacher showed us this song today. We're learning about the Roaring 20's. I like it =]

[yohommyg]

awesome.... extremely totally random but awesome none the less

[firstpeter31822]

As a young history buff, I thank you for posting this. Now I can educate myself about what music was like in the 1920's. Very different from the 2000's (my decade).

[8Mittenkitten8]

T'was Music Hall =]

Ifou ne o know ANTHING abou musi hal, yo cantalk to e, had to wri an esay on it or Varity Performence, haha.

x

[gibbonsa3a]

love thisd

[JK666AB]

on a totally unrelated note, jews

[DarthKiljoy]

That made me laugh out loud, but what brings that up?

[JK666AB]

as i said, totally unrelated

[GuitaRocker2]

thats pretty great!

[fatsfan70]

Bananas were unobtainable in wartime Britain and I still recall the childish hatred I felt for Hitler when told it was his fault! This song was played on the radio many times but I don't remember this fine version.

[JK666AB]

impressive

how old are you, just out of interest?

[robertsewellca]

My father used to sing this song whenever he sliced a banana to add to his breakfast cereal.

[BrinkyJ]

ROCK ON!

[lcecmmkp]

Does anyone know where I could download this? Thanks

[EdisonSquirrel]

I've heard about a dozen renditions of this song recorded in 1923, and I find this rendition by Bailey's Lucky Seven to be the hottest!

[hibjib997]

Reminds me of a great simpsons quote

Homer: sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset... cats in the cradle and the silver spoon... yes, we have no bananas.

Marge: Oh, homer, that's sweet.

Homer: It's so sad marge! they have no bananas!

[DesignerGoat]

darn it. got any peaches?

[mara235]

Love it - used to snag the ''best of the 20's'' record and listen to it on our cheap kids portable record player that we had upstairs..

[murphy150]

what's not to like about this........? Great

[CherryMielita]

I'm currently reading Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer and this song was mentioned in the book. I just had to listen to it... and now I love it!

[lcecmmkp]

I read Kane and Abel years ago and have been looking for this song since! (Great book, I love Jeffrey Archer

[KimisRawr]

I like the song ever since I heard it in music. It's funny.

[emuhlee919]

OMG! me and my grandpa used to always sing this song.

thanx for the memory =D

[RatOnAnEvilStar]

That poor, poor, bananaless man.

[Herter1]

Nice vid! I like the song pretty well!

[LuviiRoxx]

I LOVED this in Sabrina

[hanafan36]

I first heard it in Sabrina too! ^_^ Audrey sang it so well.

[LuviiRoxx]

yes she did. Have you heard Moon River? It was amazing when she sang it.

[DKbiker3501]

Is this the original vesion of this song

[DKbiker3501]

*version is what i meant cause i need the original

[akuyume7]

A whole bunch of people covered this song in the same year, but I do know it was co-wrote by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn.

[guitarskin]

My grand uncle sang this song exactly like it is on the record. Thank you for posting. Louis Prima's version a little different. This is great!

[BlueberryhillCB]

great song

[12Zwolf]

Thank You for Posting;

A lively song to remind the world of a biological disaster that destroyed the 'Gros Michel' banana crop, and plants.

Valkyrie Ziege Mourne

[bingcrosby1903]

Great one! ive heard this exact arr. on a Pathe before, but i cant remember if it was Lanin.

[JrockAkuma]

This song completes my life.

[barbcard]

And this global economic catastrophe will be worse,

I fear. And we haven't even had "Goldene Zwanzige

Jahre" to look back upon...Sorry for my pessimism,

an almost obscene state of mind for an American

[barbcard]

Correction: comment about Long Island potatoes was actually from me (Barbcard); Retromail is my son, whom I was visiting at the time and who indeed lives in Long Island, but is too young to know this song.

[retromail]

I love the Long Island potatoes, esp. since I am writing this from Long Island, NY

[kspm01]

Excellent fun song!