Jamaica Farewell
"Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half-Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. Harry Belafonte recording. The song appeared on Harry Belafonte's 1956 album "Calypso". It reached number 14 on the "Billboard" Pop chart. Background. Many, including Belafonte himself, have said that the song was popular in the West Indies since long before Burgess. It is believed that Burgess compiled and modified the song from many folk pieces to make a new song . Burgess acknowledged his use of the tune of another mento, "Iron Bar". The line "ackee, rice, saltfish is nice" refers to the Jamaican national dish. Covers. Artists who have covered "Jamaica Farewell" include: In other languages. This song has been translated into many languages. For example, in Bengali, there exist several translations, some of which are quite well known. One Bengali version of the song became an important anthem for the Naxalite revolutionary movement in the 1970s and thus has significance for Bengali intellectuals in Kolkata society. The Bangladeshi band Souls also sang their own translated version in early 1990s , which instantly became a hit in Bangladesh. The song was covered with lyrics in Swedish by Schytts as "Jamaica farväl", scoring a 1979 Svensktoppen hit. Streaplers recorded a 1967 Swedish-language version of the song, with the lyrics "Långt långt bort". Their version became a 1968 Svensktoppen hit. German translations are "Abschied von Kingston Town" ("Farewell from Kingston Town") by Bruce Low and "Weil der Sommer ein Winter war" ("For the Summer was a Winter") by Nana Mouskouri. The Vietnamese translation is "Lời Yêu Thương" ("Love Words") by Đức Huy Soundtrack appearances. This song was featured in the 2009 video  game, "Rabbids Go Home", at numerous points in the game. It further was featured in episode 8 of season 1 of the TV series, "Barry".