In the liner notes for Wildflowers and all the Rest, engineer Jim Scott remarks that “Tom would write a song like ‘Honey Bee’ on the spot and the band would just follow him. There are dozens of recordings just starting a song and making it up from top to bottom, coming up with funny lyrics.” Of course, there are plenty of deep cut or inside examples of this that are well known to the hard core fans, such as Juju Beads and the more widely loved Girl on LSD, but immediately Honey Bee is different. Whereas those songs are all about the playfully silly lyrics, Honey Bee also has a propulsive, irresistible groove to go along with it.
Today’s guest conversation is the most special one I’ve done so far. I’ve spoken to some fantastic musicians for this show and I’ve spoken to two men who have written seminal first hand accounts of Tom’s life and work. I’ve chatted with musicians and fans and have enjoyed every minute of it. But today, I’m chatting to one of the people I love most in the whole world, my youngest daughter Emma. When I asked her if she wanted to be one of my guests for this season, she agreed a little tentatively, but when I asked her to pick a song from the album, her answer was immediate. So we’ll dive into Honey Bee as well as where our musical tastes overlap as well as diverge. This was a wonderful conversation to have, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with my wonderful daughter, Emma Brown.
To listen to the song, check out the official lyric video here: https://youtu.be/tbyB10JSOHk
And to listen to the alternate version on the Finding Wildflowers release, go here: https://youtu.be/JWPsB-KAXB4
Please note: There is one use of the work f*** in this episode, used as a direct quote.
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