Born in Cairo of Armenian parents, he spent his early years in Egypt before emigrating with his family to Toronto in 1958. Today, Raffi resides on Mayne Island near Victoria, British Columbia. In recent years he has devoted himself to Child Honouring, which seeks to create a humane and sustainable world by addressing the universal needs of the very young. He founded the Troubadour Foundation to support this cause, and is working on a book, "Turn This World Around," which argues that Child Honouring can be a potent remedy for the world's most pressing issues. In 1983, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2001. His sister is Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner.
2) Raffi Boghossian was the first winner of X Factor Bulgaria.
Banana Boat Song
Raffi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day O, me say day O
Daylight come and me wan go home
Work all night till the morning come
Daylight come and me wan go home
Stack banana till the morning come
Come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan go home
Me say, come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan go home
Lift six, and seven, and eight, and bunch
Daylight come and me wan go home
Me say, six, and seven, and eight, and bunch
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day O, Day O
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day O, Day O
Daylight come and me wan go home
Beautiful bunch of ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan go home
A beautiful bunch of ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan go home
Six, and seven, and eight, and bunch
Daylight come and me wan go home
Me say, six, and seven, and eight, and bunch
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day, me say day 0
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day O, Day O
Daylight come and me wan go home
Come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan go home
Me say, come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day O, Me say day O
Daylight come and me wan go home
Day O, Me say day O
Daylight come and me wan go home
The Banana Boat Song is a traditional Jamaican folk song that was popularized by Harry Belafonte in 1956, and Raffi's version became part of children's music history in the 1980s. The lyrics describe the work of Jamaican dockworkers loading bananas onto ships to be exported to the United States. The workers toil through the night to stack the bananas into bunches, and they call on the tallyman to count and record the number of bananas loaded. The refrain, "Day O," is a call and response between the lead singer and the workers. When daylight comes, the workers plead with the tallyman to finish counting the bananas so they can go home.
The song's lyrics reflect the difficult labor conditions experienced by Jamaican dockworkers in the early twentieth century. The song is also an important cultural artifact that reflects Jamaican working-class folk traditions. The Banana Boat Song's upbeat and catchy melody has made it a popular children's song, with Raffi's rendition introducing it to a new generation of young music lovers.
Line by Line Meaning
Day O, me say day O
I am calling out to my fellow banana workers to begin our workday.
Daylight come and me wan go home
We will work until the sun comes up, then I will go home.
Work all night till the morning come
We work through the night, harvesting bananas.
Stack banana till the morning come
We pile up the bananas we have harvested.
Come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
I call for the supervisor to count our harvested bananas.
Me say, come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
I repeat my request for the supervisor to tally my share of bananas.
Lift six, and seven, and eight, and bunch
We lift the large bunches of six, seven, and eight bananas.
Day O, Day O
We continue to chant as we work.
Beautiful bunch of ripe banana
We admire the sight of a bunch of bananas that are ripe for harvesting.
Six, and seven, and eight, and bunch
We count and stack the harvested bananas.
Day, me say day 0
We repeat our chant to keep time as we work.
Come Mr Tallyman and tally me banana
Once again, I call for our supervisor to tally our harvested bananas.
Day O, Me say day O
I continue to chant as we finish up our workday.
Daylight come and me wan go home
We will finish our work and leave as soon as the sun rises.
Day O, Me say day O
I repeat my chant as we leave for the day.
Daylight come and me wan go home
We eagerly anticipate going home after a long night of work.
Lyrics © SEMI, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Irving Burgie, William Attaway
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind