Album: The Honeycombs (1964)

Charted: 1 5

License This Song 

• Have I the right to hold you
  You know I've always told you
  That we must never ever part, oh oh oh oh
  
  Have I the right to kiss you
  You know I'll always miss you
  I've loved you from the very start
  
  Come right back I just can't bear it
  I've got this love and I long to share it
  Come right back I'll show my love is strong
  
  Have I the right to touch you
  If I could you'd see how much you
  Send those shivers running down my spine, oh oh
  
  Have I the right to thrill you
  You know I'll wait until you
  Give me the right to make you mine
  
  Well, Come right back I just can't bear it
  I've got this love and I long to share it
  Come right back I'll show my love is strong, oh yeah
  All right
  
  Have I the right to hold you
  You know I've always told you
  That we must never ever part, no, no, no, no, no, no.
  
  Have I the right to kiss you
  You know I'll always miss you
  I've loved you from the very start
  
  Come right back I just can't bear it
  I've got this love and I long to share it
  Come right back I'll show my love is strong, oh yeah, yeah
  
  Come right back I just can't bear it
  I've got this love and I long to share it
  Come right back right back where you belong, oh yeah
  You belong, oh yeah, you belong Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 14

• Tim from CoventryI think this 1964 song has a ska beat would you believe? suddenly two British guys, maybe having heard,'my Boy lollipop' by Millie,were thrown into it. I always recall the three-beat drumming.
• Bengan from SwedenThe Swedish artist Dan Hylander says on his homepage:
  
  "Lived for a couple of days in a demolition house in the East End where I met a old man who claimed to have written "The Honeycombs" megahit "Have I the right". He had sold the rights to Joe Meek for £15. Still thought it was the best deal of his life"
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm {12-28-2018}
  Ann 'Honey' Lantree, drummer with the London-based Honeycombs (who got their name from her), died Sunday, December 23rd, 2018 at the age of 75...
  The group, which included her brother John on bass, recorded the #5 single “Have I The Right” with producer Joe Meek in 1964. It proved to be their only hit, though, as “I Can’t Stop” stalled the next year at #46...
  She proved to be an inspiration to countless other female drummers over the ensuing decades...
  May she R.I.P.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 21st 1964, the Honeycombs performed "Have I the Right?" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'
  At the time the song was at #10 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and twenty-four days later on November 14th, 1964 it peaked at #5 {for 1 week} and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100...
  And on August 29th, 1964* it reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on the United Kingdom’s NME Singles chart...
  The British quintet had one other Top 100 record, "I Can't Stop", it stayed on the chart for 7 weeks, peaking at #48...
  * The day before on August 28th the band's female drummer, Honey Lantree, celebrated her 21st birthday {that was a very nice birthday gift!!!}.
• Richard from Prestwich, United KingdomBig Mike - I remember hearing on a BBC Radio 4 documentary that the distinctive beat sound was made by Joe Meek hitting a bathtub with a broom and recording the sound in the room below. The bath would have been made of cast iron covered with enamel and certainly on listeing to the beat sound in the chorous you can hear a distinctive ringing sound, which if you have ever dropped something in such a bath you would recognise. On checking this Wikipedia there is a link to a tribute song by Jonthan King called 'He Stood In The Bath He Stamped On The Floor' and the song recounts Meek standing in the bath and stamping his feet.
• Olli from London, United KingdomJoe Meek was never in the Tornadoes, The Honeycombs were originally called the Sheratons, Jimmy Page did NOT play on this song.
• Wayne from Tamworth, AustraliaOn the Studio version, the guitarist is Jimmy Page. The group re-recorded this is German for that market.
• Barry from Covington, KyThis has to be one of the greatest garage band songs ever. The beat and the overall rawness is as good as it gets. I'll never forget seein this performed on Hullaballoo (or one of those 60's shows) and just being blown away by a girl drummer beating the holy s--t out of the drums. The tinny guitar quality is also pretty fabulous. This song gets little play on oldies stations and is terribly underated.
• Arcturus Music from London, United KingdomGreat Singer Dennis...
• Bill from London, EnglandJOE MEEK was never a member of the Honeycombs. He composed, sound engineered and produced the song
  in his Legendary '304 Holloway Road Studios' This studio was not built IN, but INTO the building. Hence the infamouse 'dubbing' of the stamping feet of the whole band, on the old wooden staircase, onto the record.-Good Luck-Billy Pitt-Jones(Blue Rondos), London
• Alan from Grande Prairie, Alberta, CanadaInterestingly this was not the first British band to stomp their feet all the way to a hit. The Dave Clark Five's stomping classic "Bits and Pieces" hit top five both sides of the pond in '64.
• Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumIf you want to hear good music, you have to go back to the sixties. This one is very top and has a great "beat". Sweet, sweet sixties, just love it.
• Big Mike from Merrillville, InPlease get a hold of the CD "Have I The Right-The Very Best of The Honeycombs", on EMI. You won't ever, ever regret doing so!! Fantastic music all around!!!
• Big Mike from Merrillville, InTrue fact: this song was recorded in a stairwell. The "beat" you hear in the background is the group stomping their feet in that stairwell!

More Songfacts:

One DanceDrake

Drake's "One Dance" was the first ever song to rack up one billion streams on Spotify.

Evening StarJudas Priest

Judas Priest's "Evening Star" is a Christmas carol that describes the journey of the Magi from a first person perspective.

Killing In The NameRage Against the Machine

The most intense song we know that deploys a cowbell is "Killing In The Name," the most popular song by Rage Against The Machine. Their drummer kept a cowbell on his kit and used it in some of their recordings.

Crazy KidsKesha

Kesha (known at the time as Ke$ha) was still pretty wild when she released her song "Crazy Kids" in 2012. It's about one of her birthday parties that got a little out of hand.

Lifestyles Of The Rich And FamousGood Charlotte

The first Good Charlotte hit, "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous," is a send-up of celebrity culture, but the group's leaders, Joel and Benji Madden, both married celebrities: Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz, respectively.

Soul ManSam & Dave

"Soul Man" was a new term when the song was written in 1967. As defined by Sam & Dave, the "soul man" was a farmer "comin' to ya on a dusty road."

Editor's Picks

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Eagles Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Lots of life lessons in these Eagles lyrics - can you match them to the correct song?

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.