Poinciana lyrics four freshmen biography

Song composed by Nat Simon and Buddy Bernier (1936)

"Poinciana" is a song by Nat Simon with English lyrics by Buddy Bernier and Spanish lyrics written in 1936 by Manuel Lliso.

Background

The song has been identified as a development of a Cuban folk song entitled "La Canción del Árbol", traditional with new lyrics added by Manuel Lliso in 1936, whose title translates as "the song of the tree", the royal poinciana being a favorite Caribbean flowering plant.^[1][2] However, composer Nat Simon would claim the song's tune came to him while he was dining at the famous Italian restaurant, Mamma Leone's, in Manhattan's Theater District, and that he jotted down a rough draft of the melody on the tablecloth which – with Leone's permission – he took home to work out the completed melody at his piano.

Lyrics for the song were completed in about thirty minutes by Buddy Bernier, who cited as his inspiration a pos