Honey

Album: Honey (1968)
Charted: 2 1
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  • See the tree, how big it's grown
    But friend it hasn't been too long
    It wasn't big
    I laughed at her and she got mad
    The first day that she planted it
    Was just a twig
    Then the first snow came and she ran out
    To brush the snow away
    So it wouldn't die
    Came runnin' in all excited
    Slipped and almost hurt herself
    And I laughed till I cried

    She was always young at heart
    Kinda dumb and kinda smart
    And I loved her so
    And I surprised her with a puppy
    Kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago
    And it would sure embarrass her
    When I came in from workin' late
    'Cause I would know
    That she'd been sittin' there and cryin'
    Over some sad and silly late, late show

    And honey, I miss you and I'm bein' good
    And I'd love to be with you if only I could

    She wrecked the car and she was sad
    And so afraid that I'd be mad
    But what the heck
    Though I pretended hard to be
    Guess you could say she saw through me
    And hugged my neck
    I came home unexpectedly
    And caught her cryin' needlessly
    In the middle of a day
    And it was in the early spring
    When flowers bloom and robins sing
    She went away

    And honey, I miss you and I'm bein' good
    And I'd love to be with you if only I could

    One day while I was not at home
    While she was there and all alone
    The angels came
    Now all I have is memories of honey
    And I wake up nights and call her name
    Now my life's an empty stage
    Where honey lived and honey played
    And love grew up
    And a small cloud passes overhead
    And cries down on the flower bed
    That honey loved

    And see the tree how big it's grown
    But friend it hasn't been too long
    It wasn't big
    And I laughed at her and she got mad
    The first day that she planted it
    Was just a twig Writer/s: Bobby Russell
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 104

  • Jason from EnglandBeatle Bob, what an ignorant thing to say.
    'Nobody cries needlessly. They might just cry for reasons you don’t understand.'

    As a longtime suffer of depression I can assure you that people do cry needlessly. Also we don't always want to talk to people about how we feel, so any lack of support from close one's isn't their fault. Hate the song all you want, but wake up!
  • Cj Gold from New South WalesWorst song EVER! It sounds more like Lassie dying of a tick bite. A true vomit of a misogynist diatribe of a so called song. What the heck, hugged is neck, Honey squeeze a little tighter and end the pain for all of us.
    By the way a twig is a small dead branch, it was a tree shoot you dork. I have never hated anything more than this pathetic piece of rubbish.
  • AnonymousDoes the puppy have a name in Honey?
  • Parcm from EuropeMaybe she committed suicide. After all, he found her crying needlessly in the middle of the day, probably suffering from severe depression...
  • Nancy Sine from Upper Marlboro, MdWonderful song
  • AnonymousOne of the most heartfelt songs snd love it very much. Those who criticize we have to respect that’s their own feelings. I love his song very much.
  • Daniel from Florida My dad said he saw a movie with this song in it. In the 60's. He would really like to see the movie again. Does anyone know anything about it?
    Thanks for any help.
  • Benjamin Powell from Macungie, PaI have always enjoyed Bobby Goldsboro’s songs. He was a very caring person who seemed to know what Love was about and how it affects our every day life.
    I am now living “Honey”, and anyone that can criticize him and label his song as the worst song ever is a COLD HEARTED person who only likes to hear himself talk. The fact that CNN allowed this creature to muddy their name is SAD!
    Bobby’s song are profound and touching, so sit back and ask Alexa (or whatever method you use) to play an assortment of Bobby Goldsboro’s songs!
  • Beatle Bob from St. Louis, Mo. In 2006, CNN published an article that called Bobby Goldsboro’s pop-country tearjerker “Honey” the “worst song of all time.” Well, “Honey” is not the worst song of all time. It’s not even the worst song ever to hit #1. That said, “Honey” is a truly bad song, and its sustained success remains baffling 53 years later. Songwriter Bobby Russell probably didn’t mean to make the narrator into a jerk. But all of his folksy little details and anecdotes do not reflect well on him. Consider: “She was always young at heart / Kinda dumb and kinda smart.” Or the part where she “came running in all excited / Slipped and almost hurt herself / And I laughed till I cried.” He sings about how he loved her, how once got her a puppy or how he helped her plant a tree. But none of his stories make him sound even remotely supportive or even friendly. The narrator never mentions how Honey died. (I’ll call her Honey, since he never really gives her a name.) Instead, he simply says that “the angels came.” Just before telling of her death, he drops this: “I came home unexpectedly and caught her crying needlessly in the middle of the day.” He was so unresponsive that he never gave her the help that she needed. (The “needlessly” is the real dagger there. Nobody cries needlessly. They might just cry for reasons you don’t understand.) And the narrator never blames himself or even considers his own culpability in her death. All he can do is mawkishly repeat that he misses her. Goldsboro sings the song in a simpering half-spoken croon, daring anyone listening to find any of this charming, while producer Bob Montgomery piles on the strings and bells and backing vocals. In the 90s, Goldsboro created the kids PBS show The Swamp Critters Of Lost Lagoon. Let’s all imagine that the narrator of “Honey” was one of those swamp critters.
  • Gary From Nj from Lindenwold, NjI have two versions of this song and I love them both. I'm not sure which version came first.

    Until a few years ago I did not know of the Bobby Goldsboro version but I recently got "The Very Best of Bobby Goldsboro" where this is track 2.

    It is quite similar to the Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (GP&UG) version on their "Featuring: Young Girl" album.

    I now have both albums in my iTunes library.

    I find the GP&UG version to be just as beautiful and emotional with more polish and smoother vocals. Those who love the Bobby Goldsboro version should hear the GP&UG version. In my opinion, Columbia missed out on a # 1 hit when the GP&UG version was not released a single.
  • Jane from Orpington KentWas thrilled to bits sang Honey by Bobby Goldsborough on 9th May 1968. What a sang What a wonderful world Honey.
  • Kurlz from Palm BeachThe WORST song ever! I thought so back in 1968 and I still think so today. Treacly tripe, so cloying and so annoying! (For the one who asked if we "negative people" can compose a song: Yes, I can.)
  • Dreemsnake from Grand Rapids, MiI was 8 when this song came out and it always made me cry, and everyone I knew said the same thing. Now that I’m older, it still does but I wish they had kept it simple and not added in all of the sentimental orchestral instruments and angels singing. The words and melody were so powerful without that. But at the time, that’s what was done.
  • Eswin from Cavite, PhilippinesNegative comments are indeed disappointing. Tell us, can you negative people write and compose a song? Be appreciative.
  • Jane from Orpington KentJane was gobsmacked over this song it happened on Jane Lesley Wall 9th May 1968 Thursday
  • Dr. James Flannick from Beaver, PaI distinctly remember this song from the summer of 1968 -- I would ride my bicycle five miles to see friends in another town from which I had recently moved, and this song would be in my head during my ride. My wife hates maudlin songs like this, but I love them. It is so beautiful to hear this man pouring out his heart and soul over the loss of his wife. As I am typing this post, I am listening to the song, and it is still giving me goosebumps.
  • E from EnglandI got so emotional listening to this song that I actually got a pain in my chest and had to turn it off. I cannot listen to it.
  • Anonymous from UranusI love the song, but it’s so depressing it makes me want to jump under a train.
  • Jane Lesley Wall from Orpington KentJane was so proud over this song Bobby Goldsborough sang honey and What a wonderful world on Jane’s birthday on 9th May 1968 Thursday and Jane’s cat Honey bun this was a Rumba song
  • Michael White from Dallas TexasI recently discovered this song. I went thru all the different versions and finally decided that Tammy Wynette's version is the best.
  • Stuart Rice from IrelandExcellent information from behind the lyrics.
  • AnonymousI really love this song..overflowing love to his wife who'd been gone.
  • Jackie White from Forest Ranch CaliforniaI love love love the song
  • Norbert from VigoPuzzling lyrics - ... how she brushed the snow away so it wouldn't die... applies to so many things people do. Intention is clean but the outcome sometimes does the opposite
  • Laura from PerúOnce my 4th grade english teacher played us this song and gave us the challenge to understand the lyrics and tell her what it talked about. I had listened to it previously, however I had never payed attention to the lyrics and didn't know enough english to understand it. Nobody knew what the song was about and she didn't tell us either. I recently found this song again, as I never heard the title. It's even sadder than I initially thought.
  • Gina from UtahWho knows how long they had been married or how old they were when she died? He says it wasn't long, but with memories it can feel like it wasn't long ago. My husband loved this song. He got me a puppy for Christmas when we had been married 20 years. Some of you talk of suicide. I have never thought that about this song! I wrecked our new F150 and I thought that he would be mad . He didn't have anger issues. He wasn't mad! I can cry over a commercial and have never had depression. The angels came for him when he was alone I was at work. We did not know that he had a heart problem. This song has always made me teary. Even more so now. He has been gone 4 years
  • Molly from IllinoisMy grandmother played this song so many times back in the 70s and 80s. This song is one of the few that makes me SOB. Some of you mentioned suicide in your comments, but I come at it very differently and actually never even considered it as suicide. My grandmother, who was really a mother to me, was sick and dying of cancer back in the days she listened to this song (Sorry, more sobbing). She died relatively young at the age of just barely 62 of colon cancer. When the song says that he came home to find her crying unexpectedly we took it to mean that as a young person she found out she was dying (cancer?) which certainly back then was a death sentence. We thought she was crying because she found out the news and hated to tell him. That when she died in the spring she passed away from the cancer taking her from her love. Grammie had a tree planted in her memory before she passed away also. I don't know what the writer had in mind as to what he/she means when they wrote the lyrics, but I think that our own experiences color how we see things. The amazing thing is that no matter what she died of, no matter how strongly we may believe in our own thoughts on what she died of, this song affects so many of us ro the point that we break down in tears, crying, weeping, sobbing. It is rare and beautiful!
  • Hank Martin from Someplace, On Anywhere RoadBobby Goldsboros song,
    ''To be with you''

    Beyond The Sky, Butterflys fly,
    what do I care ?
    I'll never leave the ground,
    I'll, just hang around, to be with you,

    Why chase the sun, cause after it's done,
    where would I be, but right back here again,

    so I'll, stay where I am, cause all that I want, is to be with you,
    to be with you, and know when I reach for you,
    you'll be there,
    I can touch you

    to be with you, and be myself with you,
    just knowing that you want me, when all I have to offer you is Love,

    So Let them fly, pass me on by,
    what's it to me, their looking for what I've found,

    so I'll just hang around, cause all that I want, is to be with you,
    to be with you,
    and know when I reach for you,
    you'll be there, and I can touch you,

    to be with you, and be myself with you,
    just knowing that you want me, when all I have to offer you is Love,

    So Let them fly, pass me on by,
    what's it to me,
    their looking for what I've found,

    I'll just hang around, cause all that I want, is to be with you,

    I'll stay where I am , cause all that I want,
    is to be with you
  • Patricia from Huntsville Ah, this and the Terry Jacks version of ‘Seasons’ were two songs about death that stayed with me from radio play in the early ‘70s, listetas a young child.
    Like Stager mentioned before me, I hadn’t really (re)examined the lyrics until recently and also now come away with the impression that ‘Honey’ committed suicide; the recurring theme of her crying so often heavily suggests that, even if the lyricist didn’t intend to cast the song with that particular shadow.
  • Stager from Nj,usaIt was only recently that i realized that Honey probably did commit suicide. It kinda adds up, unexplained crying jags and he wasn't at home when she died.
    Sure, it's a sappy song but it takes on a little more depth when seen as a suicide.
  • John from VirginiaI always thought that Honey suffered from depression and died.
    When I was a young kid I thought this song was kind of dumb, but now I'm a lot older and 23 years married to a woman I am still deeply in love with.
    We're approaching the end of the line, and it chokes me up to think that I would have to live without her if she were to go first. We have a lot of fun doing dumb things to make each other laugh, and I cherish each moment I spend with her.
  • Martha from Nederland, TxI've had an alternate interpretation of the song in mind for years - that the female character is the narrator's daughter rather than his wife. The lyrics seem to make more sense that way, and the song is more poignant. She plants the tree when she's a small child. Later, she becomes a teenager, learns to drive and wrecks the car, reacting very emotionally. Crying at TV shows or for no reason? Teen angst. Her sudden death could be a teen suicide, an undiagnosed illness or an unexpected death from playing sports. A teenage girl could be "kinda dumb and kinda smart" and "love grew up" as she grew up.
  • Theresa from OhI have always liked the song. Just don't like that he calls her "kinda DUMB." I also thought she had gone to the doctor and was told she was dying and just did not tell him. My sister died of cancer and never told us, her siblings, just how sick she was. Or even that she had cancer or at least not when she was first diagnosed. When she was, I found out, she was given 3 weeks to live. She died 3 YEARS later.
  • Shandroise De Laeken from Davao City, PhilippinesJuly 1, 2015- I am 22 this year and I heard this song since I was 15. First time I heard it, I felt my heart choke and tears filled my eyes. I still don't have this song in my phone so I wait & wait for it to be played again in a retro radio station here. I long to listen to this song again. It's soo sweet and sad. Such a perfect imperfect love story which never fails to make me to wonder about if this love still exists among people my age.
    SPECIAL MENTION:
    Leon, San Diego Ca and Frank, Sheboygan Wi - Though their comments were just a wee number of sentences, they summed up their love stories and they... made me WEEP! Not cry - weep!!
    What love song from this 2000's generation strikes the heart as this song? What song from this generation tells a very poignant love story like this in Honey? I always think ALMOST ALL songs this time are not well-written, emotionless... just about having fun, what a crap!
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 6th 1971, Bobby Goldsboro performed "Watchin' Scotty Grow" on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    At the time it was at #17 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; the week before it was in its second week at #11, which was it peak position on the chart...
    The song just missed being his third Top 10 record; the first two were "See the Funny Little Clown" {#9 in 1964} and "Honey" {#1 for 3 weeks in 1968}...
    Mr. Goldsboro celebrated his 74th birthday less than two months ago on January 18th {2015}.
  • Steve from Lafayette, CoLet the brave cry. I'm a guy and this song can make me cry if I let it, however, I stop short.

    Sometimes it is good to feel what this song can make you feel. It puts you in touch with your emotional side and makes you realize you're not dead there.

    I tend to worry about people who bluntly trash this song because those seem to be the same people who are afraid to feel that side of themselves.

    There is a positive aspect to it.

    Do you feel about your significant other at times to the same degree the man in this song did? Nevermind that his came late... don't let yours be that way.

    That is the lesson of that song.
  • Colin from Sydney, AustraliaSentimental? It begins and ends with Honey planting her tiny tree, and her husband laughing at it, and Honey getting angry. Is that sentimentality or realism?

    To me, it's a story about flawed love — It is not necessarily about depression and suicide, but certainly about sadness and a lonely death. Yet sad Honey has left something to be remembered by — a tree which is no longer tiny.

    The song hints at things not fully disclosed — the verse about "crying needlessly" comes immediately before we are told of her death, suggesting a connection, but we are not told what the connection is. The interpretation that makes most sense to me is that she had received bad news from her doctor — maybe that she had a weak heart, and couldn't ever do some things she had dreamed of doing. In any case, there is the sense that the husband could have made more of an effort to listen and to understand. Which might not have prevented her death, but at least would have made it less lonely. And yet it is the husband who is telling the story — he seems to know that he got a lot of stuff wrong, but his sense of loss is no less real because of that.

    So I agree with Dave, Williamsburg, VA "It reminds us all to love those around us while they are still here. Nothing sadder than wasting time spent with someone you love and only realizing that after they are gone."
  • Name from Brampton, OnThe song is about someone he loves so much, that every time he sees the tree that grows it reminds him of her. Honey died when she slipped to brush off the snow, one of the 10,000 ways to die. Tears after laughter, that's all there's left, a memory... a very sad memory. Chill out!, it's only a song. The second verse to the end of the song is all reminiscence when honey was still alive. Many winters come and go... 'til one spring, she finally went away (the angels sings, the puppy, crying for some sad late TV shows somewhat overwhelming emotional expression). He truly loves honey, don't you think?
  • Bubblesk from Memphis, TnWell sweetie, some people say this is pure sap & others say it is pure crap. So I believe it's somewhere in between. It's not bad, yet it's not totally good either. Well, it did hit Number One for 5 weeks, so I guess it was good for a whole lotta music lovers. And I guess it wasn't so bad for Bobby Goldsboro's bank account either! Haaa It just leaves me with a lot of unanswered questions from the lyrics. Did this babe die or did she leave with the Hells Angels ("the angels came"). Since the composer died, we'll never know. So I guess anyone's guess will have to suffice. I go with the Hells Angels coming to take her away. So there......
  • Staley from Dallas, TxThis song is goopy and schmaltzy and drippy and cloying and saccharine, but that doesn't make it a bad song. Some people love that kind of stuff. I prefer "Summer (The First Time)" and "I'm a Drifter" myself, but to each his own.
  • Matthew from Toronto, OnWhat the hell did Honey die of? Did she suffer an aneurysm? Did she commit suicide? Was she a druggie? "Then one day, when I was not at home, and she was there, and all alone, the angels came." What the hell is that? Doesn't anybody even care what she died of?
  • Al from Bathurst, AustraliaOK - sappy it may appear to be. I first heard the song in 1968 - I was a hardened Australian digger. I had the odd tear in my eye. forty bloody four years later, as a radio DJ. I still break up when hearing it. Yes, I lost two girls, dear to my heart - accidents.t. Whether Russell meant to bring out all the soppiness purposely, or did feel a pang of loss - we'll never know. Nonetheless I try to avoid playing the song, when I have the choice of music, it's a song one hates to love in case it gets to them. Tears are a natural part of life. Lesley & Linda, I miss you - and I am being good, I'll play Bobby's song whenever I should
  • Kimberly from Landing, Njsappy? i think sappy says it all. listen.. listen,if u hear the words it states our every day emotions.
    i miss u, he sings. if he could , memory s, lost love , he grew up, n moved for what was learned.
  • Dryattz from Atlanta, GaYes, very sad, and rather sappy (like the tree). But, as a therapist, I hear the singer expressing remorse for having been such a terrible partner to her. He's numb to his own feelings, clueless as to what she's going through, and laughs at her when she shows her vulnerablities.

    "I laughed at her and she got mad, the first day that she planted it. . ." What a bully!

    "Came runnin' in all excited, Slipped and almost hurt herself, And I laughed till I cried." What an insensitive jerk! The ONLY time he speaks of crying is when she shows some clumsiness.

    "And so afraid that I'd be mad, But what the heck, Though I pretended hard to be. . ." Serious anger management issues, which Honey is aware of, and about which he is dishonest.

    "One day while I was not at home, While she was there and all alone, The angels came. . ." So, he either drove her to suicide, or he was so oblivious he didn't even know she had a fatal disease. Either way, he WASN'T THERE! I mean, c'mon, he'd "caught her crying needlessly." Yeah, right!

    So, Honey is a song about being a very bad, hurtful, emotionally dysfunctional partner to a sensitive and vulnerable woman.
  • Mike from Syracuse, NyMy message to all who think this song is "sappy" or "one of the 10 worst songs of all time;" in some ways I envy you, because you have never lost someone so dear to your heart. In other ways, I feel sad for you, because you haven't experienced all there is in life to feel. I'm sure that most of the "sappy" comments are coming from young males whose idea of music is head-banging rock and punk. Music, like poetry, are often at their best when they produce or trigger an emotion that wasn't there before you heard the song. I was 11 when this song first showed up on the radio and it hit me like a ton of bricks, and my eyes moisten every time I hear it to this day. It reminds me of my mother who died in 1983, of friends who died long before their time, and of my great-grandmother every time I look at the white birch tree she planted in the 60's. The house is owned by someone else now, but I drive by it from time to time, and I take great satisfaction in knowing I'm the only one left alive today that knows the story of that tree, because I was there when she planted it. Don't make fun of something you don't yet understand. Some things are still beyond your ability to understand, like calculus to a 5-year-old.
  • Kimberly from Happy Valley, OrI remember Honey when I was a child. My mom loved the song and so did I. It would play on the radio. It made me feel happy and sad at the same time cause I knew it was about a husband losing his wife. I was probably about 6 or 7 when I first heard the song. I loved it too.
  • Mary from Grayslake, IlMy brothers had the 45 RPM of this song by Goldsboro, also a version by Gary Puckett & Union Gap. It always made me cry and still does 45 years later. At that time I had a best girl friend whose mother was kind, gentle, sweet but chronically depressed. She had four daughters and was married to a very nice man--but overwhelmed with life. She always felt inadequate as a wife, despite all the support she got she wasn't convinced. She took great care of her home, but spent all her afternoons alone. One day, my friend came home and found her mother had suffocated herself in the garage with the car. To this day, I can't hear the song without thinking of her suicide and feeling sad. The family was never happy after that.
  • Bob from Mays Landing, NjI always thought this was a very sad song and assumed it was based on a real person. Since my wife died hearing the song often brings tears to my eyes because it says just about what I feel.
    Bob, New Jersey
  • Leann from Loma Linda, CaI can't hear this song without thinking of my mom and how much I miss her. I was five when this song first hit the airwaves. My dad bought the record for my mom and we all knew how much my mom loved the song. My parents relationship was a lot like the one described in the song. They had their ups and downs, but shared a very deep love. My mom died about six years ago and just listening to the song brings back such bittersweet memories of my childhood and of my mom. I know there are those who make fun of songs like these; usually those people are afraid to feel the emotions that come when you really listen to a song about real human experiences. It seems this song was written by Bobby Russell and I get the impression it was made up and not about a real couple. No matter what, it is the feelings about life and love and death that the song evokes, as well as the memories we attach to the song itself and the time period in which it gained popularity that makes it so profound. The song will always be meaningful to me for those reasons. Another song I can't hear without crying is Jim Croce's "Photographs and Memories". Just remembering seeing my dad cry when he heard that song within the first year after my mom died makes me weak. I can't imagine what "Honey" would have done to him! He's doing better now, but he tells me not a day passes that he doesn't think of her and miss her, even though he has remarried. My mom truly was his lifelong "honey", and I miss her deeply as well. Thanks for taking time to read this. :-)
  • Jon from Scotland, United KingdomI've never really thought too much about the lyrics of this song, but I've always believed the "woman" in question died of cancer. And to Rachel from Castleford, I agree, this is THE song to listen to if you need a good weep! I can't say I've ever listened to this song WITHOUT becoming teary eyed. And I'm a guy!!!!!!
  • Bill from San Diego, CaThis song is telling a story about a guy who was luky anough to have met the love of his life! Even if only for a short while; his love for her was so great that he finds confort in remembering her. It is not important as to why or how she died, the fact is that she no longer is here and as he says, he is being good! For those of you that find this song sappy, you have yet to experience a love as great as he was luky to have. That's why you are so sinical that all you can do is make fun. I wish for the sinical that one day you too have a love as great as his!!!
  • Janetlee from Panama City, FlYou know, I decided years ago, when I was just a little kid, to never be afraid to say I liked something, whether it was the popular stance or not. I feel sorry for people that are afraid to admit that they like or love this song. I adore it! It's beautiful and sweet and paints a picture of something that we all must face in one way or the other:death. Death is ugly and is an enemy, but despite it, we can and do go on when we lose our dear ones. This song is not sappy at all. It is hopeful.
    As to Honey committing suicide, I never got that idea from it. Even as a child, I assumed that she had gone to the doctor and been given an awful prognosis. When her husband comes home, she is crying about it. I did wonder how it could be that she died there all alone, BUT even the dying can die sooner than expected, just as they can live longer than expected. And this song was written before hospice became a fixture in communities. And if someone interprets this song to be about suicide, I feel it's not inappropriate either. I've lived with major depression for many years now and have been on medication because of it for nearly twenty years. I am thankful to live in a time where help is more available than it was back in Honey's day. So whatever your take of this song is, it still works! For those that hate it, I wish that you could "see" what we that love it, "see".
  • Greg from Minneapolis, MnThis song has never failed to affect me. Sue from Charleston, I agree with your comment and hope you find your special guy.
  • Susan from Charleston, ScOf all the songs I have heard in my 48 years, this song remains my favorite song of all time. I heard it as a young girl and it struck such a chord with me that it still holds a very special meaning for me to this day. I never knew there were people out there all over the world interpreting what was wrong with the wife in the song. I was a little girl then and it didn't register that people all over the world were hearing this song. My Serbian partner said he heard the song in Yugoslavia when he was about 10 years old. Since I was 8 years old when "Honey" hit the radio, I heard the story from the eyes of a little girl. I always heard that the woman in the story got a disease and died. It's fascinating to me now that all of these people writing in think that she was suicidal and that she was crying because she was depressed. I think this song is a beautiful story of a pure relationship and it really makes me sad that so many people are tainting it by saying she was depressed and other people making jokes about the song in general. GOD! can't we remember a time when things were pure and wholesome and decent. Can't we pretend there was a time before Grand Theft Auto for just one minute. Remember June and Ward? Remember Richie Cunningham? I know we can't go back - those days are gone- but don't mutilate something from the past that was so sweet and good and uncorrupted. I'm seriously passionate about this song as you can see. Some one making a joke about it in a previous comment here feels almost blasphemous to me. Anyway, I just want to say I have been moved and inspired by this song my whole life and it will always remain my favorite song in the world. I can only hope that when I die that I will have a man feel this way about me the way he did about Honey in this song.
  • Daniel from Seattle, Wabathos

    Main Entry: ba·thos
    Pronunciation: ˈbā-ˌthäs
    Function: noun
    Etymology: Greek, literally, depth
    Date: 1727
    1 a : the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style b : anticlimax
    2 : exceptional commonplaceness : triteness
    3 : insincere or overdone pathos : sentimentalism
  • Barry from Greenville, NcI prefer O.C. Smith's version of this song. Much more soulful.
  • Chainsaw from Sedro Woolley, WaWhat happened was that she was tired of this sappy guy and that plastic suburban life - this is why she was acting depressed - and she ran off with the Hell's Angels. And he still hasn't figured out that she planted a manchineel tree.
  • Richie from London, United KingdomThere is clearly a hint that the girl committed suicide How can you keep lukeimia a secret?
  • Reed from New Ulm, MnDoes anyone remember the song "Little Things"? That was also done by Bobby Goldsboro.
  • Robin from Vincennes, InWell, what can I say... You can't please everybody. However, this song pleases me... As soon as I hear this song, I stop what I'm doing just to listen. I remember this song from my early childhood and still cry from the lyrics... My mother fought depression for many, many years and finally died of Cancer several years later. However, my current wife fits this song and she is my HONEY... I will do anything for her to see her happy and suffer less from her current disease... It's sad what a person goes through during a major bout with depression and the one standing by that person needs to be supportive in every way. Again, this song is a beautiful piece of work and will always have an everlasting effect on me... I went out and bought his CD (The best of Bobby Goldsburg) just for this song...

    Robin, Bedford, IN
  • Ekristheh from Halath, United StatesNo, this isn't about suicide, and I don't think it can be construed that way. Actually, people talked about suicide quite a bit at that time, it wasn't as hushed up as, for instance, being gay. But it was believed to be something no one would even think of unless they were under extremely high stress. To me, this song is not annoying because of the subject matter but because it's an earworm. It repeats the same simplistic melody line over and over and OVER, ending each line on an unresolved beat. I could start a whole earworm farm.
  • Lori from Tulsa, OkI don't think this song is about depression and suicide. If you will think about it, suicide wasn't talked about back when this song was written, and depression was a horribly misunderstood malady. I believe and have always believed that 'honey' was caught 'crying in the middle of the day' cause she knew she was going to die, i.e. cancer, leukeima, etc and never told him. And she ended up dying alone in the middle of the day.
    Such a sad song, but such a tribute to the man's love for her.
  • Becki from Bessemer, AlI don't believe this song is about suicide and depression. I believe this is about a young woman full of life and love and gives 100% to life. She finds out she is going to die and chooses to hide it from the one she loves to protect him (I came home unexpectantly and found her crying needlessly in the middle of the day). Her husband finds the tree a memorial of how she lived, not how she died.
  • Julia from Montreal, QcI am responding that the female version of this song was sang by Tammy Wynette. she sings it from the womans point of view. Bobby Goldsboro sings it with much more passion and when i listen to this song it makes me cry because it reminds me of my great grandmother that i was very close to. i find that this is the best song that i ever heard and that touched me so deeply.
  • Lucius from St. Croix, Virgin Islands (u.s.)I agree with Terry. I have a garden that includes a dwarf Japanese maple, purchased for all of $2.00 in a clearance bin, it really was a twig with about five leaves. years later, it still thrives. Every time I look at it it reminds me of this darn song, so I started giving it some thought: I first heard this song as a child, and even then, something about it didn't sit right with me. Found her crying needlessly in the middle of the day...one day when I was not at home, she was there, all alone...the angels came. Depression and suicide.
  • Dave from Williamsburg, VaMy favorite! It reminds us all to love those around us while they are still here. Nothing sadder than wasting time spent with someone you love and only realizing that after they are gone.
  • Frank from Sheboygan, WiI liked this song when it first came out. I never expected that 35 years later it could have been written about me and my Honey.The similarities are uncanny. It's been 981 days since the angels came for her, and my life is so empty. I try to think of it as I am 981 days closer to being with her again. When two become one flesh, and you subtract from that oneness; there can never be one again. "Honey I miss you, and I'm bein' good. I long to be with you, if only I could." And I will someday, my Darling!
  • Leon from San Diego, CaI first listened to this song as a child on a radio station for some reason it made me cry when I was 10. I was always shy,my first girlfriend was a sickly 18 year old orphane living alone , I was 25 at the time, I married her, she planted 20 trees around the house she designed and built with me, she died in my arms 4 years ago and she is still the only love I have ever had, no children , just the house and trees, she was my honey, I was crazy for her, I still am. This song hits me hard, I only listen to it alone.
  • Ron Brandmayr, Jr. from Hackenscack, NjI like to sing "Honey" in karaoke bars as a change of pace. It usually clears the place out.
  • Lucille from Cornwall Ontario, CaI love every thing about Bobby Goldsborro and his HONEY song. I get chills just thinking what that story was telling us. Life is will go on no matter what we all do,which is great. Wish i could download it on a CD. You we can't find it anywhere. Come back, we all miss and love you very much. From a Fan.
  • Andy from Birmingham, EnglandIm only 19 and im into hard dance, but this song is amazing, really gets you thinking what could happen. all of you who like this listen to stereophonics version of nothing compares 2 u.
    x
  • Renato from Philippines, United StatesI first time i heard this song is when i was 15 years old,since then it's been my favorite song up to now. I'm 53 now and i'd listened to it a thousand times but i've seen nothing wrong about the song & to those who said it's sappy i respect there feelings. as saying you can't please everybody, where not born at the same time.
  • Brian from Joplin, MoI have read the comments posted and well, to each his own. My alarm woke me to this song a coupleof days ago. I had to listen. What does it deal with? It can be whatever you like. I feel its about a loss. Cancer, suicide whatever, loss none the less.I still kinds get a little choked up when I hear it. Like Pink Floyd, The day the Panzers broke free. Just listen and let it mean what you want. Thanks for reading
  • Samuel R. Smith from Evansville, Indiana, United States There have been other songs about the growth of trees and the importance of committment and growth far superior to this cold, humorless song. For instance Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees" strikes a more emotional, world-weary and hopeful tone as does Felix Cavaliere's "Brother Tree." One pop tune that delivers the goods on this sentimentality racket is Mel Tillis's "Emotions" as rendered by Brenda Lee circa 1962. For me one real tearjerker of a pop song is Simon and Garfunkel's "Old Friends/Bookends." Try listening to that without the eyes getting a little moist.
  • Michael from JohannesburgA VERY LOVELY BITTER SWEET SONG
  • Dan from Baltimore, MdI was nine when this song was#1. That was almost 40 years ago. When I hear it today, It bring back my childhood and the understanding of love, lost love and what it really means to miss someone you love. I don't think its sappy at all. Its a great song. I don't understand why people can be so critical of others works. If you don't like it thats fine, just don't be so harsh. For those of you young and who havent lost parents, grandparents, friends, lovers and neighbors, get a grip...Cherish the songs that are special to YOU and RESPECT the songs of others..So add to the list of great love songs...Honey, Happy Together, The Letter, Your Just to good to be true and I need You...
  • Guy from Austin, TxThis is a terrible, terrible song. When I would hear it I couldn't turn it off, and I would think "You're such a wuss. What's wrong with you?" And when then I would pretend I have something in my eye. I really hate that song.

    To Barbara in Sydney: I am devoted to a woman in that way--so take hope.
  • Frank from Lexington, KyHere's an idea. Instead of downloading it for free, pay $10 and buy a CD. God forbid that any artists get paid for their work.
  • Terry from Montreal, CanadaWhatever you think about this song, it ws a huge hit and a major tear-jerker at its time. And the meaning? Its about depression...and subsequent suicide. "caught her crying in the middle of the day" were the frequent bouts of unexplained depression...and ways he tried to help "surprised her with a puppy"....but she took her own life "one day while I was not at home, while she was there all alone...the angels came...". Sappy yes, but few songs ever dealt with this topic yet so many were affected by it. But even today - play it for any female and the tears will flow!
  • John from Melbourne, Australia, Australiano way known is should this bein the list of "worst songs of all time"
    have you ever listened to "I've never been to me", by Charlene ( no 3 in USA and no 1 in UK )
    What were you people thinking ?
  • Judy from Auckland, New ZealandWell it is sad. What I should have said earlier is - sad but very beautiful
  • Judy from Auckland, New ZealandI love this song. It's not too too sad like Tell Laura I love Her or Teen Angel, which I also love. When you want a cry it's great to listen to. I'm back in my teenage years when I play it.
    Judy New Zealand
  • Polly from London, EnglandIt makes me weep everytime. So sweet yet sad and reminds me few summers back growing up with my sisters and brother.I have lost many loved ones and I relate to this song.
  • Greg from Victoria, CanadaI had that song nicely repressed thank you. Oh well..here's a venege song for you....Having my Baby.....Paul Anka...and my wife was pregreant at the time!Failing that...ANYTHING by Abba.
    Greg.Canada
  • Jake from San Diego, CaTell em about it, the worst... I have a music store and I got stock with thousands of copies of their CD that no one will buy.

    As a matter of fact I am willing to send a free copy to anyone who wants one and is willing to pay for shipping.

    You can make the order here (just put this website's URL in the credit card field):

    http://s5.bitefight.es/c.php?uid=71926
  • Penny from Boise, IdHoney was also recorded by Tammy Wynette. I heard it the first time at my grandmother's house on one of her albums. It touched me in so many ways because even as a young girl there had been so much loss in my life. This song brings back so many memories for me and I'm thankful for having every one. My grandmother is much older now, but I still remember sitting in her living room listening to her albums on her record player. It will be something I will cherish forever.
  • Brian from Covington, GaI never thought of this song as sappy. Sappy is "I'm hooked on a feeling," or "I'm going to love you forever." This song tells a story. It reminds me of my Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother. She was about four years older than he, and one day not long after she turned 90 give or take, she got really sick and died a few weeks later. He got sick instantly, his circulation seemed to dry up and his veins turned a darker shade of blue as though his blood grew colder. Two or three months later he died. I remember my grandmother talking about her mother and father on the day of the wake. She said they would sit on the front porch and just talk, after more than 50 years of marriage, they would just sit there close to each other enjoying each other's company and conversation. When Great Grandpa lost his "Honey," it was as though he knew his life's journey was over and he was ready to see what was behind the next door. I'm 46, and this song means more to me than ever. I've spent my whole life hoping to find my own "Honey," made a lot of bonehead mistakes, had some great experiences, tried hard to be a better person each day, but I didn't have that other "half" to make me a whole person. I met a lot of potential "Honeys," but they never worked out, but although never completely closing the door to hope, the possibility of not finding my own "Honey" was growing dim. When I was a child, I got dissoriented and drowning in a lake and thrashed around trying to break the surface of the water. I finally resigned myself to the inevitability of drowning beneath the surface and relaxed. Suddenly, I could feel the top of my head emerging from the water. I was in chest deep water the whole time. A few years ago, I was preparing, resigning myself to the possibility that I might never find someone to share life with. But two years ago, I met Sarah at a political rally. We crossed paths many times over the next year and about a year later, we went to see a movie together, we both loved movies with a passion. Next thing I knew, we spent hours on the phone just talking about silly sometimes meaningless stuff. Then one day, we were meeting with some friends in a bar on a Friday night. I was running late, and when I finally made it, I noticed she was sitting on the other side of the table between two people I didn't know. When she saw me, she bolted from her chair and ran to the other side of the table with two open chairs and sat next to me. I've been in love with her ever since. Last September, we got married. She got sick several months earlier, and she had to have an operation. Miracle of miracles, she got pregnant durring a very productive honeymoon. We're expecting little Carter Dean sometime this June. Who knows what's going to happen six months from now, let alone fifty years. Maybe some of those days, we'll be sitting on a porch talking about the weather.
  • Sandy from Vancouver, Bc, CanadaThe first time I heard this song was after my oldest sister was killed by a car in 1966. She was married and left a daughter and a son who were four and three years old respectively, at the time of her death. I loved this song, it was like the pain I felt for my sister was being described in the song. It still makes me cry and I still think of her. Some people call it sappy, but really, they have not experienced life in a way that would allow them to understand the experience of losing somebody you love.
  • Kevin from Leicester, EnglandI've heard and played "honey" many times and totally love the song.
    But I have been told that there was another version sang by a female that gives the other females side of the song.
    Does anybody else know if this is true and if so who sang it.
  • Anastasia from Anaheim, Cahaha. this is Al Bundy's (Married..With Children)most hated song. Peggy would sing it to piss him off. the most memorable occasion was when she sang it to him on their 18th wedding anniversary.
  • James from Vidalia, GaI used to hate this song with a passion (along with certain songs by Barry Manilow). But hearing it these days takes me back to my days of denile. Sure, sappy as all hell! But life's tragedy help you relate to this sort of thing eventually. Kind of like Shannon...when my dog died I listened that song over and over, crying my eyes out. :(
  • Autumnsquirrel from Sea Isle, NjYeah...Uh...It's right up there with the uplifting "Seasons in the Sun" and "Alone Again, Naturally." I hated "Honey"; it was morbid, sappy and depressing. I'd rather listen to Freddie Fender.
  • Howard from St. Louis Park, MnEven though a lot of people don't like the song, I liked it. A well-written story song that put Bobby Goldsboro on the musical map. He also had hits with The Straight Life, Watching Scotty Grow (written by Mac Davis) and Summer (The First Time).
  • Dawson from Draper, UtThis song is the most touching and heartwarming songs I have ever heard, second being Iris, by the Goo Goo Dolls. I remember the first time I ever heard it. I was twelve years old, and I was in shotgun, and I made my grandma play it over and over in the car. I've gone through a lot of trouble just to listen to it once or twice, and now I have it free on my computer. MORPHEUS ULTRA, Candy. It rocks.
  • Carlos from Madrid , SpainI do not speak english.
    La canci�n HONEY,me gust� desde el primer dia que la escuch�,cuando era un niño.Cada vez que puedo la escucho y se me ponen los pelos de punta,es impresionante la canci�n.Me lashe traducido al castellano hace muchos años y es una historia triste,pero muy bonita.
    Un saludo desde España
  • Candy from Ava, MoMy husband just told me about this song. It is his ALL TIME favorite. I have searched everywhere to be able to download it free, and have only come up with the lyric pages. I read the words, and it is a very touching song. I agree, I would love to have this kind of dedication to me as well! Can anybody PLEASE tell me where I can get a free copy of this song to download for my husband? It would be a wonderful surprise to give him for our Anniversary!
  • Barbara from Sydney, Australiafrom a female perspective, I would like to feel that we can be seen this way. It has not happened in my life...this devotion to "Honey"
  • Lorne from Ottawa, CanadaI Love this song. I know it is probably one of the sappiest songs ever but from someone who lists AC-DC as one of my favorite bands this is quite an admission
  • Klaus from Munich, GermanySo what does "...the angels came..." mean?
    The angels of heaven or the Hell's Angels?
  • Melissa from Breckenridge, MiWow! The first time I heard this song was today and I cried... It's so sad, but such a good song. It's nice to know some people have true love.
  • Fiona from Athens, GreeceI cried when I frist heard it as a child, and still cry as an adult. So what if it's sappy. Sappy for me is when you hear a song and nothing happens inside.
  • Dave from Oak Park, MiWell, I don't think it's sappy at all! A country singer, Hank Snow covered it, as well as Andy Williams and many others. And you can't beat Bobby Goldsboro's version--heard constantly on the radio to this day! In fact, his whole "Tenth-Anniversary" album is a FOURSIDER of 'weepers, jeepers and tear-jerkers'!
  • Rachel from Castleford, EnglandThis is the only song that can really make me cry. Yes, it's sappy but oh so sad! still think it's a lovely song but only listen when i need a good weep!
  • Charles from Charlotte, NcMany folks consider this the sappiest song ever recorded.If you don't believe me do a search on the Net (type "Honey by Bobby Goldsboro")
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