"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is the title of a novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn that was a major hit in 1923, and one of the top songs of the 20th century. The song was recorded by Billy Jones, Arthur Hall, Irving Kaufman and others that year, and covered later by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Spike Jones & His City Slickers and many more. It also inspired a follow-up, "I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues," recorded by Jones and others in 1923. A novelty song is a usually intentionally humorous song, usually in published or recorded form. ... Irving Cohn (February 21, 1898 - 1961) was a British-American songwriter, best known for Yes, We Have No Bananas, which he co-wrote with Frank Silver in 1923. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Songs of the Century list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Billy Jones can refer to: Billy Jones (singer), a popular 1920s singer and vaudeville artist, who was half of The Happiness Boys with Ernest Hare. ... Irving Robert Kaufman (June 24, 1910 - February 1, 1992) was a federal judge in the United States. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Spike Jones For the music video and film director, see Spike Jonze. ...

Some speculate that a banana shortage at the time inspired the song.[1] The Long Island, New York, town of Lynbrook claims the songwriters wrote the tune there and that the catchphrase "Yes! We have no bananas" was coined by Jimmy Costas, a local Greek American greengrocer[2]; however, a 1923 article in the Chicago Tribune said the phrase originated in the Windy City in 1920.[3] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about Long Island in New York State. ... Lynbrook is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA . ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... A Greek-American is a citizen of the United States who has significant Greek heritage. ... A greengrocer in central Milan with a sign in Milanese, the local dialect, claiming to be the oldest greengrocer of Milan (lortolán püŝee vêcc de Milan) A greengrocer is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables; that is, in green groceries. ... // The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by the Tribune Company. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

The song was the theme of the Outdoor Relief protests in Belfast in 1932. These were a unique example of Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland protesting together, and the song was used because it was one of the few non-sectarian songs that both communities knew. The song lent its title to a book about the depression in Belfast.^[1] This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ...

The term has been resurrected on many occasions, including during rationing in Britain during World War II when supplies of many products, including bananas, were very scarce. Shop owners would place signs stating "Yes, we have no bananas" in their shop windows in keeping with the general war spirit. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The song also appeared in the popular Archie Comics, and was mentioned in the 1954 movie Sabrina. In the English Patient film, a few verses are sung as a joke. The German version "Ausgerechnet Bananen" was featured in Billy Wilder's 1961 slapstick comedy "One, Two, Three," being played by an over-the-hill dance band at a drab East Berlin hotel bar. In the 1970s, Harry Chapin used this phrase in the chorus to his song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas." More recently, the phrase was again used by the media when Cyclone Larry destroyed a large proportion of Australia's banana crop in 2006, leading to a shortage for most of the year. This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Sabrina is a 1954 film directed by Billy Wilder, adapted for the screen by Wilder, Samuel Taylor, and Ernest Lehman from Taylors play Sabrina Fair (in the UK, the movie has the title Sabrina Fair). ... This article is about the book. ... Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born, Jewish-American journalist, screenwriter, film director, and producer whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. ... This article is about the movie. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. ... Lowest pressure 915 hPa (mbar) Fatalities 0 direct, 1 indirect Damage $800 million (2006 USD) Areas affected Far North Queensland Part of the 2005-06 Australian region cyclone season Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry (JTWC designation: 17P) was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in Australia during the 2005-06 Southern... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The song was the subject of a column by Sigmund Spaeth, who suggested that the melody could have been derived from a combination of parts of other songs including the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah! by Handel, "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" and "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls". Spaeth subsequently repeated his argument as an expert witness. Sigmund Spaeth Sigmund Gottfried Spaeth (April 10, 1885, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 12, 1965, New York City, New York) was a musicologist who traced the sources and origins of popular songs to their folk and classical roots. ... Messiah (1741) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. ... HANDEL was the code-name for the UKs National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. ... A traditional Scottish folk song. ... An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, profession, publication or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his or her subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon his opinion. ...

According to his assertions, the lyrics would come out like this:

Hallelujah! Bananas,
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me!
I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls,
The kind that you seldom see;
I was walking Nellie home
To an old-fashioned garden;
But hallelujah! bananas;
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me!

Lyrics as sung by Billy Jones, Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder #4778 Released October 1923

There's a fruit store on our street
It's run by a Greek
And he keeps good things to eat But you should hear him speak!
When you ask him anything, he never answers "no"
He just "yes"es you to death, and as he takes your dough He tells you
"Yes, we have no bananas
We have-a no bananas today
We've string beans, and onions
Cabashes, and scallions,
And all sorts of fruit and say
We have an old fashioned tomato
A Long Island potato But yes, we have no bananas
We have no bananas today

Business got so good for him that he wrote home today,
"Send me Pete and Nick and Jim; I need help right away"
When he got them in the store, there was fun, you bet
Someone asked for "sparrow grass" and then the whole quartet
All answered "Yes, we have no bananas
We have-a no bananas today
Just try those coconuts
Those wall-nuts and doughnuts
There ain't many nuts like they
We'll sell you two kinds of red herring,
Dark brown, and ball-bearing
But yes, we have no bananas
We have no bananas today"

He,he,he,he, ha, ha, ha whatta you laugh at?
You gotta soup or pie?
Yes, I don’t think we got soup or pie
You gotta coconut pie?
Yes, I don’t think we got coconut pie
Well I’ll have one cup a coffee
We gotta no coffee
Then watta you got?
I got a banana!
Oh you’ve got a banana!

Yes, we gotta no banana, No banana, No banana, I tell you we gotta no banana today
I sella you no banana
Hey, Mary Anna, you gotta.. gotta no banana?
Why this man, he’s no believe-a what I say… no… he no believe me…
Now whatta you wanta mister? You wanna buy twelve for a quarter?
Well, just a one of a look, I'm gonna call for my daughter
Hey, Mary Anna You gotta piana
Yes, a banana, no
Yes, we gotta no bananas today!

The new English "clark" (a.k.a.“clerk”):
Yes, we are very sorry to inform you
That we are entirely out of the fruit in question
The afore-mentioned vegetable Bearing the cognomen "Banana"
We might induce you to accept a substitute less desirable,
But that is not the policy at this internationally famous green grocery
I should say not. No no no no no no no
But may we suggest that you sample our five o'clock tea
Which we feel certain will tempt your pallet?
However we regret that after a diligent search
Of the premises By our entire staff
We can positively affirm without fear of contradiction
That our raspberries are delicious; really delicious
Very delicious But we have no bananas today.

References

See also

Gros Michel banana Gros Michel, or Big Mike, was an early export cultivar of banana which was phased out as the main export variety in the 1950s by Panama disease, a fungus which attacks the roots of the banana plant. ...

Resources

• Edison Blue Amberol #4778 wma
• MP3 excerpt from song
• Lyrics and MIDI version of song
• Sheet music to song
• Movie from 1930
• Newtons commercial that references the song