30,000 Pounds of Bananas facts for kids

"30,000 Pounds Of Bananas" is a folk rock song by Harry Chapin. It came out in 1974 on his album Verities & Balderdash. The song became very popular from a live recording on his 1976 concert album, Greatest Stories Live. This live version also made the funny phrase "Harry, it sucks" famous. The song tells the story of a real truck accident that happened in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1965.

The Banana Truck Accident

On March 18, 1965, a truck driver named Eugene P. Sesky was taking a huge load of bananas to Scranton, Pennsylvania. He had picked up the bananas from a boat dock in Newark, New Jersey. His delivery was for a big food warehouse in Scranton.

Mr. Sesky was driving a large truck with a long trailer. As he drove down Route 307, he lost control. This part of the road goes steeply downhill for about two miles. The truck's brakes or clutch stopped working.

The truck sped into Scranton very fast, hitting some cars along the way. It finally crashed into a house near the bottom of the hill. People who saw it said Mr. Sesky tried his best to avoid hitting anyone. Some even think he might have crashed the truck on purpose. This could have been to avoid a gas station that might have exploded.

Sadly, Mr. Sesky was thrown from the truck and died. Bananas spilled everywhere when the truck stopped. Fifteen other people were hurt, but Mr. Sesky was the only one who died. The road had to be closed for a while to clean up the mess. Today, very heavy trucks are not allowed on that part of Route 307. They must use a different highway instead.

The Song

The song "30,000 Pounds Of Bananas" tells a story about this accident. It's like a country song. As the song goes on, the music gets faster. Harry Chapin said this was to "build up intensity and excitement." In the chorus, Chapin sings "thirty-thousand pounds," and then Big John Wallace sings "of bananas." At concerts, the audience would often shout "of bananas!" along with him.

What the Song Is About

At the end of the song, Chapin tells how he first heard about the accident. He was on a bus leaving Scranton a few months later. An old man sitting next to him told him the story. The old man asked him to imagine "30,000 pounds of mashed bananas."

Many parts of the song are true to the real accident. But some details were made up or changed to fit the story.

Different Endings

In live concerts, Harry Chapin sometimes sang two other endings he had thought of. He would tell the audience that his bandmates, including his brothers Tom and Steve, didn't like them. They would often say, "Harry, it sucks!"

One alternate ending used a funny old song from 1923 called "Yes! We Have No Bananas." This was the punchline for the song.

The second ending was a "country-western" style ending about "motherhood." It was about a young mother crying while watching her child sleep. This woman was probably the truck driver's wife. Because of her sadness, "though she lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania / she never, ever eats bananas." During concerts, Chapin would sometimes have the audience sing this part in harmony.

A third alternate ending appeared later. Chapin would often introduce it with a story about Donny and Marie Osmond. This ending was a funny version of a Chiquita banana commercial. It was done in a "Jimmy Buffett style" with the whole band joining in. This ending would often be cut short by Big John singing the first part of another Chapin song, "Taxi," in a fast disco style. Chapin would then tell him "it sucks."

The phrase "Harry, it sucks" became very popular among Harry Chapin's fans. They even sold T-shirts with the phrase at his concerts!