Green Bananas

Album: Easy Does It (2009)
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Songfacts®:

  • "It's an amazing song that I was really excited to put on the record," says Jake Owen. And he explains the song as "this guy is telling the story of his friend that passed away, and he says he basically learned from a guy that he doesn't buy green bananas, he doesn't play the lottery, 'and that's just fine for me.' 'I don't own an umbrella, if it rains, I guess I'm gonna get wet. I don't buy green bananas because I don't plan that far ahead.' It's a really special song, and it really touches a lot of people."
  • "This is a very true song about a guy I used to fish with, honest to God, growing up," recalls Jake. "He had a boat named Green Bananas. He was an older fellow, he was my dad's friend. He was probably in his 50s, and my brother and I – I have a twin – we were probably 14 or 15. And I asked him one day why his boat was called Green Bananas. We'd been fishing on it forever and I'd never asked him. And he'd had a buddy of his that had passed away when they were in their 30s or 40s. And his buddy told him in the hospital, 'Man, don't ever buy green bananas, because as you can tell, you never know what life's gonna bring.' I always remembered that. And I just wrote that song kind of telling the story the same way that he told it to me. And I just thought what a great way for people to remember life in such a simple way, and not be a downer kind of 'life is short, live it while you can' song. It's got a great feel to it." (Check out our interview with Jake Owen)

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