Island in the Sun

About Island in the Sun

"Island in the Sun" is a song written by Harry Belafonte and Irving Burgie (Lord Burgess), and performed by Harry Belafonte for the 1957 film Island in the Sun and on his 1957 album Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean. In 1962, the song was performed by The Brothers Four on the album In Person/Cross-Country Concert. The song has also been performed by The Merrymen, José Carreras, The Paragons, Caterina Valente (in German as "Wo Meine Sonne Scheint ") and The Righteous Brothers. In 1999 the song was adapted into a children's picture book, illustrated with cut-paper collages by Alex Ayliffe and published by Dial Books. The book was an Américas Award commended title and received generally positive reviews. Bo-Göran Edling wrote lyrics in Swedish, and as De tusen öars land, the song was recorded by the Streaplers, releasing it as a single in October 1969 with En enda kort minut acting as a B-side. and their version also charted at Svensktoppen for 19 weeks between 28 December 1969-4 May 1970, and managed to top the chart. With these lyrics the song was also recorded in 1970 by Nora Brockstedt, by Tage Öst in 1976, and Källströms in 1985 and finally in 2005 by Hans Martin. With lyrics in Swedish by Margot Borgström, as Sol, öar, vind och hav, the song was also recorded by Schytts on the 1979 album Nya änglalåtar and their version charted for 10 weeks at Svensktoppen between 13 April-24 August 1980, and also managed to top the chart. The Croatian version sung by Darko Rundek was recorded in 2000 for album U širokom svijetu (rereleased in 2017 on compilation ApoCalypso) more »

Year:

1978

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This is my island in the sun
Where my people have toiled since time begun
I may sail on many a sea
Her shores will always be home to me

[Chorus:]
Oh, island in the sun
Willed to me by my father's hand
All my days I will sing in praise
Of your forest, waters, your shining sand

As morning breaks the heaven on high
I lift my heavy load to the sky
Sun comes down with a burning glow
Mingles my sweat with the earth below

[Chorus]

I see woman on bended knee
Cutting cane for her family
I see man at the waterside
Casting nets at the surging tide

[Chorus]

I pray the day will never come
When I can't awake to the sound of drum
Never let me miss carnival
With calypso songs philosophical

[Chorus]

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Harry Belafonte

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career he has been an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes and was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush Administration. more »

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