Gregory Anthony Isaacs ⋆ 15 July 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica ⋆ 25 Oct 2010 in… Read Full Bio ↴Gregory Anthony Isaacs ⋆ 15 July 1951 in Kingston, Jamaica ⋆ 25 Oct 2010 in London UK ⋆ was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. He recorded an enormous amount of songs in the genres (regular) reggae, lovers rock, roots reggae. His nickname was the Cool Ruler. By the late 1970s, Isaacs was one of the biggest reggae performers, regularly touring the US and the UK. Well-known songs are Night Nurse, Mr Cop, My Only Lover, Tune In, and Love Is Overdue. He became an international star 1978 after signed to Virgin Record's Front Line, and appeared in the movie Rockers with the song Slave Master. The two Front Line albums Cool Ruler and Soon Forward did, however, not sell as good as expected from someone regarded to be the third or fourth reggae artist in the world after Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, and maybe Jacob Miller (singer in the band Inner Circle). Drug problems with cocaine and crack cocaine in the early 80s decelerated Isaacs carrier substantially, but not completely. He released 73 studio albums with original material, and over 500 compilation or remix albums. He worked together with almost all big Jamaican music producers of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

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Gregory Isaacs (born on 15 July 1951 in Fletchers Land, Kingston, Jamaica and died on 25 October 2010 in London) was a Reggae singer and songwriter. Gregory Anthony Isaacs is known as "The Cool Ruler" for his seductive crooning vocal style. Gregory attributed his greatest musical influences to R&B greats Sam Cooke and Percy Sledge, in addition to Delroy Wilson, Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe.

In the late 1960s, Gregory first performed in a vocal trio called The Concords, after being encouraged by Byron Lee. By 1970 the group had split up. He subsequently formed his own label, African Museum.

In the late 1970s he emerged as one of the most prolific and popular recording artists in Jamaica. He released a number of self-produced singles on his own African Museum (JA) label with Errol Dunkley. Much of Isaacs' output reflected the 'conscious' themes of Roots Reggae, but Isaacs was equally adept at interpreting more mainstream Lovers Rock material. Early hits include "My Only Lover", "Sinner Man" and "Mr. Cop", recorded at Lee Perry's Black Ark Studio.

A period in the 1970s with the GG's label and its producer Alvin Ranglin produced hits like "Border" and "Number One".

Personal problems affected him, particularly battles with a cocaine addiction and a possession charge, which prevented him from touring in North America for a significant part of his career, until a pardon could eventually be secured.

Isaacs recorded with a number of producers, including the Riddim Twin's (Sly & Robbie) Taxi Records, who gave them their first hit with 1979's "Soon Forward" , After a series of releases with Sly & Robbie, Gregory built a strong relationship with Gussie Clarke of the Music Works label. In addition to these local Jamaican labels, The Cool Ruler had had releases on Trojan, VP, Virgin's Front Line and English producer Tad A. Dawkin's Tad's Records. Isaacs would would eventually sign with Chris Blackwell's Island Records which resulted in the international release of Night Nurse (1982) and Out Deh! (1983).

Perhaps his most popular recordings in his native Jamaica are "All I Have Is Love", "Mr. Brown" and "Hard Drugs", the latter being an anti-drug anthem that dominated radio in the late 1980s and was released as a hidden track on England's Tad Records All I Have Is Love, Love Love LP.

In the 1990s Gregory's African Museum label continued to release all of Gregory Isaacs' music, and that of artists he produced. He continued to record and perform live in the 2000s, and it has been estimated that Isaacs has released over 500 records in his career, which includes singles and compilations.

Isaacs, who was 59 years old, died of lung cancer on 25 October 2010 at his home in London where he spent part of his time. A sad loss to the world.

Day-O
Gregory Isaacs Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

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 till 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

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Gregory Isaacs's Day-O paint a vivid picture of the hard work banana workers put in every day. The song is full of rich Caribbean imagery and rhythms that transport listeners to the banana plantations of Jamaica. "Day-O" is a call and response song, with the workers singing out to their tally man to record the number of bananas they have picked. The song also highlights the long, exhausting workday with the plaintive plea for daylight to come and for the worker to be able to go home.

The lyrics are a tribute to the back-breaking labor of the banana trade. After working all night, picking and stacking bananas until dawn, the workers eagerly await the arrival of the tally man to document their work. The song is both a celebration and a lament for the lives of those who work in the fields. The back-and-forth between the workers and the tally man creates a sense of camaraderie and shared experience.

Line by Line Meaning

Day-o, day-o
The day has begun.

Daylight come and me wan' go home
It is morning, and I want to leave work.

Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
I keep saying 'day' to indicate that it's daytime now.

Me say day, me say day-o
I'm emphasizing that it's daytime now.

Work all night on a drink of rum
I worked hard all night, fueled by just a drink of rum.

Stack banana till de mornin' come
I was busy stacking bananas all night, and it's time to stop.

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
I'm asking the tally man to count my bananas, so I can finish work and go home.

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
I have to lift these huge bunches of bananas to the tally man for counting.

Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
The bunches of bananas are so big, they stretch six, seven, or eight feet long.

A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana
These bananas I've been working with are ripe and ready to harvest.

Hide the deadly black tarantula
I have to be careful when handling the bananas because deadly black tarantulas might be hiding in them.

Day, me say day-o
I'm repeating 'day-o' again to emphasize that it's daytime now and I want to leave.

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
I'm asking the tally man again to count my bananas so I can finally go home.

Day-o, day-o
The chorus is repeated to emphasize that it's daytime and I want to go home.

Day, me say day, me say day, me say day…
I keep repeating 'day' to stress that it's daytime, and I want to leave.

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
I'm asking the tally man one more time to count my bananas so I can go home.

Me say day, me say day-o
I'm repeating 'day-o' to indicate that it's daytime, and I want to go home.

Daylight come and me wan' go home
I finally get to leave work now that daylight has fully arrived.

Writer(s): William Attaway, Irving Burgie, A. Attaway William

Contributed by Tristan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@PaulaMarianiAna

3y↑21

Letra:

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 till 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

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, day-o
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
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, day-o
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, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home

@CalliReis

6y↑3

menu

Banana Boat Song (day-o)Gregory Isaacs

Original Tradução

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 till 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

All comments from YouTube:

@rossettorossetto5321

11w↑5

Ufaaaa chegamos em 2024 e eu consegui achar a música que ouvia à 20 anos atrás!Obrigado

@arthurlosangelis9667

10w↑10

2024? Quem sempre escuta pra lembrar quando os pais colocavam essa?

@isaacalves1302

5w↑1

Pode crê irmão kssksksk

@32sdll19-hi7tq

52w↑13

Quando eu tinha 13 anos ouvir essa música pela primeira vez...
Depois de 20 anos depois achei o artista...
passei saber mais e descobrir q a versão original tem mais de 60 anos...😳
Obrigado Deus e aos criadores dessa obra prima.🖤🤩