Search results
"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 response work song, from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading bananas onto ships. The lyrics describe how daylight has ...
Jul 3, 2024 · “Day-O” is a repeated phrase throughout the song, which derives from the Jamaican term “daylight come and me wan’ go home.” This phrase represents the desire for daylight to come, signaling the end of a long night shift and the workers’ yearning to return to their homes.
- Ken Chamberlain
Apr 26, 2023 · “Banana Boat (Day-O)” is said to have originated around the turn of the 20th century in Jamaica. Dockworkers who loaded shipping vessels with bananas would work all through the night until the...
- Staff Writer
- 4 min
Jun 3, 2024 · The song “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” was actually written by Jamaican folk artist Irving Burgie, who also goes by the name Lord Burgess. He drew inspiration from his childhood experiences in Jamaica and his encounters with dock workers loading bananas onto ships.
This is a traditional Jamaican song that was sung by dock workers who worked throughout the night loading bananas onto ships. It's daylight, and they look forward to the arrival of the Tallyman (who will take inventory) so they can go home.
“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” is a single from Harry Belafonte’s 1956 album Calypso is an adaptation of a vernacular Jamaican work song. This version of the song was adapted by Barbadian ...
People also ask
Is Day-O a Jamaican Song?
Why is the song Day O called Day O?
Who wrote Day-O (Banana Boat Song)?
Why is Banana Boat (Day-O) a call-and-response song?
What is the song 'Banana Boat (Day-O)' about?
What made Day-O (Banana Boat Song) so popular?
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 singer Harry Belafonte in 1956 (originally titled "Banana Boat (Day-O)") and later became one of his signature songs.
