"Lemon Tree" is a folk song written by Will Holt in the late 1950s. Inspired by a Brazilian song, ''Meu limão meu limoeiro'', originally written in 1930.

Background

The tune is based on the Brazilian folk song '' Meu limão, meu limoeiro'', arranged by José Carlos Burle in 1937 and made popular by Brazilian singer Wilson Simonal. The song compares love to a lemon tree: "Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat."

Trini Lopez recording

In 1965, Trini Lopez recorded the most successful version of the song which hit number twenty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the ''Billboard'' Middle Road Singles chart. “I remember meeting Trini Lopez,” Holt told '' Portland Magazine'' in 2013. “He was a sweet guy, really charming. I heard his version of ‘Lemon Tree,’ and I thought, that's another take of the song.”

Other recorded versions

The song has also been recorded by: *

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...

(1962), this version marked the trio's first appearance on the US Hot 100. It charted at #35. * Chad & Jeremy * The Kingston Trio *

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

Bob Marley and The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

* Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (1965), on Whipped Cream & Other Delights * Sandie Shaw * Roger Whittaker. *Low-Maintenance Perennials as "Lemon Peel Mmm (Live At Altamont)" on Jurassic Park: The Album

Popular culture

*A reference is made to the song in the ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' episode "The Phone Message" (Season 2, Episode 4, 17:38). *Another television reference has the character Jefferson D'Arcy singing it during a dream sequence in the '' Married... with Children'' episode "Lookin' for a Desk in All the Wrong Places" (Season 6, Episode 5, 17:00). *In the 1972 animated film, '' Fritz the Cat'', a rabbit character refers to the song while bemoaning that the park where they normally play to pick up women is overrun with other guitar players playing multiple renditions of it. *It was adapted as a jingle in the late 1960s for Lemon Pledge. *"Lemon Tree" is an essential reference in Tim O'Brien's ''

The Things They Carried ''The Things They Carried'' (1990) is a collection of linked short stories by American novelist Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. His third book about the war, it is based upon his ex ...

''. *In the 1995 film ''

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

'' the song plays on the astronauts' cassette player during their broadcast back to Earth, as they demonstrate how to consume an orange drink in zero gravity.

References

External links