The original poem was written by Jose Marti, Cuban poet who I think was eventually executed by the Spaniards. There is a pun in the opening line, "Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crece la palma." Superficially it just means, "I am an honest/sincere man from where the palms grow," but La Palma was also the name of a Cuban insurgent general. Seeger's recording may not have been "the" hit, but it's the one I remember. The song used a Cuban rhythm called the huapanga, which is down-up, knock, knock (1&2&), the knocks being accomplished by rapping the knucks on the fingerboard, or for the occasional change of pace, on the box about in the middle of the off-ramp.

CC