Coconut (song)

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 woman has a stomach ache and calls her doctor who prescribes her the same drink that gave her the stomach ache in the first place. 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.

There are no chord changes in the song: an arpeggiated C7th accompanies the song.

According to the 1971 LP credits:[5]

• Harry Nilsson – vocals
• Caleb Quaye – guitar
• Ian Duck – acoustic guitar
• Herbie Flowers – bass
• Jim Gordon – drums, percussion
• Roger Pope – drums

"Coconut"
Single by Dannii Minogue
from the album Girl
B-side	"Everybody Changes Underwater" "Heaven Can Wait" "Someone New"
Released	16 November 1998 (1998-11-16)
Recorded	1994-1995
Genre	Dance-pop techno-pop
Length	4:50
Label	WEA
Songwriter(s)	Harry Nilsson
Producer(s)	Flexifinger (Original vocal production: DNA)
Dannii Minogue singles chronology
"Disremembrance" (1998) "Coconut" (1998) "Everlasting Night" (1999)

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 16 November 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.[12]

In 2009, the original version of "Coconut" was made available on the compilation The 1995 Sessions.

• Flip Wilson (in his role of Geraldine Jones) covered this song in a fourth-season episode of his variety show along with Harry Belafonte.
• Kermit the Frog and other Muppet characters covered the song in a sketch on The Muppet Show (as part of episode 4.10, with guest Kenny Rogers). The scene showed Kermit in a hospital bed, having hurt his flipper slipping on some oil on the floor in the theater, joining hospital staff singing the song as the room developed a jungle theme.[13]
• The song was also used in commercials for Coca-Cola with Lime.[14] These ads are set in a Coke factory and a corporate boardroom and feature various people incorrectly singing the line as "you put the lime in the Coke, you nut!"
• Fred Schneider performed the song on Late Night with Conan O'Brien[15] after the release of the 1995 Everybody Sings Nilsson tribute album, for which the song was the lead single. He was joined on the show by the track's producer Richard Barone of The Bongos on lead guitar.
• The Baha Men (portraying the "Ha-Ha Men") covered the song in the ChalkZone episode "The Smooch".
• In an episode of The Good Place, while in the midst of an existential breakdown, Chidi Anagonye proceeds to make a giant pot of chili in front of his class, while adding unorthodox ingredients and singing, "You put the Peeps in the chili pot and eat them both up/You put the Peeps in the chili pot and add the M&Ms/You put the Peeps in the chili pot, it makes it taste...bad."
• Bones (TV series) season 6 penultimate episode (#22 - The Hole in the Heart) lab assistant Vincent Nigel-Murray (Ryan Cartwright) is killed by a sniper, and in valediction the cast sing his favourite song at the suggestion of Dr Sweets (John Francis Daley).
• Other cover versions of the song have been recorded by Lazlo Bane (under the title "Lime in the Coconut"),[16] Sprung Monkey, P.M. Dawn, and, according to a Nilsson website, the Alice Cooper Band.[17]
• Ty Segall recently recorded and released the song along with an entire cover version of the album which is offered for free download on Bandcamp as a free album of Harry Nilsson covers called Segall Smeagol after Nilsson Schmilsson.

• Metrolyrics.com