After college, Mahal moved to Los Angeles and formed the group Rising Sons with Ry Cooder in 1964. The group signed with Columbia Records and released one single and recorded another album which was not released by Columbia until 1992. Taj, frustrated with the mixed reaction to his music quit the group and went solo. Still with Columbia, he released a well received, self titled album in 1968, and based on its success released a second album, Natch'l Blues that same year. Two very different records - Giant Step, with his electric band, and solo De Ole Folks at Home - were released in 1969 together as a double album. This firmly established Taj as an American blues original. The double album The Real Thing, captured him live at this time, with a horn section.
He has received two Grammy awards in the category "Best Contemporary Blues Album", the first in 1997 for Señor Blues, and again in 2000 for Shoutin' in Key. He has performed on various film soundtracks including Sounder and Blues Brothers 2000, in which he also appeared.
Day-O
Taj Mahal Lyrics
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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 till de mornin' come
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Six and seven and eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Six and seven and eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Say me day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
I sing, day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Say in der hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Six and seven and eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Six and seven and eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and I wan’ go home
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Beautiful bunch o' ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Me say der in hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wanna go home
Me say day-o, day-o
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
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day-o, day-o
The song "Banana Boat Song" is a traditional Jamaican folk song that was made popular by Harry Belafonte and later covered by Taj Mahal. The song depicts the backbreaking labor of Jamaican dockworkers who loaded bananas onto ships. The workers worked all night stacking bananas until morning came, and they could finally go home. The lyrics "Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana" refer to the individual who counted the number of bananas loaded onto the ship.
The repetition of the phrase "day-o" in the song is a nod to the call-and-response singing often used in Jamaican folk music. It is also a representation of the workers urging the daylight to come so that they can finally go home after a long night of work. The line "Beautiful bunch o' ripe banana" describes the workers' fondness for the fruit they are working with and their desire to go home and enjoy it with their families.
The inclusion of the line "Say in der hide the deadly black tarantula" adds an element of danger and excitement to the song. The workers were often appalled when they would come across a tarantula that had made its way into the banana crates. It was also said that some of the workers would catch and hide the tarantulas in order to scare their coworkers.
Overall, "Banana Boat Song" is a celebratory ode to hard work and the beauty of Jamaica's natural resources. It invokes feelings of camaraderie and togetherness amongst the workers as they labor through the night.
Line by Line Meaning
Day-o, me say day-o
I am calling out to my fellow workers to join me in unison.
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Sunrise has arrived and it is time to go home after working all night.
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
I am emphasizing that it is daytime now and we need to leave.
Me say day, me say day-o
I keep repeating the same message to make sure it is clear that we need to leave now.
Work all night till de mornin' come
We have been working hard all night long.
Stack banana till de mornin' come
We have been sorting bananas and stacking them all through the night.
Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana
I am asking the person responsible for counting to do the job as soon as possible.
Six and seven and eight foot bunch
We have been sorting the bananas into different sizes and bunching them up.
Say me day-o, day-o
I am calling out again to remind everyone to leave now as the sun is up.
I sing, day-o, day-o
I am leading the group in singing the chorus.
A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana
The bananas we have been working on are now perfectly ripe and ready for market.
Say in der hide the deadly black tarantula
I am warning everyone that there might be dangerous spiders hiding among the bananas.
Day-o, day-o
I repeat the chorus to keep the rhythm going.
Come, Mister Tally Man, tally the banana
I repeat my request for the bananas to be counted and to wrap up our work.
Day-o, me say day-o
I call out again to prompt everyone to get ready to leave.
Beautiful bunch o' ripe banana
I point out how magnificent the bunches of bananas look now that we've finished our work on them.
Me say der in hide the deadly black tarantula
I repeat my warning about the spiders, making sure everyone is aware.
Day-o, day-o
I sing the chorus one last time to wrap up the song.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Irving Burgie, William Attaway
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind