: The song uses a call-and-response format, typical of traditional work chants, which fostered a sense of community among the laborers.
: The lyrics describe workers waiting for the " tally man ," the official responsible for counting their load so they could finally go home at sunrise.
Harry Belafonte's "," famous for the line " Come, Mister Tally Man, tally me banana ," is a cornerstone of 20th-century music that bridged Caribbean culture with mainstream pop. Origin and Meaning
: Released on his 1956 album Calypso , the song reached #5 on the Billboard charts and helped make Calypso the first LP in history to sell over a million copies.
: While the rhythm is lively, Belafonte described it as a song about struggle and grueling labor in a colonized life. The reference to a " deadly black taranch-la " highlights the literal dangers workers faced from spiders hidden in the banana bunches. Musical Impact
: It gained modern fame through the iconic dinner party possession scene in the 1988 film Beetlejuice . It has also been sampled by artists like Lil Wayne in his hit "6 Foot 7 Foot". Album Reference: "46 Greatest Hits"
Harry Belafonte - Come Mister Tally Man (46 Gre... < 2024 >
: The song uses a call-and-response format, typical of traditional work chants, which fostered a sense of community among the laborers.
: The lyrics describe workers waiting for the " tally man ," the official responsible for counting their load so they could finally go home at sunrise. Harry Belafonte - Come Mister Tally Man (46 Gre...
Harry Belafonte's "," famous for the line " Come, Mister Tally Man, tally me banana ," is a cornerstone of 20th-century music that bridged Caribbean culture with mainstream pop. Origin and Meaning : The song uses a call-and-response format, typical
: Released on his 1956 album Calypso , the song reached #5 on the Billboard charts and helped make Calypso the first LP in history to sell over a million copies. Origin and Meaning : Released on his 1956
: While the rhythm is lively, Belafonte described it as a song about struggle and grueling labor in a colonized life. The reference to a " deadly black taranch-la " highlights the literal dangers workers faced from spiders hidden in the banana bunches. Musical Impact
: It gained modern fame through the iconic dinner party possession scene in the 1988 film Beetlejuice . It has also been sampled by artists like Lil Wayne in his hit "6 Foot 7 Foot". Album Reference: "46 Greatest Hits"