Harry Belafonte's Banana boat song (Day-O)
Baldvin Hansson
Greetings.
I have been looking all over for the lyrics to Harry Belafonte Banana Boat
Song or Day-O depending on who I talk to. Could someone please point me in
some direction or share the text if you have it?
Thank you.
Baldvin Hansson.
bal...@trafficsoftware.com
camgib
This version don't make any sense!
HeelsFans wrote:
>
> BANANA BOAT SONG (Eric Darling, Bob Carey & Alan Arkin) (Artist: Harry
> Belafonte)
>
> Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
> Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
Well... actually, according to the closed captioning on Beetlejuice, the
movie that had the song in it,... it's more of like Robin Hood's
transcribed version.
> Well, I'm loading de banana boats all night long.
> Day delight and I wanna go home.
> Hey! All of de work men sing dis song.
Where did that come from??
> Day delight and I wanna go home.
> Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
> Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
> Well, I sleep by the sun and I work by the moon.
> Day delight and I wanna go home.
> When I get some money, gonna quite so soon.
Again... I'm not quite sure...
> Day delight and I wanna go home.
> Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
> Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
> Well, I pack up all my things and I'll go to sea.
You sure that was the thing you heard?
> Day delight and I wanna go home.
> Den de bananas see the last of me.
> Day delight and I wanna go home.
Mind you, I'm just wondering... not arguing with you actually. More of a
debate, if you will. But if you would get a chance to watch the movie
Beetlejuice (fastforward to the part where the weird family sits down
for the meal with the prospective buyers, and they all erupt into a
dance singing the song -- presumely controlled by... ah, never mind).
If you bought a TV that's no older than 1993, your TV should have closed
captioning capability (just turn on the menu, and find "closed
captioning" and turn to C-1), you should see the version that was typed.
Damn, Ron. You got me singing the song too. It sure is infectious!! :)
cam gib
Pam V.K.
In article <19970716175...@ladder02.news.aol.com>, heel...@aol.com (HeelsFans) wrote:
:BANANA BOAT SONG (Eric Darling, Bob Carey & Alan Arkin) (Artist: Harry
:Belafonte)
:
:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
:Hey! All of de work men sing dis song.
:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
:Well, I sleep by the sun and I work by the moon.
:Day delight and I wanna go home.
:When I get some money, gonna quite so soon.
:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
:Well, I pack up all my things and I'll go to sea.
:Den de bananas see the last of me.
:Day delight and I wanna go home.
Isn't this "daylight come and I wanna go home"?
PVK
Debra Cooper
Yes. My brother's name being "David", he was quite fond of "Day-o"
and we both memorized it with all the single-minded pertinacity of
young children.
And hello from another universe, I have quite different background
data as well as lyrics for the song, to wit: Banana Boat (Day-o),
it's from Bellafonte's 1956 album Calypso, and became a hit in 1957.
The composers are William Attaway and Irving "Lord Burgess" Burgie.
Banana Boat (Day-o)
Harry Belafonte
Day-o!
Day-ay-ay-oh!
Daylight come an' me wan' go home...
Day?
Is there day, is there day, is there day, is there day, is there day-o?
Daylight come an' me wan' go home...
Work all night an' I drink-a rum-ah!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Stop (stuff? stalk?) banana til the morning come-ah!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Come, Mr. Tally-man, tally me banana!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Come, Mr. Tally-man, tally me banana!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
It's six-foot, seven-foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Six-foot, seven-foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Day? Is there day-o?
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Day? Is there day, is there day, is there day, is there day... (fade)
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
A beautiful bunch a' ripe banana!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
I see deadly black tarantula!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
It's six-foot, seven-foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Six-foot, seven-foot, eight foot bunch!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Day? Is there day-o?
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Day? Is there day, is there day, is there day, is there day... (fade)
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Come, Mr. Tally-man, tally me banana!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Come, Mr. Tally-man, tally me banana!
(Daylight come an' me wan' go home)
Day-o!
Day-ay-ay-oh!
Daylight come an' me wan' go home...
Day?
Is there day, is there day, is there day, is there day, is there day-o?
Daylight come an' me wan' go home...
HeelsFans
This is my fault. This song is originally a folk song, and more than one
version was adapted popularly. Ron's words from an adaption by Belafonte,
Burgess, and Attaway, and that is the version that Belafonte sings.
Ron is correct that I probably got the words from sheet music. The
adaption of the folk song that I typed was by Eric Darling, Bob Carey &
Alan Arkin. It is clearly NOT the version sung by Belafonte, and I admit
that it is an odd version. As I have stated to some, I have collected
lyrics for over 30 years, and I can no longer tell you where I got some of
them. But if I have a lyricist and composer, it is almost always the case
that I got the words from sheet music.
Sorry for any confusion. Thanks to Ron for his defense, and for the
correct Belafonte version.
Wayne Garvin
(posted to alt.music.lyrics and e-mailed to Pam V.K.)
On Thu, 17 Jul 97 01:51:19 GMT pj...@iquest.net (Pam V.K.) wrote:
>In article <19970716175...@ladder02.news.aol.com>, heel...@aol.com (HeelsFans) wrote:
>:BANANA BOAT SONG (Eric Darling, Bob Carey & Alan Arkin) (Artist: Harry
>:Belafonte)
>:
>:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
>:Day-o, day-o, day delight and I wanna go home.
>:Well, I'm loading de banana boats all night long.
>:Day delight and I wanna go home.
>
>Isn't this "daylight come and I wanna go home"?
Depends which version you're talking about (there are MANY - six made the
Top 40 in 1957 alone!). HeelsFans inadvertently identified these lyrics as
the Harry Belafonte version. It's actually the 1956 version by The Tarriers
and is essentially correct. Harry Belafonte sang "daylight come and me wanna
go home".
------------------------------------------------------------------
Wayne Garvin, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
The Lyrics Library: http://www.kw.igs.net/~wgarvin/lyrics.html
alt.music.lyrics web site, FAQ and Frequently Requested Lyrics:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/3431/aml.html
------------------------------------------------------------------
Wayne Garvin
(posted to alt.music.lyrics and e-mailed to HeelsFans)
On 17 Jul 1997 14:31:15 GMT heel...@aol.com (HeelsFans) wrote:
>This is my fault. This song is originally a folk song, and more than one
>version was adapted popularly. Ron's words from an adaption by Belafonte,
>Burgess, and Attaway, and that is the version that Belafonte sings.
>
>Ron is correct that I probably got the words from sheet music. The
>adaption of the folk song that I typed was by Eric Darling, Bob Carey &
>Alan Arkin.
You're absolutely right. And just to back you up further and provide a few
more details ...
"The Banana Boat Song" is based on a West Indian work song brought to the
U.S. in the late forties. In 1957 there were several popular adaptations of
the song that charted in the Billboard Top 40. The earliest and most
successful version that year was by a folk trio called The Tarriers, which
consisted of Erik Darling, Bob Carey and Alan Arkin (yes, the same Alan
Arkin who went on to star in movies). The Tarriers' version entered the
Billboard Top 40 December 22, 1956 and peaked at #4 in 1957. Harry
Belafonte's version entered the Top 40 January 12, 1957 and peaked at #5.
Also entering the Top 40 the week of January 12, 1957 were versions by The
Fontane Sisters (#13) and Sarah Vaughan (#19) and, a week later, Steve
Lawrence (#18). There was also a comedy version by Stan Freberg (#25) that
entered the Top 40 April 27, 1957.
The lyrics you posted were The Tarriers' version. Here's my transcription of
their 1956 recording. I'm uncertain about the phrase "day de light and I
wanna go home". I have a Reader's Digest songbook that shows yet another
version of this song, and it says "day BE light and I wanna go home". This
makes much more sense to me - he's worked all night loading bananas on the
boats and now it's daylight and he wants to go home. Similarly, Belafonte's
version says "daylight come and me wanna go home". The lyrics you posted
("day DELIGHT and I wanna go home") don't make sense to me. However, as far
as I can tell from listening to my scratchy old 78, they're singing "de"
rather than "be" so I went with "de" as a separate word ("the" with a West
Indian accent). This still doesn't make much sense but it's the best I can
come up with. If there are any West Indians reading this who can shed some
light on the subject, I'd be grateful for your insights.
THE BANANA BOAT SONG
- words and music by Erik Darling, Bob Carey and Alan Arkin
(aka The Tarriers)
- adapted from a West Indian work song
- lyrics as recorded by The Tarriers in 1956 (reached #4 in 1957)
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Well, I'm loadin' de banana boats all night long
Day de light and I wanna go home
Hey! All of de work men sing this song
Day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Well, I sleep by sun and I work by moon
Day de light and I wanna go home
I hope to tell you, when I get some money, gonna quit so soon
Day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
------ banjo ------
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, (sing me!) day de light and I wanna go home
Well, I pack up all my things and I'll go to sea
Day de light and I wanna go home
Oh-oh-oh, den de bananas see the last of me
Day de light and I wanna go home
Sing me!
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Day-o, day-o, day de light and I wanna go home
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Hill and gully rider, hill and gully
Debra Cooper
On Fri, 18 Jul 1997, Wayne Garvin wrote:
> On 17 Jul 1997 14:05:00 GMT
> Debra Cooper <bar...@shikahr.com.inter.net> wrote:
> >On Thu, 17 Jul 1997, Pam V.K. wrote:
> >
> >> In article <19970716175...@ladder02.news.aol.com>, heel...@aol.com (HeelsFans) wrote:
> >> :BANANA BOAT SONG (Eric Darling, Bob Carey & Alan Arkin) (Artist: Harry
> >> :Belafonte)
> >
> >And hello from another universe, I have quite different background
> >data as well as lyrics for the song, to wit: Banana Boat (Day-o),
> >it's from Bellafonte's 1956 album Calypso, and became a hit in 1957.
> >The composers are William Attaway and Irving "Lord Burgess" Burgie.
>
> The song didn't originate with Harry Belafonte, and Attaway, Burgess and
> Belafonte aren't exactly the "composers". They adapted it from an old West
> Indian work song that came to the U.S. in the late forties. Another
> adaptation which appeared on the Billboard Top 40 a few weeks before
> Belafonte's was by a folk trio called The Tarriers. That's the version that
> was posted, although it was inadvertently identified as the Belafonte
> version.
>
> See my other posts in this thread for more details.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> Wayne Garvin, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
>
> The Lyrics Library: http://www.kw.igs.net/~wgarvin/lyrics.html
>
> alt.music.lyrics web site, FAQ and Frequently Requested Lyrics:
> http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/3431/aml.html
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
Thank you every one for disambiguating.