@24tv48 "Honey", a tearjerker about the death of a man's young wife, was recorded in one take. Although later remade, the original hit version is 3:58.
Goldsboro : "Bobby Russell wrote 'Honey'. He came up to the studio to play some songs for me and my co-producer. He played "Honey" with just a guitar and we just both flipped out and said "man, we gotta cut that."
So, we went in and cut it for the album and it just came off like a monster the very first take. Even the musicians, the violin players came into the control room to listen to the playback. So, we said "man that was the first take, let's go do it again." And the second take sounded exactly like it.
We couldn't really improve on it, so we called Bobby from the studio and said "we have cut a monster with this song." Of course I never dreamed it was gonna be as big as it was, but we knew we had a hit with it.
It was so much the arrangement Don Tweedy wrote, the high voice on there, the violins, everything he wrote in there. Don Tweedy's arrangement was as important as anything."
Q - Didn't you perform "Honey" on The Smothers Brothers TV show?
A - "Well, what happened is The Smothers Brothers did a take-off on the song. They had the Honey house. They were doing like a tour and showing the tree. It was like a spoof of the song.
They (The Smothers Brothers) told me years later when I ran into them, "we had more mail about doing that song than anything we ever did political or anything on that show, most of it put us down for doing it." (laughs) The bottom line was the people said you don't joke about things like that.
When I saw the re-run of it, I thought it was funny, but the majority of people that saw it didn't like it."
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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 the 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.
