Scottish folk singer John Martyn was originally hired to be his British wif… Read Full Bio ↴Scottish folk singer John Martyn was originally hired to be his British wife Beverley's back-up guitarist for recording sessions in America, the pair were signed up by Warner Brothers who sent them to Woodstock in 1969 to rehearse with producer Paul Harris. The actual recording at R&R Studios, New York, took only six days with two days mixing. The album was released in February 1970. Martyn was inspired by The Band's Music From Big Pink to experiment to find a distinctive guitar sound. Two tracks "Would You Believe Me" and "The Ocean" marked the tentative introduction to Martyn's pioneering guitar technique. Levon Helm guested on drums on the two tracks "Sweet Honesty" (Beverley Martin) and "John the Baptist" (John Martyn.)

Sweet Honesty
John & Beverley Martyn Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Martyn John And Beverly
Stormbringer
Sweet Honesty
Talk of making love
Take your time to bluff your way to stay
Let me use your eyes
Please don't muse with words that cut me down to size
With your lovely mind never taking time to treat a woman kind

You remain to me a vision of sweet honesty
Sweet honesty, sweet honesty, sweet honesty

Do I need to say
That I'm wiser with surprise for? power? in your eyes?
Morning sets the scene

The more you stay, the more you go for me, it seems
With your lovely mind never taking time to treat a woman kind

Overall Meaning

The song Sweet Honesty by John and Beverley Martyn is a beautiful lyrical representation of a complex relationship. The song tells the story of a man who is deeply in love with a woman who is not always kind to him. The lyrics "Talk of making love, take your time to bluff your way to stay" suggests that the woman is playing games with the man as she is not entirely committed to the relationship. The man then pleads with her to "let me use your eyes", which can be interpreted as him asking her to see things from his perspective and understand his feelings.

The most poignant line in the song is "With your lovely mind never taking time to treat a woman kind", which suggests that the woman is not treating the man kindly, despite her lovely personality. However, he still sees her as a "vision of sweet honesty" and is unable to let go of the relationship. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "sweet honesty" which can be interpreted as the man acknowledging that the relationship has its challenges and his love remains pure and honest.

Overall, the song Sweet Honesty is a beautiful representation of the complexities of love, where the man is deeply in love with a woman who is not always kind to him, but he still holds on to their relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

Stormbringer
This line is meant to set the tone for the song - likely meant to evoke a sort of powerful, mysterious, or exciting feeling

Sweet Honesty
The title of the song - perhaps representing a desire for a genuine and honest connection with someone

Talk of making love
The idea of intimacy and connection is brought up, possibly with a romantic partner

Take your time to bluff your way to stay
Possibly a warning to not pretend or manipulate in order to maintain a relationship

Let me use your eyes
This line is a bit unclear, but could potentially mean wanting to see things from the other person's perspective or to connect with them deeper

Please don't muse with words that cut me down to size
Asking the other person to not hurt or belittle them with their words

With your lovely mind never taking time to treat a woman kind
Possibly a critique of the other person's behavior or mindset towards women, and their lack of kindness towards them

You remain to me a vision of sweet honesty
The other person is seen as someone who is genuinely and honestly good, at least in the eyes of the artist

Do I need to say That I'm wiser with surprise for? power? in your eyes?
The artist is perhaps saying that they have learned and grown by being with the other person or by seeing things through their eyes

Morning sets the scene
A new dawn, perhaps representing a new day or fresh start

The more you stay, the more you go for me, it seems
The longer the other person sticks around or invests in the relationship, the more the singer may feel for them

With your lovely mind never taking time to treat a woman kind
Repeating this line from earlier - emphasizing the frustration or concern the artist has regarding the other person's behavior towards women

Writer(s): Beverley Martyn

Contributed by Sophie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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