Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)

The song has mento influences, but 'Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)' was commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music. It is a work song, from the point of view of dock workers working the night shift loading bananas onto ships. Daylight has come, the shift is over, and they want their work to be counted up so that they can go home.

Mento

Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.

Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso. Mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common.

Mento draws on musical traditions brought by West African slaves. They also absorbed European musical traditions, creating a new form. Slaves who could play musical instruments were often required to play music for their masters and often rewarded for such skills. The Africans created a creole music, incorporating such elements of these traditions, including quadrille, into their own folk music.

The Jamaican mento style has a long history of conflation with Trinidadian calypso...