"Coconut" | ||||
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Single by Harry Nilsson | ||||
from the album Nilsson Schmilsson | ||||
B-side | "The Moonbeam Song" | |||
Released | 1972 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded | 1971 | |||
Genre | Calypso | |||
Length | 3:52 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Writer(s) | Harry Nilsson | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Perry | |||
Harry Nilsson singles chronology | ||||
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"Coconut" | ||||
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Single by Dannii Minogue | ||||
from the album Girl | ||||
B-side | "Everybody Changes Underwater" "Heaven Can Wait" "Someone New" |
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Released | November 16, 1998 | |||
Format | CD single | |||
Recorded | 1994-1995 | |||
Genre | Dance | |||
Length | 4:50 | |||
Label | WEA | |||
Writer(s) | Harry Nilsson | |||
Producer(s) |
Flexifinger (Original vocal production: DNA) |
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Dannii Minogue singles chronology | ||||
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"Coconut" is a song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released as the third single from his 1971 album, Nilsson Schmilsson. It was on the Billboard charts for 10 weeks, reaching #8, and was ranked by Billboard as the #66 song for 1972.
In 1998, a cover version was released by Australian singer Dannii Minogue as a single, peaking at #62 on the ARIA singles chart.
The lyrics feature four characters (the narrator, the brother, the sister, and the doctor), three of whom (narrator, sister, and doctor) are sung in different voices by Nilsson. The song describes a story in which a girl has a stomachache and calls her doctor who prescribes her a drink. With the help of her brother, they concoct a beverage consisting of lime and coconut. When the sister calls the doctor late at night, the doctor (annoyed at being awakened by such a complaint) laughs her off and recommends that she "put the lime in the coconut and drink 'em both together"—then call him in the morning. It has been noted on more than one occasion that the song is symbolic of pregnancy and morning sickness.
There are no chord changes in the song: an arpeggiated C7th accompanies the song.
According to the 1971 LP credits:
Dannii Minogue recorded the song in 1994 with UK dance producers DNA. When Minogue parted ways with Mushroom Records in 1995 and signed to Eternal Records in 1996, she had the track remixed by producers Flexifinger.
The track was originally used as a hidden bonus track on her third album Girl. It was subsequently released in Australia on November 16, 1998 as the fourth and final single from that album, peaking at #62 on the ARIA singles chart upon its debut, on the chart dated week commencing 23 November 1998.