JUMP IN
THE LINE
HARRY
BELAFONTE
SONGWRITERS: ORVILLE BURRELL; GABRIEL OLLER; HARRY
BELAFONTE; STEVE SAMUEL & RALPH DE LEON
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: JUMP UP CALYPSO
LABEL: RCA RECORDS
GENRE: CALYPSO
YEAR: 1961
Harry Belafonte(born Harold George
Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As
arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical
style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso(1956)
was the first million-selling LP by a single
artist.
Belafonte is best known for his recordings of
"The Banana
Boat Song", with its signature "Day-O"
lyric, "Jump in the
Line", and "Jamaica Farewell".
He has recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American
standards. He has also starred in several films,
including Carmen Jones(1954),
Island in the
Sun(1957), and Odds Against
Tomorrow (1959).
Belafonte considered the actor, singer and
activist Paul Robeson a
mentor, and was a close confidant of Martin Luther
King Jr. in the Civil Rights
Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. As he later
recalled, "Paul Robeson had been my first great formative influence; you
might say he gave me my backbone. Martin King was the second; he nourished my
soul." Throughout his career, Belafonte has been an advocate for political
and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid
Movement and USA for Africa. Since
1987, he has been a UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador. He was a vocal critic of the
policies of the George W.
Bush presidential administrations.
Belafonte acts as the American
Civil Liberties Union celebrity
ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
Belafonte has won three Grammy Awards(including
a Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In
1989, he received the Kennedy
Center Honors. He was awarded the National
Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 6th Annual Governors Awardsand
in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category and
is the oldest living person to have received the honor.
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake your body
line
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake it all the
time
Work, work, work, Senora, work your body line
Work, work, work, Senora, work it all the
time
My girl's name is Senora
I tell you friends, I adore her
And when she dances, oh, brother
She's a hurricane in all kinds of weather
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Whoa)
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake your body
line, whoa
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake it all the
time
Work, work, work, Senora, work your body line
Work, work, work, Senora, work it all the
time
You can talk about cha-cha
Tango, waltz or the rumba
Senora's dance has no title
You jump in the saddle
Hold on to the bridle
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Rock your body, child)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Somebody, help me)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Whoa)
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake your body
line
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake it all the
time, whoa
Work, work, work, Senora, work your body
line, yep
Work, work, work, Senora, work it all the
time
Senora, she's a sensation
The reason for aviation
And fellas, you got to watch it
When she wind up she bottom, she go like a
rocket
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Hoist those skirts a little higher)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Up the chimney)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Whoa-oh)
Yes sir
Shake, shake, shake, Senora
Shake your body line
Work, work, work, Senora
Work it all the time
Dance, dance, dance, Senora
Dance it all the time
Work, work, work, Senora
Work it all the time
Senora dances calypso
Left to right is the tempo
And when she gets the sensation
She go up in the air
Come down in slow motion
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Somebody, help me)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Okay, I believe you)
Jump in the line, rock your body in time
(Whoa)
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake your body
line
Shake, shake, shake, Senora, shake it all the
time
Work, work, work, Senora.
