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The song became more popular in its live extended recording from Chapin's 1976 concert album, Greatest Stories Live that started the phrase "Harry, it sucks." The song is based on an actual truck accident that occurred in Scranton, Pennsylvania , in 1965.
The lyrics of Chapin's "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" tell a story quite close to the actual events of March 18, 1965, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. On that day, 35-year-old trucker Eugene P. Sesky was returning home with a load of bananas he'd picked up in Weehawken, New Jersey.
This was based on a true story about an accident in Scranton, Pennsylvania where a driver lost control of a truck full of bananas he was delivering. He was killed in the crash, and bananas were strewn all over the place.
[Verse 1] It was just after dark when the truck started down. The hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania. [Refrain] Carrying thirty thousand pounds of bananas. Hit it big John. Of bananas....
Along the hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania. All those thirty thousand pounds of bananas. You know the man who told me about it on the bus, As it went up the hill out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, He shrugged his shoulders, he shook his head, And he said (and this is exactly what he said) "Boy that sure must've been something.
Dec 11, 2018 · Chapin based 30,000 Pounds on a real tractor-trailer accident in 1965 outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Just as the song claims, the tractor-trailer actually did carry a load of bananas when it wrecked. The wreck actually did kill the truck driver, a real person, Eugene Sesky.
Apr 21, 2021 · On March 26, 1965, a truck driver died while conveying a load of bananas to Scranton, PA. The incident is the inspiration behind Harry Chapin’s song titled 30,000 Pounds of Bananas.
