In 1991 Leonard Cohen was on a TV show and he sang a cute song about bananas that Chiquita featured in commercials that ran in movie theaters back in the 1940s. I have no idea how it came up or what inspired Cohen to break into the song, but he clearly wants a close pal of his, Canadian poet Irving Layton, to register how much of the song he knows by heart.

The original singer of the Chiquita Banana song was Monica Lewis, who many years later appeared in two of the Airport movies.
 

 
You probably know that on the cover of his 1988 album I’m Your Man, Cohen is depicted munching on a banana. Bananas were even used in the promotional items produced for the album, as seen at the top of this page.

This page would have you believe that Cohen is the second most banana-obsessed musical artist after, well, the Velvet Underground.

The original Chiquita Banana advertisement from 1947:

 
Cohen’s rendition:

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Newly unearthed Leonard Cohen talk show appearance, 1985
Sonny Rollins, Ken Nordine, Was Not Was and Leonard Cohen together on late night TV