The 'original' should be:
Song #6: Mourning Song
Calypso Songs of the West Indies
[Patterson, Massie, Belasco, Lionel, (New York: M. Baron Co., 1943)]

I'm not near my copy at the moment but I can post it in a few days if someone else hasn't figured it out before then.

I believe Belafonte picked it up through 1950s American theater; most likely Robert Destine (Bob Destiny) a dancer in Patterson's touring company and on/off Broadway.