Behind the Meaning of Harry Belafonte’s Calypso Hit, “Banana Boat (Day-O)”

On Tuesday (April 25), Harry Belafonte’s death was announced. The legendary singer, actor, and activist, who passed away in his home in Manhattan, New York, from congestive heart failure, was 96.

Belafonte left a rich legacy in his wake. From being a confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. to aiding the anti-Apartheid movement, Belafonte was much more than a musician. However, his contributions in the arena cannot be overlooked either.

Belafonte brought the sway of the Caribbean to an American audience by popularizing the Calypso genre. Perhaps the best testament to that claim is one of his biggest hits “Banana Boat (Day-O).”

Even those unfamiliar with Belafonte or Calypso will likely know this song thanks to its pervasiveness in pop culture. From movies to covers to interpolations, the irresistible earworm that is “Banana Boat (Day-O)” is still firmly stuck in our minds decades after Belafonte’s version was released.

To fete the late-great musician, we’re uncovering the meaning behind “Banana Boat (Day-O).” Check out the inspiration for this fun ditty, below.

Behind the Meaning

Though Belafonte was born in Harlem, he left the U.S. at eight years old and returned to his mother’s native Jamaica. There, he learned the tradition of the call-and-response work song. Tunes like “Banana Boat (Day-O)” were meant to be started by one worker and repeated by the rest in refrains to make the work day less mundane.

“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 first sign of daylight appeared. When the day finally broke, the boss would come and tally their load and send them home—hence the lyrics: Daylight come and we want go home.

Belafonte wasn’t the first musician to record a version of “Banana Boat (Day-O).” Other Caribbean artists like Edric Connor and the Caribbeans and Louise Bennett took the songs to a wider audience before Belafonte, but his 1956 version was undoubtedly the most popular among mainstream audiences.

Belafonte got a hold of the song during an appearance on the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1955. Songwriters Lord Burgess and William Attaway re-wrote some of the lyrics to “Banana Boat (Day-O)” for the show, which the audience immediately gravitated toward.

Belafonte then recorded the rewritten version for his breakthrough album Calypso. The song and the accompanying album helped to usher in a Calypso craze in the U.S., with many artists using beats inspired by the genre in their pop tunes.

Work all night on a drink of rum
(Daylight come and we want go home)
Stack banana ’til the morning come
(Daylight come and we want go home)

Come Mister tally man, tally me banana
(Daylight come and we want go home)
Come Mister tally man, tally me banana
(Daylight come and we want go home)

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
(Daylight come and we want go home)
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
(Daylight come and we want go home)

Covers, Interpolations, and Movies

Since its release “Banana Boat (Day-O)” has popped up countless times across pop culture.

Perhaps the first thing most people think of when they hear “Banana Boat (Day-O)” is the iconic scene in the 1988 Halloween classic, Beetlejuice. In the scene, the two ghostly main characters haunt the family that has moved into their house, forcing them to dance along to this Belafonte hit.

“It’s a ghost story taking place in a New England–style house,” Beetlejuice screenwriter Larry Wilson said during a Pitchfork interview. “Then here comes Harry Belafonte! Why? Why not? That’s the secret of Beetlejuice. No one was afraid to take things to the most far-out places.”

As a result “Banana Boat (Day-O)” has become a familiar face at Halloween parties across the country, despite its origins.

The song was also famously interpolated by Lil Wayne for his 2010 hit, “6 Foot 7 Foot.” The rap classic makes use of Belafonte’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch line in the backing beat for Wayne’s delivery.

“It’s not my song,” Belafonte once said after being asked about Wayne’s use of “Banana Boat (Day-O).” “It’s a song that belongs to millions of people in the Caribbean. An ancient work song that people, of which my family was one of them, [who] were plantation workers … sang in the day and they sang in the night. They sang every opportunity they could get to throw off the burdens of poverty, and therefore the song has great significance.”

He continued, “I’m just glad to see that the younger generations have picked it up and are carrying the song forward in their own way, just like I picked it up in my time.”

Elsewhere, “Banana Boat (Day-O)” has been covered a number of times – notably by the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Shirley Bassey, Steve Lawrence, and Raffi.

All of this speaks to the timelessness of “Banana Boat (Day-O).” It’s an endlessly catchy hit for any generation and will likely continue to pop up around the entertainment industry for decades to come.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns