# Bobby Goldsboro: "Honey" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165 "2014-08-22T04:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/21 "2014-08-22T21:46:31Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’ll buck the trend. Not only do I like the song, to a certain degree, but I think she committed suicide. > > When the song was new, I thought she died from cancer or something, but as I get older **I read it more that she was depressed for a long time and the singer never understood. It was the 60s - not only was knowledge of mental illness not where it is today, but there was a stigma to having it**. Maybe if he wasn’t afraid to confront her illness, she could have got help. (bolding mine) That was my line of thinking as well, though I didn’t see it so much as “afraid to confront her illness” as simply “not recognizing her illness”. On another note, Mr. Goldsboro, as he appears in that video, should have his picture in the dictionary next to “helmet hair”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/22 "2014-08-22T22:35:19Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Any song that rhymes “but what the heck” with “she hugged my neck” deserves to be on the permanent Top 40 in Hell. Right! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/23 "2014-08-23T00:06:46Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I loved the way the Smothers Brothers did the song on their show. Is this the one where they end with the Hallelujah Chorus? If so, do you have a link for it? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/24 "2014-08-23T01:30:37Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > You’re having my baby! > What a lovely way of saying how much you love me! May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in your armpits. And lay eggs. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/25 "2014-08-23T01:38:32Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in your armpits. And lay eggs. This will cure that nasty old Anka earworm. its a world of laughter and a world of tears its a world of hopes and a world of fears there’s so much that we share that is time we’re aware its a small world after all ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/26 "2014-08-23T02:41:09Z")
The “she hugged my neck” line is often cited, but let us not overlook the poetry of the opening lines: > [@](#): > > See the tree, how big it’s grown > But friend it hasn’t been too long > It wasn’t big mmm ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/27 "2014-08-23T05:08:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Kid takes after his mom. You owe me a new keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/28 "2014-08-23T05:46:38Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I loved the way the Smothers Brothers did the song on their show. > [@JohnGalt](#): > > Is this the one where they end with the Hallelujah Chorus? If so, do you have a link for it? No. Dick (as the widowed husband) was giving a guided tour of “Honey House” to paying tourists as he sang the song. You can see where Honey drove their car through the wall of their home and the sign indicating the “Honey Tree”. After the tour is over, Dick hands the woebegone windbreaker he was wearing to Tom because for the next tour, it’s Tom’s turn to be the Honey Husband. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/29 "2014-08-23T09:05:41Z")
At least he didn’t sing about their pets, Suzy and Sam - were they dogs, were they cats? No, they were [**MUSKRATS!**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgCk3bnvO5Y) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/30 "2014-08-23T13:44:50Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > At least he didn’t sing about their pets, Suzy and Sam - were they dogs, were they cats? No, they were > > [**MUSKRATS!**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgCk3bnvO5Y) And at the other end of the sappy spectrum (at least for me): [Sammi Smith-Saunders Ferry Lane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwGDZWKlcqA) For those who have stayed this long in the thread: [Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_(Bobby_Goldsboro_song))) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/31 "2014-08-23T13:55:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > For those who have stayed this long in the thread: [Honey (Bobby Goldsboro song) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_(Bobby_Goldsboro_song))) [For those _really_ interested, the art of Bobby Goldsboro.](http://www.bobbygoldsboro.com/home.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/32 "2014-08-23T14:02:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [For those _really_ interested, the art of Bobby Goldsboro.](http://www.bobbygoldsboro.com/home.cfm) He seems to like orange. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/33 "2014-08-23T14:11:57Z")
We were afflicted by this awful song way back in high school and loathed it. I had a friend who ‘acted out’ the song in the most hilarious way, you had to be there. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/34 "2014-08-23T14:14:58Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > He seems to like orange. Color of Honey? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/35 "2014-08-23T14:59:16Z")
A Taste of Honey? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/36 "2014-08-23T15:30:21Z")
I don’t think she had a terminal illness or committed suicide, what got her was Global Cooling: _Oh, they say she died one winter 
When there came a killing frost_ [Riding Wildfire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmemwOnKrc8). What, you want she shoulda been riding [A Horse With No Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpSdePGgVyQ)? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/37 "2014-08-23T15:47:24Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > This will cure that nasty old Anka earworm. > > its a world of laughter and a world of tears > its a world of hopes and a world of fears > there’s so much that we share > that is time we’re aware > its a small world after all Anything bad that happens to you after this, is well-deserved. This is the song they sing in hell. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/38 "2014-08-23T17:12:32Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Anything bad that happens to you after this, is well-deserved. This is the song they sing in hell. Have you ever been on the actual ride? It’s like Willy Wonka taking you on an animatronic tour of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/39 "2014-08-23T19:59:54Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > I don’t think she had a terminal illness or committed suicide, what got her was Global Cooling: > _Oh, they say she died one winter > 
When there came a killing frost_ > > [Riding Wildfire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmemwOnKrc8). > > What, you want she shoulda been riding > > [A Horse With No Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpSdePGgVyQ)? There was nothing else to ride because One Tin Soldier rode away ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165/40 "2014-08-24T04:14:21Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > There are many things that make this song utterly detestable, but near the top of the list for me is the fact that the singer is a complete dick. > > His wife plants a tree and he laughs at her. Then later she “came runnin’ in all excited/slipped and almost hurt herself/and I laughed till I cried.” Really? What other misfortunes amused you? Her having an incurable disease? Maybe that’s why you couldn’t be bother to be with her the day “the angels came!” She died “One day while I was not at home/While she was there and all alone.” How charming! She died alone. > > What an asshole! Yes! Yes! and YES! I think you can be an adult AND still have fun and be excited about watching your tree grow without having to be condescended to by the person who is supposed to understand/love you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bobby-goldsboro-honey/696165.md?page=3)