Jarboe (full name: Jarboe La Salle Devereaux – also known as The Living Ja… Read Full Bio ↴Jarboe (full name: Jarboe La Salle Devereaux – also known as The Living Jarboe) is an American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist from New Orleans active since 1984. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a member of New York City based group Swans. With founder Michael Gira, the duo was the core of the group until its disbandment in 1998.

She continues to release numerous solo albums and collaborations and has composed the soundtrack for a horror game entitled The Path.

Coming to rock and experimental music from a complex, fascinating background (both her parents were FBI agents; her upbringing in the South included such elements of extreme American religious faith as snake-handling ceremonies; and before her direct involvement in music she participated in "unorthodox sex work," to use her own words, in various U.S. cities), Jarboe, who has always preferred to be known by her sole name, has long been known as one of the fiercest spirits in modern music. She is an intelligent and aggressive artist possessed of striking musical skill who has rejected the music industry's all-too-easy stereotyping and exploitation to create shockingly powerful visions. Helping strongly in this is her one-of-a-kind vocal talent, ranging from emotive blues/gospel tones to wild shrieking, matching excellently with her wide-ranging preference in musical styles. Joining the band Swans two years after it came into being, Jarboe soon became the co-leader of the band with founder Michael Gira; together the pair released some of the most striking, musically extreme recordings of recent years, both as Swans and as the side project band Skin. Jarboe's solo career began in earnest in 1992 with the release of Thirteen Masks, followed a couple of years later by a collaborative effort released under the name Beautiful People with Larry Seven, who also worked on Thirteen Masks and various Swans tracks before that time. The next official release was 1995's Sacrificial Cake, described as a "Swans Related Product," and released in concert with Gira's own solo debut, Drainland. After this, Swans took precedence as she and Gira finished the group's farewell albums and tours; her first post-Swans release, Anhedoniac, appeared in 1998. Shortly thereafter she made a trip to Israel for artistic inspiration for a planned follow-up, Disburdeen Disciple. However, she contracted an illness while visiting there, leading to hospitalization on return to America. A sampler for Disciple has appeared as a teaser, but the main album itself was not completed or ready for release. A collaboration with Telecognac, titled Over, appeared in 2000.

http://www.thelivingjarboe.com

Honey
Jarboe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You can't kiss me
You can't lick me
You can't kick me
You can't miss me
You can't taste me
You can't shake me
You can't make me
You can't hate me

You can't ache for me

You can't explode what's empty
You can't erode the memory

You can't kill me
You can't heal me
You can't bleed me
You can't grieve for me
You can't believe in me
You can't leave me

You can't erode what's empty
You can't explode the memory

Your fingers drip with honey.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Jarboe's song "Honey" are hauntingly beautiful and contain a sense of mysteriousness that draws listeners in. The repetition of the phrase, "You can't" at the beginning of each line creates a foundation for the theme of the song, which seems to be a list of things that cannot be done to or for the singer. The singer seems to be unattainable and unbreakable, as the list of actions that cannot be done to her continues. The song could be interpreted in many ways, but one can infer that the singer is speaking from a place of confidence and empowerment.

The final line, "Your fingers drip with honey," adds an additional layer of intrigue to the song. The image of sticky, sweet honey represents something desirable, almost like a forbidden fruit. The phrase could be interpreted as a warning or a tempting invitation, depending on the listener's perspective. Overall, the song seems to be a statement of independence and self-assurance, with a hint of seductiveness.

Line by Line Meaning

You can't kiss me
It's impossible for you to show me affection.

You can't lick me
It's impossible for you to show me desire.

You can't kick me
It's impossible for you to hurt me.

You can't miss me
It's impossible for you to long for me.

You can't taste me
It's impossible for you to experience me.

You can't shake me
It's impossible for you to shake me off or unsettle me.

You can't make me
It's impossible for you to control or influence me.

You can't hate me
It's impossible for you to feel animosity towards me.

You can't ache for me
It's impossible for you to feel a deep, painful longing for me.

You can't explode what's empty
You can't destroy what is already devoid of any substance or meaning.

You can't erode the memory
You can't slowly wear away or fade the memory.