Gaynor was a singer with the Soul Satisfiers, a jazz/pop band, in the 1960s. Her first solo single was "She'll Be Sorry/Let Me Go Baby" in 1965.
Her first real success came in 1975 with the release of her album Never Can Say Goodbye, which established her as a disco artist. The first side of this album consisted of three disco songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There"), with no breaks in between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon proved to be enormously popular, especially at dance clubs. All three songs were released as singles via radio edits, and all of them became hits. This album was so instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, that many later believed that Gloria Gaynor had been the first artist to record disco music. "Never Can Say Goodbye" became the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart - in that sense, she was the first. Capitalizing on the success of her first album, Gaynor quickly released her second album, Experience Gloria Gaynor, later that same year. While this album was also successful, it was not quite as popular as her previous album in the mainstream.
Some of her lesser-known singles, due to lack of recurrent airplay, include "Honey Bee", "Casanova Brown", and "Let's Make A Deal" which all became hits in the clubs and reached the Top 5 on Billboard's disco charts. After her 1976 album, I've Got You, Gaynor shifted from her hit production team to work with other productions. While it seemed like a good move, her subsequent producers did not seem to match Gaynor's vocal approach and style as well. This caused her the albums that followed, such as 1977's Glorious and 1978's Park Avenue Sound, to be regarded as merely good albums instead of excellent albums.
For the next few years, Gaynor would only enjoy a few moderate hits. However, in late 1978, with the release of her album Love Tracks, she climbed the pop charts again because of her now-signature song "I Will Survive". The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover that she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female emancipation, and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke nights. The song was awarded the first and only Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980 (the category was discontinued upon disco's fall from favor shortly afterward). In 1999, Pixar animator Victor Navone used this song to create an alien music video, which for a time, was a minor internet phenomenon.
Interestingly, "I Will Survive" was originally the B-side when Polydor Records released it in late 1978. The A-side, a song called "Substitute", then a recent worldwide hit for South African girl-group Clout, was considered to be more "radio friendly." Radio DJs flipped the record over, and audience response forced the record company to flip the songs, so that subsequent copies of the single listed the more popular song on the A-side. In late 1979, she released the album I Have A Right, which contained her next disco hit, "Let Me Know (I Have The Right)", featuring Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show fame on trumpet solo.
Even though she exprienced difficulty having hit records in the U.S. after "I Am What I Am", the majority of her subsequent single chart on the UK Singles Chart. During the late 1990s and the 2000s, Gaynor returned to the American charts. She issued two albums, 2002's I Wish You Love and 2006's The Answer, that were well received with her fanbase.
Honeybee
Gloria Gaynor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bee
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
You're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
You're always so busy
Workin' on love's honeycomb
Chalk full of sugar down your sweet mouth
Every time you kiss me, boy, really turns me on
You're always buzzin', buzzin', buzzin'
Love is in the air
There's nothin' like your lovin'
Boy, it's beyond compare, yeah
You're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
You're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
There's so much love power
In everything you bring to me
Whenever I'm snuggled in your arms
The love you bring makes my heart sing
You know love is where you are
There's where I want to be
When it's cold outside
You're honey love's so good to me
You're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
Uh, you're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
Uh, you're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
You're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Sweet love (your love is sweet as can be)
Uh, honey, honey, honey (you're my honey bee, baby)
Honey bee (your love is sweet as can be)
Sweet love (you're my honey bee, baby)
Sweet love, give it to me (your love is sweet as can be)
Got to have it, need your love, yeah (you're my honey bee, baby)
Sweet honey bee, yeah (your love is sweet as can be)
In "Honeybee," Gloria Gaynor sings about her love for a man who is always busy, but whose love is as sweet as honey. The metaphor of the honeybee is used to describe the man's constant buzzing and working on love's honeycomb, which is full of sugar. Despite his busyness, every time he kisses the singer, it turns her on. The song implies that the man is always bringing love to the singer, and that it is his love that makes her heart sing. The chorus repeats the metaphor of the bee and the sweetness of the man's love, urging him to "come on and sting me."
The song can be interpreted as a celebration of the sweetness of love and the joy that it brings. The constant buzzing and busyness of the man, while initially described as a negative aspect of his character, becomes a positive attribute as it suggests the hard work and dedication that he puts into creating a loving relationship. The repeated refrain of "you're my honey bee, come on and sting me" emphasizes the singer's desire for the man's love and her willingness to be vulnerable enough to be stung by it.
Overall, "Honeybee" is a catchy, upbeat love song that uses the metaphor of the bee to describe the sweetness of a loving relationship. It celebrates the hard work and dedication that goes into creating a strong partnership, and emphasizes the joy and pleasure that love can bring.
Line by Line Meaning
Honey bee
Referring to the person as a honey bee, a symbol of sweetness and hard work
You're my honey bee (you're my honey bee, baby)
Expressing love for the person as someone who brings sweetness and hard work to the relationship
Come on and sting me (your love is sweet as can be)
Asking the person to express their love, which is sweet like honey, by figuratively stinging the singer with it
You're always so busy
Acknowledging the person's hard work in love and relationships
Workin' on love's honeycomb
Describing the love and relationships as a hive of busy bees working to create something sweet
Chalk full of sugar down your sweet mouth
Describing the person's mouth as sweet and full of love
Every time you kiss me, boy, really turns me on
Expressing physical and emotional attraction to the person
You're always buzzin', buzzin', buzzin'
Using the metaphor of bees buzzing to describe the constant presence of love in the air and in the person's actions
Love is in the air
Further emphasizing the pervasive presence of love in the person's actions and in the relationship
There's nothin' like your lovin'
Expressing the uniqueness and value of the person's love
Boy, it's beyond compare, yeah
Emphasizing the unmatched quality of the person's love
There's so much love power
Describing the strength and energy of the love present in the relationship
In everything you bring to me
Acknowledging the person's contributions to the relationship and the love they bring
Whenever I'm snuggled in your arms
Describing a comforting and loving moment between the couple
The love you bring makes my heart sing
Expressing the joy and happiness the person's love brings to the singer
You know love is where you are
Acknowledging that the person is the source of love and affection in the singer's life
There's where I want to be
Expressing the singer's desire to be in the presence of the person because love is where they are
When it's cold outside
Using cold weather as a metaphor for a difficult situation or life experience
You're honey love's so good to me
Describing the person's love as comforting and soothing, like warm honey, even in difficult times
Sweet love
Referring to the love as sweet and loving
Uh, honey, honey, honey
Using the repeated phrase of 'honey' to emphasize sweetness and love
Sweet love, give it to me (your love is sweet as can be)
Asking for the person's love because it is sweet and loving
Got to have it, need your love, yeah
Expressing the importance of the person's love to the singer
Sweet honey bee
Using the metaphor of a honey bee to express sweetness and hard work in love and relationships
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MC KINLEY MORGANFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Wrongway Pete
What a tremendous arrangement. Of course Gloria nails this song but sometimes songwriters, producers and arrangers never get the credit they deserve. So...
Honey Bee
Arranged By – Norman Harris
Producer – Paul Leka
Written-By – M. Ledbetter, M. Steals, M. Steals
The buzz at the beginning, the soft repetition of "Honey...Honey..." the horns...the vibes...it's just pure genius. The dance floor always filled up when that buzz started. It was THE signal to hit the dance floor.
I KD
This is a great song! One of the best of the 70's!
mcbrion1951
The original album version! This came out around late 1972 or early '73 and was a dance floor hit immediately. A few more songs, and Gloria was crowned "Queen of Disco." That lasted until Donna Summer appeared. This was a fun dance song, with that galloping beat that was so popular back then. Happy, happy memories of those times.
Juan Negron
@Roger Spencer I speak with Tom every day on the phone....we spoke today about it, I do not know of any "on line confirmation". Tom remixed the Columbia single for the MGM album "Never Can Say Goodbye". That is Bobby Eli from MFSB with the wah-wah guitar in the intro...
Roger Spencer
@Juan Negron well I guess you don't have that confirmation. There seems to be some confusion here. While I certainly know that the MGM and Columbia versions are completely different I cannot believe that the MGM LP version was a mix of the Columbia version. I have chatted with Tom Moulton on line and he agreed that they just couldn't get that Philly sound with the MGM version.
Juan Negron
@Roger Spencer I speak with Tom Moulton daily. This was known facts in 1974....the MGM single did not sound ANYTHING like the CBS single....different band.
Lemme see if we spoke about that in my interview with him. I'll look on my archives for CRIB RADIO.
Roger Spencer
@Juan Negron what is your source for this information and can you give me a link? No one in the circle of Gloria's fans has heard of this.
Juan Negron
@Roger Spencer No, he only used the Philadelphia tracks to remix Honey Bee....he did not mix the MGM version which only came out on the MGM 45.
Philip Condenzio
Still the “Queen” of disco as far as I’m concerned.
AllRequired
But Donna Summer definitely wasn't a slouch.