Notes

In the video we see a man in a 2 piece suit and tie come out to throw the trash away, already we see a message. It’s a man dressed quite professionally doing something that would not be considered a entry-level job. This can be connected to people with actual full college degrees facing extreme pressure, and difficulty getting jobs. But then a cover is somehow yanked off a nearby bird cage, and we see 5 colored mechanical birds (The name of the album is Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum). The color of the bird is connected to the color tie that each band member wears. A voice introduces “Colonel PT Chester Whitmore and the Zimbabwe Songbirds”, which seems to allude to the scramble for africa. The song begins, and the video cuts to a nearby painting of a tropical island. The painting seems to represent vacation, and how many want it, but few get it. Then, seeming out of imagination, or just pure drugs. We see Banana man, hopping carrying bananas. The Next lyric is

“Freshly taken from banana tree
Banana man, me want a ton
Give me double and a bonus one”

Some has theorized that this is an allusion to consumerism and how it destroys the environment and the human spirit


The video then cuts to the mechanical birds again, now they have human heads. Each head seems to act with it’s own unique personality. moving in a special way that communicates a lot about the bird and showing individuality in MECHANICAL birds. It is also revealed that the red one is the one singing.


The singing role is quickly relinquished however, as banana man sings next. He speaks in a tribal vernacular without proper english. He offers the main character (Who I will refer to as Rob) a Banana. He then sings about a supposed tribal ritual involving fire and spirits.

However when Banana Man says “Spirit names” and “Spirit games” a member of the mechanical birds joins him, and sings only for the name/game they join in on. Around this time I began to think, is it possible that Colonel PT Chester Whitmore is actually the Banana Man? Maybe one of the tribals killed the real colonel and took on his identity and is now luring in unsuspecting victims. Or the colonel learned about the tribals and then joined them in their way of life.

Next we see rob phase time and get into his office without even moving. An indication of the superpowers eating bananas gives you. Next he goes to the office, and probably the most important lyric of the entire song plays

“Look you, you're too uptight you know
You can laugh and kick it back and go
But without a rhythm or a rhyme
You do not banana all the time
Fly away from city on the run
Try to make a little fun”


It’s very obvious what they are trying to convey with this lyric playing in the office, that people worry too much about work, and they should relax a bit more. It’s further compounded by the images of people in the office becoming frustrated. But then Rob shows them the Banana man, and the room becomes much more relaxed. I feel like this relaxation theme is very important at the time I am writing this, during the COVID-19 outbreak.


During the office scene, we see several things turn Banana themed, until it finally ends with all of the Bananas in the center of the office jumping up into all of the white-class worker’s hands.


“Forget all your troubles and go with the flow
Forget about whatever you may never know
Like whether whatever you are doing is whatever you should
And whether anything you do is ever anything good
And then forget about banana when it stick in your throat
And when they make you wanna bellow but you're stuck in a choke
And you forget about the yellow from the colorful man who make you take another- one
And make a mock of your plan”




We see rob in a hospital stretcher, still singing, however he is twitching, while images of the banana man flash up periodically. The implication here can go 2 ways, either he truly gone insane because of the Banana Man, or Others think he is crazy because of the Banana Man. Perhaps the message is our how our corporate overlords suppress this kind of thinking for fear of losing profit.

Next I must focus on the melody and the rhythm of the song, towards the end of the Stretcher scene, we see Rob twitch a little more intensely and at more frequent intervals. At this time, the song is climaxing. things are piling on, Banana man and mechanical birds and an overlay. The song ends and an interlude plays. Next we hear Banana Man say



“Bungalay, Bungalow; make up your mind and tell me no”

This lyric seems to imply that Rob or someone else may have been delaying to Banana Man, or it could be something from Banana Man’s mysterious path. The words may have been the colonel either talking down to Banana Man, or the colonel is Banana Man. As the word “Bungalay” is not a real word, it could’ve been the colonel talking down to the Tribals, before he became Banana Man, or Banana Man translating for the colonel, or Banana Man making fun of the colonel. Given the message of the song, I believe that the latter is most likely correct, but it still remains unclear if the colonel became Banana Man, or if Banana Man killed the colonel and became the colonel, or something in between. However the next scene does give us some incite

Banana Man is seen hitting the viewer with a banana, and the scene going red. We next see a blurry image of Banana Man singing in a strange way, it may have been a ritual, could it be the colonel maybe worshipping the Banana Man and sacrificing the viewer? However, none of this is answered. As the song cuts to it’s most relaxing point, and pulls away from making you question the video, and begins to Focus on the relaxation part of the song again. Which seems to be the point, as the song is about how people worry too much about things.

The song cuts to a beautiful image of the city and people returning home. There is something oddly wholesome here, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but perhaps it’s my personal experiences with viewing night as something very relaxing for me, as when I can't sleep. I just enjoy the calming quietness of my home. Banana Man seems to invoke that very easily with the combination of relaxing music and a nighttime city.



Well it's nine o'clock and it's getting dark
And the sun is falling from the sky
I've never left so early and you may wonder why


We see Rob eating a Banana, and singing quietly, he is back where he started. Did he escape from the hospital, I believe it was just a dream. Rob probably took a much-needed nap. His facial expression is much calm and raw. Next we see the Banana Man, he’s also singing. But his expression seems to be sadder, more melancholy. The lyrics here seem to imply that this is Rob’s first time relaxing, or at least the first time he relaxed for real.

What follows is a nice interlude of Rob eating a Banana, and a city at night.

Next we see Banana Man running towards the camera, and the camera outrunning Banana Man. Perhaps this shows Rob returning to reality, and having to leave the Banana Man behind. The next lyrics seem to imply so.




Tomorrow morning on the plane
No banana make you go insane
Floating back to busy town
No banana make you want to frown


What we see next the mechanical birds singing, the lyrics seem to imply that Rob has to leave the Banana Man behind. The lyrics also explicitly state that Rob doesn’t want to leave, but all good things must come to an end.

The next pictures and lyrics seem to show Rob remembering the Banana Man fondly, and always remembering to relax, and not stress out too much, the driving car footage also seems to show Rob leaving the Banana Men behind and returning from that day at work.

Next we’re back at the same location, and time as the first scene. But this time we see a rotten Banana. Another member of tally hall takes the trash out, and the video ends.


Truly a wild ride, and an excellent commentary on how constant work drives you crazy, and how too many people stress out too much. I like it, 10/10.