"Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is a traditional
Jamaican folk song. The song has
mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known
calypso music.
It is a
call and responsework song, from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading
bananas onto ships. The lyrics describe how daylight has come, their shift is over, and they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home.
The best-known version was released by
Jamaican-American singer
Harry Belafonte in 1956 (originally titled "Banana Boat (Day-O)") and later became one of his signature songs. That same year
the Tarriers released an alternative version that incorporated the chorus of another Jamaican call and response folk song, "Hill and Gully Rider". Both versions became simultaneously popular the following year, placing 5th and 6th on the 20 February 1957, US Top 40 Singles chart.[2] The Tarriers version was covered multiple times in 1956 and 1957, including by
the Fontane Sisters,
Sarah Vaughan,
Steve Lawrence, and
Shirley Bassey, all of whom charted in the top 40 in their respective countries.[3]
Belafonte described "Day-O" as "a song about struggle, about black people in a colonized life doing the most grueling work," in a 2011 interview with Gwen Ifill on PBS NewsHour. He said, "I took that song and honed it into an anthem that the world loved."
History
"The Banana Boat Song" likely originated around the beginning of the 20th century when the banana trade in Jamaica was growing. It was sung by Jamaican dockworkers, who typically worked at night to avoid the heat of the daytime sun. When daylight arrived, they expected their boss would arrive to tally the bananas so they could go home.[4]
The song was first recorded by
Trinidadian singer
Edric Connor and his band the Caribbeans on the 1952 album Songs from Jamaica; the song was called "Day Dah Light".[5] Belafonte based his version on Connor's 1952 and
Louise Bennett's 1954 recordings.[6][7]
In 1955, American singer-songwriters
Lord Burgess and
William Attaway wrote a version of the lyrics for The Colgate Comedy Hour, in which the song was performed by
Harry Belafonte.[8] Belafonte recorded the song for
RCA Victor and this is the version that is best known to listeners today, as it reached number five on the Billboard charts in 1957 and later became Belafonte's
signature song. Side two of Belafonte's 1956 Calypso album opens with "Star O", a song referring to the day shift ending when the first star is seen in the sky. During recording, when asked for its title, Harry spells, "Day Done Light".
Also in 1956, folk singer
Bob Gibson, who had traveled to Jamaica and heard the song, taught his version to the folk band
the Tarriers. They recorded a version of that song that incorporated the chorus of "Hill and Gully Rider", another Jamaican folk song. This release became their biggest hit, reaching number four on the pop charts, where it outperformed Belafonte's version. The Tarriers' version was recorded by
the Fontane Sisters,
Sarah Vaughan, and
Steve Lawrence in 1956, all of whom charted in the US Top 40, and by
Shirley Bassey in 1957, whose recording became a hit in the United Kingdom.[9] The Tarriers, or some subset of the three members of the group (
Erik Darling,
Bob Carey and
Alan Arkin, later better known as an actor) are sometimes credited as the writers of the song.
The Fontane Sisters recorded the Tarriers version in a recording of the song for
Dot Records in 1956. It charted to number 13 in the US in 1957.[11]
Sarah Vaughan and an orchestra conducted by
David Carroll recorded a jazzy version for
Mercury Records in 1956, credited to Darling, Carey, and Arkin of the Tarriers. It charted at number 19 on the US Top 40 charts in 1957.[3][11]
Steve Lawrence recorded the Tarriers version in 1957 for
Coral Records, with a chorus and orchestra directed by
Dick Jacobs. It peaked at number 18 on the US Top 40 charts that year.[11]
Parodies and alternate lyrics
"Banana Boat (Day-O)", a parody by
Stan Freberg and
Billy May released in 1957 by
Capitol Records, features ongoing disagreement between an enthusiastic Jamaican lead singer (played by Freberg) and a
bongo-playing
beatnik (played by
Peter Leeds) who "don't dig loud noises" and has the catchphrase "You're too loud, man". When he hears the lyric about the "deadly black
taranch-la" (actually the highly venomous
Brazilian wandering spider, commonly dubbed "banana spider"), the beatnik protests, "No, man! Don't sing about spiders, I mean, oooo! like I don't dig spiders". Freberg's version was popular, reaching number 25 on the US Top 40 charts in 1957,[11] and received much radio airplay; Harry Belafonte reportedly disliked the parody.[12] Stan Freberg's version was the basis for the jingle for the
TV advert for the UK
chocolate barTrio from the mid-1980s to the early to mid-1990s, the lyrics being, "Trio, Trio, I want a Trio and I want one now. Not one, not two, but three things in it; chocolatey biscuit and a toffee taste too."
Dutch comedian
André van Duin released his version in 1972 called Het bananenlied: the banana song. This song asks repetitively why bananas are bent. It reaches the conclusion that if the bananas weren't bent they wouldn't fit into their peels.
German band
Trio performed a parody with "Bommerlunder" (a German schnapps) substituted for the words "daylight come" in the 1980s.
The
Serbian comedy rock band
the Kuguars, composed of renowned Serbian actors, achieved widespread popularity with their 1998 cover of the song "
Dejo majstore." Originally dedicated to the
Yugoslav national
soccer team player
Dejan "Dejo" Savićević, the song's lyrics were in
Serbian. This rendition quickly became a nationwide hit, garnering significant attention. Additionally, a promotional video was produced to accompany the song's release, further solidifying its status within the Serbian music scene.
In their 1994 album, the comedy music group
Grup Vitamin included a Turkish cover of the song parodying the
macho culture in the country.
In 1988–89, Belafonte's children, David and
Gina, parodied the song in a commercial about the
Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo. (David was singing "Trofeo" in the same style as "Day-O" in the song).
A 1991 Brazilian commercial used a parody of the song to promote their bubble gum brand "
Bubbaloo Banana" with lyrics dedicated to the banana-flavoured candy
A parody of this song was used in an
E-Trade commercial that first aired on
Super Bowl LII.
Biscuit manufacturer
Jacob's parodied the song in the 1980s for advertisements for the
Trio biscuit bar, sung by an animated character called Suzy.
Food manufacturer
Kellogg's parodied the song in their 2001 television advertisement for their breakfast cereal
Fruit 'n Fibre.
For an ad campaign that started in 1991, now-defunct Seattle-based department store chain
The Bon Marché used a version of the song with alternate lyrics in their commercials.[13]
The Swedish humor show
Rally, which aired between 1995 and 2002 in
Sveriges Radio P3 made a version called "Hey Mr. Taliban", which speaks about
Osama Bin Laden.
The Rockin Roll Morning show on
KOMP 92.3 created a flash video called "Osama bin Laden Nowhere To Run - Nowhere To Hide" that features United States Secretary of State
Colin Powell (who is himself of Jamaican descent) singing a parody of the song about Osama bin Laden getting bombed.
The original 1956 Belafonte recording is heard in the 1988 film Beetlejuice in a dinner scene in which the guests are supernaturally compelled to dance along to the song by the film's protagonists.[19] It was sung by Beetlejuice and Lydia in the first episode of the
television animated series, and it appeared in the
Broadwaymusical adaptation. It will appear in the film's upcoming sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which will be released on September 6, 2024.[20][21]
In the TV series The Muppet Show season 3 episode 14, Harry Belafonte performs the song accompanied by Fozzie Bear and other muppets. Fozzie Bear requests to be a tally man as identified in the lyrics of the song. Harry Belafonte explains what a tally man is as he proceeds to sing with other muppets accompanying singing the song's answer.
In the TV series Legends of Tomorrow season 2 episode 14 "Moonshot", the character Martin Stein abruptly starts singing the song to cause a distraction.[22]
^Stanley, Bob (2022). "Whipped Cream and Other Delights: Adventures in Beatleland". Let's Do It - The Birth of Pop Music: A History. New York. p. 564.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^The Louise Bennett version of Day O (The Banana Boat Song) is available and documented in both French and English on the Jamaica – Mento 1951–1958 album (2009)