Day-O (aka The Banana Boat Song)



Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) s a traditional Jamaican mento folk song, the best-known version of which was sung by Harry Belafonte and an alternate version interspersed with another Jamaican folk song, "Hill and Gully Rider", by The Tarriers—later covered by Dame Shirley Bassey. Despite the song's mento influences, "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is widely known as an example of reggae music. It is a work song, from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading bananas onto ships. Daylight has come, the shift is over and they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home.

Children's singer Raffi has performed the song in concert, replacing the line "I work all night on a drink of rum" with "I work all night 'til the morning come", and the line "Hide the deadly black taranch-la" with "A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana!" He also recorded this song on his 1980 album, Baby Beluga. The Wiggles sing this song on You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.

Song Lyrics
Hey, he say hey-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Hey, he say hey-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Let's go bananas

Work all night till the morning come

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Stack banana till the morning come

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Come, mister tally man, tally me banana

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Come, mister tally man, tally me banana

Daylight come and he wanna go home

It's six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Day, he say day-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Day, he say day-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

A beautiful bunch of ripe banana

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Hide the deadly black tarantula

Daylight come and he wanna go home

It's six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Day, he say day-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Day, he say day-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Come, mister tally man, tally me banana

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Come, mister tally man, tally me banana

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Day, he say day-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home

Day, he say day-o

Daylight come and he wanna go home