Remarks:
This is an old Jamaican folk song, one that made Jamaican American Harry Belafonte rich and famous. His cover of the song came out in 1956 and later went to #5 in the US, #2 in Britain. It has come up twice (so far) on this blog thanks to memorable performances by two of Mr Belafonte’s fans, Justin Trudeau and Teena Marie.
See also:
Lyrics:
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Stack banana ’til de mornin’ come
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
A beautiful bunch o’ ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Source: Songfacts.
Abagond 
I have seen this song spoofed on lots of comedy skits. I guess there was something funny about yelling out “Day-O , Day-O.” Making fun of Caribbean accents and people.
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I didn’t know Belafonte was Jamaican.
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@ Mary Burrell
I just found out that his last name was originally Bellanfanti. He changed it somewhat for the stage.
Also, I didn’t know that both of his parents were biracial. This is what the Wiki article says:
“His mother was born in Jamaica, the child of a Scottish white mother and a black father. His father also was born in Jamaica, the child of a black mother and Dutch Jewish father of Sephardi origins.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte
It’s terrible that this song has been spoofed so much. His arrangement of the song is so respectful and beautiful. It captures both the rollicking rhythm of the work chant and the sadness of longing for home. That’s not easy to do all at once, but he does it effortlessly.
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To this day, very handsome. My mom still has his albums from my grandparents. He also had some acting roles, too – “Buck and Preacher.”
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