Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) - Beetlejuice (musical) - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Even though it was originally popularized by Caribbean-American musician Harry Belafonte in 1956, "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is actually a traditional Jamaican folk song that originated in the early 20th century, when the banana trade in the island was in full swing. Its call-and-response lyrics were inspired by the Jamaican dockworkers, who would load the bananas onto the ships at night to avoid the heat of the daytime sun and awaited the arrival of the tallyman at dawn so they could go home. It was first recorded in 1952 by Trinidadian singer Edric Connor and reached the mainstream in 1956 through Harry Belafonte's version, which was specially arranged by William Attaway and Lord Burgess for The Colgate Comedy Hour. In 1988, Harry Belafonte's rendition of the song seeped into the American pop culture after being included in Tim Burton's comedy horror film Beetlejuice, also appearing in its subsequent animated series and Broadway musical adaptation.