Banana Boat Song (Day-o), The
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Song Lyrics & Words
Day-o, Day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Work all night on a drink a' rum
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Stack banana till the mornin' come
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
It's six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day...
Daylight come and me wan' go home
A beautiful bunch a' ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan' go home
It's six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day...
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
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Alternative Lyrics & Words
Come mister tally man tally me bananas
Day is breaking I wanna go home
Come here for work, i didn't come here for to idle
Day is Breaking i wanna go home
Three han' Four han' Five han bunch!
Six han seven han eight han bunch!
Day is breaking i wanna go home.
So check them and check them but with caution!
Day is breaking I wanna go home
My back is breaking with bare exhaustion
Day is breaking i wanna go home
I wanna go home.
Information About This Song
The orgins of 'The Banana Boat Song' are not known completely and its the same for its author but we know for sure that this is a Jamaican folk song. The most interesting thing about this follk song is that it was originally sung by the banana feild workers of Jamaica.
The melody was very much a calypso style of singing but different locals improvised their own lyrics from time to time often their most common reference "daylight come and we wan' go home". This song was also frequently sung by dock workers who worked during the dark shift loading bananas onto ships.
The first recorded version was took place in 1952 when Trinidadian singer Edric Conner who along with his band "The Carribeans" recorded this song onto his album 'Songs From Jamaica'and named the song "Day De Light". Song lyrics were written by Ivrine Burgie from the island of Barbados.
Daylight has come, the shift is over and they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home (this is the meaning of the lyric "Come, Mr. Tally Man, tally me banana/ Daylight come and we wanna go home").
The song is perhaps best known for being used in the comedy film Beetlejuice. In the dinner scene, the guests become possessed and sing and dance to the song.
For further information about the song "The Banana Boat Song (Day-o)", check out Wikipedia
Watch a Video of the Song
Comments (44)
By Josef Holzer in Fountain Valley Usa on 13 November 2008
Remember this song because I was an Episode of Jefferson's with this song!
By Dakota in Ceda Lake Indiana on 18 November 2008
sweet ya'll!
By Sophie in Invercargill, New Zealand on 24 November 2008
I agree with Brenda! LOL
By Peter Louw in South Africa, Johannesburg on 3 December 2008
I saw the dvd of the making of 'USA FOR AFRICA' that famous song; 'We are the world we are the children' and all thet mega stars of were warming up their voices with this song. It was quite good to hear all singing along at once. MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!
By Sinead O Mahony in Ireland on 9 December 2008
my dad used to sings this at parties since I was a kid, I love it and its rootiness.
By Alex in Rizal,philippines on 27 December 2008
what a nice song! i really love watching beetle juice! i cant stop singing... since i love watching flicks, i found it so funny! aeeeee...... merry christmas to all! and a... happy new year........ muahhhuggggzzzz... alex....
By Ronald in El Salvador on 28 December 2008
really nice song, and very fun video!
By Brandon in Baltimore, United States on 31 December 2008
I love this song. The video was so silly that I cannot stop singing it.
By Jena in Indiana,united States on 18 January 2009
i love this song soooo much its my ringtone for when my Best friend calls me on my cell phone and on my ipod its the number 1 song most listened to! I hope that shows you how much i love The Banana Boat Song! GO JENA. AND I ALSO HAVE TO AGREE WITH BRENDA AND SOPHIE! SWEEEETTTTTT YA'LL!
By Dj in Rock Valley Us on 27 January 2009
i love this song !
By Vaishy in Canada on 10 February 2009
This song is so cool. We played in class! It is a nice song to hear everyday! I agree with everyone who likes this song.
By Elaina in Atlanta Usa on 15 February 2009
i sang this song in fourth grade my class loved it it was my all time fav song
By Ismael in Delavan Wisconsin on 26 February 2009
i love this song its so talented
By Kenzie in Spiceland on 7 March 2009
I love this song it is awesome!
By Peter Jackson in Smegol, Golom on 9 March 2009
a beautiful bunch, a ripe banana!
By Charlie in England on 12 March 2009
A really funny and cool song to hear and to sing
By Cyril in Marseille France on 17 March 2009
Well well well , what can i say more , you've said everything already ! You can hear it in Spin City too . GREAT SONG !
By Enyonam in London on 25 March 2009
I am going to play Day-o this thursday at st thomas college with my school ochestra
By Anika in Germany on 27 March 2009
I've heard this song in school. It's a great song!
By Rachel in Griswold Usa on 7 April 2009
I luv this song! 8 )
By Leia in New Jersey on 11 April 2009
My dad started singing this song to me and I LOVED IT!
By Melissa in Orlando, Fl on 16 April 2009
My 4 year old son learned this song in pre-K and I heard him singing it for the first time yesterday. I thought it was the cutest thing. I haven't been able to stop singing it either. We found an old video online of Harry Belafonte performing it with the muppets. Too cute!
By Kang And Kodos in Maryland, Us on 22 April 2009
This is our favorite song and will use it to enslave human minds as we conqeur your planet!
By Shelby in Oxford Shire on 24 April 2009
I like the song
By Natalie in Canada Mississaga on 27 April 2009
This is the best song ever
By Stephanie Solano in Cali, Colombia on 1 May 2009
personalmente, esta canción es de las mejores que he escuchado, desde que tengo memoria.. me encanta su sabor y su ritmo tan inigualable...
By Nicole in Ny (not The Big Apple) on 10 May 2009
my family knows this song by heart ill never forget it
By Johnnie Mazzer in Hollywood Ca Usa on 17 May 2009
my grandfather used to play this song on his record player while babysitting my brothers & sister & me when we were little kids growing up in NJ =)
By Rasha in Pembroke Usa on 30 May 2009
its funny i love this song so does my brother
By Rasha in Usa Pembroke on 31 May 2009
i will never forget this song i love the song so so so much i also love the video it is so funny it rocks the best
By Oshin in Chennai / India on 5 June 2009
lovely song ......... nice tune and simple and good lyrics
By Brian in Mississauga Canada on 11 June 2009
All these comments and not a single mention of harry Bellafonte who made this song famous! This song was on the first album that ever sold a million copies and remained in the top 10 on the charts for over a year!
By Ayanna in Lake Wood on 16 June 2009
i love this song
By Shae in Orlando on 19 June 2009
Brian in Mississauga Canada please see below of post by Melissa in Orlando: By Melissa in Orlando, Fl on 16 April 2009 My 4 year old son learned this song in pre-K and I heard him singing it for the first time yesterday. I thought it was the cutest thing. I haven't been able to stop singing it either. We found an old video online of Harry Belafonte performing it with the muppets. Too cute!
By Elena in Dubna In Russia on 21 June 2009
It's a lovely song. Very nice!
By Elena in Dubna In Russia on 21 June 2009
It's very nice song. I love it.
By J in United States on 5 July 2009
i know this song from beetle juice. :)
By Prateek in Lucknow, India on 8 August 2009
a beautiful song....still love it
By Taklesa in Guagua Pampanga on 29 August 2009
i love the,its nice
By Elise in French on 9 September 2009
Day----o Trop génial! Beetlejuice :) I like it.
By Manoj Menon in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 19 September 2009
Nice song
By Joshua in Portsmouth,uk on 6 October 2009
I luv this song.I've never seen Beetlejuice but the Banana Boat Song is on my ipod. I took it to school and starteed singing it really loud in the playground. The whole school burst into laughter BEST SONG IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE
By Tas in Daventry Uk on 6 November 2009
It's great song, puts you in dancing mood ah!
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By Brenda in South Orange, Nj Usa on 11 November 2008
found it funny that they used the beetlejuice movie for this video