"Coconut" is a novelty 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 U.S. Billboard charts for 14 weeks, reaching #8, and was ranked by Billboard as the #66 song for 1972. It charted in a minor way in the UK, reaching #42.UK Official Charts, 27 September 1969 "Coconut" did best in Canada, where it peaked at #5.RPM Top Singles, 9 September 1972
Lyrics The lyrics feature Nilsson singing two characters (a narrator and a woman), each in a different voice.Alyn Shipton (2013). Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter. Oxford University Press. 9780199330690 The woman drinks a mixture of lime juice and coconut milk, becomes sick, and calls the doctor. The doctor, annoyed at being woken up, tells her to drink the same thing again and call in the morning.
Music An arpeggiated C7 chord accompanies the song throughout.
Personnel According to the 1971 LP credits: Harry Nilsson – vocals Caleb Quaye – guitar Ian Duck – acoustic guitar Herbie Flowers – bass Jim Gordon – drums, percussion Roger Pope – drums
Chart history
Weekly charts Chart (1972)PeakpositionCanada RPM Top Singles5US Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - 8US Cash Box Top 10012
Year-end charts Chart (1972)RankCanada (RPM)52US Billboard Hot 10066US Cash Box87
Dannii Minogue version
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 number 62 on the ARIA singles chart upon its debut, on the chart dated week commencing 23 November 1998.
In 2009, the original version of "Coconut" was made available on the compilation The 1995 Sessions.
Charts + Chart performance for "Coconut" by Dannii Minogue Chart (1998) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 62
In popular culture In 1979, the song was performed by Kermit the Frog on Season 4 episode 10 of The Muppet Show starring Kenny Rogers. In this version, Kermit was repeatedly injured earlier in the episode and wants relief from a "flipper-ache" rather than a stomachache.
The song is used during the end credits of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 crime film Reservoir Dogs.
The famous "Midnight Margaritas" moment from the cult-classic, 1998 fantasy film, Practical Magic features the song, as well as being featured in the sequel film Practical Magic 2 in 2026.
The Baha Men version of the song was used in the ChalkZone episode, The Smooch.
The song is performed in the episode "Let Them Eat Cake" of TV series House MD.
The song is featured twice in the diner scenes in 2010 action-adventure game Alan Wake.
References