Honey Hush
Johnny Burnette The Rock 'N' Roll Trio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Turn off the waterworks baby, they don't move me no-more
When I leave this time, I ain't com' back no-more
Honey hush! Oow!

I said come in this house, stop all that yakety-yak
Come on in this house woman, stop all that yakety-yak
Don't make me nervous, I'm holdin' a baseball bat
Well it's a hi-ho, hi-ho silver
A hi-ho, a hi-ho silver, hi-ho, a hi-ho silver

Hi-ho, hi-ho silver
Hi-ho, hi-ho silver away

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Johnny Burnette's song "Honey Hush" revolve around the singer's frustration with their partner's incessant talking and lack of action. They demand that their partner stop all the "yakety-yak" and disobedience, asserting their authority as the "sugar daddy" who doesn't tolerate "talkin' back." The singer then declares that they're tired of their partner's emotional manipulation tactics, urging them to "turn off the waterworks" because it no longer affects them. They threaten their partner and brandish a baseball bat to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation. The song ends with a "hi-ho, silver" call and response, suggesting that the singer is taking control of the situation and riding off into the sunset.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, come in this house, stop all that yakety-yak
Come into the house and stop your ceaseless and annoying chatter.

Cause your sugar daddy don't want no talkin' back
Your wealthy and indulgent partner, for whom you dare to talk back, doesn't appreciate it.

You keep on a-tellin', talking 'bout this and that
You continue to chatter endlessly about the most insignificant of things.

I got news for you, you ain't nothing but an alleycat
Your loose, carefree, and promiscuous ways would only make a stray cat proud.

Turn off the waterworks baby, they don't move me no-more
Stop shedding crocodile tears, they no longer evoke any sympathy from me.

When I leave this time, I ain't com' back no-more
This time when I leave, I'm not returning.

Honey hush! Oow!
Quiet down and keep it to yourself!

Don't make me nervous, I'm holdin' a baseball bat
Don't make me anxious, as I have a baseball bat in hand.

Well it's a hi-ho, hi-ho silver
An upbeat vocalization to capture the song's rhythm.

A hi-ho, a hi-ho silver, hi-ho, a hi-ho silver
A repeated upbeat vocalization to capture the song's rhythm.

Hi-ho, hi-ho silver
Another repetition of an upbeat vocalization to capture the song's rhythm.

Hi-ho, hi-ho silver away
An energetic flourish to end the song with enthusiasm.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: J. MAYO WILLIAMS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@aaronstandingbear

Well, come in this house, stop all that yakety-yak
Come in this house, stop all that yakety-yak
'Cause your sugar daddy don't want no talkin' back
You keep on a-tellin', talking 'bout this and that
You keep on a-talkin', talking 'bout this and that
I got news for you, you ain't nothing but an alleycat

Turn off the waterworks baby, they don't move me no-more
Turn off the waterworks baby, they don't move me no-more
When I leave this time, I ain't com' back no-more
Honey hush! Oow!

I said come in this house, stop all that yakety-yak
Come on in this house woman, stop all that yakety-yak
Don't make me nervous, I'm holdin' a baseball bat
Well it's a hi-ho, hi-ho silver
A hi-ho, a hi-ho silver, hi-ho, a hi-ho silver
Hi-ho, hi-ho silver
Hi-ho, hi-ho silver away

All comments from YouTube:

@klintoldham596

1y↑8

Paul Burlison is playing the fuzz guitar on this song and the ''Train Kept a Rollin'''. He got the sound on accident: Among its notable features, "Train Kept A'Rollin'" and ''Honey Hush'' displayed a ground-breaking fuzzed guitar. This resulted from an accident, when a valve in the amplifier of the guitarist Paul Burlison came loose before a gig in Philadelphia. The distorted sound that resulted proved so popular that Burlison intentionally repeated it in future performance. It is noted as one of the first uses of guitar distortion on a recorded session. Grady Martin was also playing guitar on some takes from this album but not these two songs. He played a fuzz guitar the first time on Marty Robbins the song ''Don't Worry'' recorded in 1961.

@Flint3162

24w

It's not "fuzz" guitar, but have a listen to Junior Barnard with Bob Wills play the Fat Boy Rag!

@lrn_news9171

23w↑1

Rockabilly boogie features this fuzz sound too

@leoseries

10w

I think the guitar was played by Grady Martin on this.

@rogeliocalderonmare1

6y↑57

Fortunately, in 1981, this LP was released in my country (Mexico) for first time. I still own a copy and as I learned to take care of them (I became a collector) it is in an excellent state after more than 35 years.

@andrewmckay9329

3y↑3

Same here I have a copy too and a good Rockabilly collection.

@brutonano9521

Chingon.

@mahmudmarsudi4430

38w

Worth usd 1500 in USA

@johncoughlin7054

10y↑60

Love this distorted guitar and menacing feel. Great lyrics also. 1950's so over looked by the 60's

@azarakbari3053

6y↑12

50's is so much better than 60's

@dominiquefaraut998

@john coughlin : with Paul BURLISON on lead guitar !

@slicksnewonenow

4y↑7

Not Burleson... In the studio, they used Grady Martin playing the lead work. Bob Moore on bass fiddle, and Buddy Harmon on drums... But Paul Burleson and Dorsey Burnette played all of the live shows with Johnny, there around '56, '57 and '58...

I had the great fortune of meeting both Paul and Grady before they passed... What great guys!

Paul told me that after he was asked to "sit it out" in the studio, and they had Grady do the tracks with Johnny, he said to himself "I'd best learn how to play this damn guitar !!!!"
And he sure did.

Grady Martin was in a class all by himself, though. Man, what a PLAYER'S PLAYER he was.

@jeffwright7728

Not Burlison...Grady Martin

@steveh.9462

@@jeffwright7728 The book 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die claims it is Burlison playing the lead.

8 More Replies...

@ernstpassmannrockabilly2325

18w↑1

Great Rockabilly. Died to young❤❤❤❤

@garytrollope9925

3y↑9

Raw, strong rock a billy, sadly missed RIP Johnny b

@milagroslopezmarin9718

3y↑8

Como mola está Canción Guaaoooo en 😃😲desde Madrid, España.

@elgatucu6488

2y↑8

Songs like this made me fall so deep in love with ROCKABILLY music being a teenager.
AWESOME
Por canciones como ésta, me enamoré del rockabilly siendo un chaval.

@tikitorturedmf

3y↑4

Train Kept’a Yackety Yackin’!

@AussieSeeder

4y↑53

I always considered this one of the first punk rock songs...

@britishproud6839

3y↑7

Punk?? I think you need to listen again luv! That's an insult to Johnny Burnette's talent.

@Maverick4023

2y↑11

I completely agree. Rock and roll/rockabilly was the punk of the 1950s. Check out Joe Hill Louis's Boogie In The Park.

@LeeRalph100

2y↑6

Early Punk was very similar to this style

@mjlotus

2y↑3

Yes. Up-tempo, swaggering attitude, over-the-top presentation, unadorned ... You can see this as an ancestor of New Rose by the Damned, for example.

@brent3086

@@britishproud6839 you don't know shit about music

2 More Replies...

@johnbarry1965

6y↑50

Johnny Burnette - Elvis with balls!!!!!

@bubbadude7614

5y↑7

Yer right! Rocky & Johnny didn't take any crap from the crowd; they were known to jump from the stage and whoop some ass!

@vitoscalettagaming4007

3y↑2

@@bubbadude7614 hell yesss bad asses cool and dont take no crap YESSSSS SIR!

@bubbadude7614

Another bad-ass song is Johnny Cash's "Understand Your Man". It's all in the words with feeling.

@vitoscalettagaming4007

@@bubbadude7614 agreed johnny cash is such a good singer

@johnbarry1965

2y↑2

Apparently Elvis was scared of Johnny at Hulme High!!

1 More Replies...

@1978garfield

5y↑32

"Don't make me nervous
I'm holding' a baseball bat."
Won't hear a man singing a line like that today, except maybe in rap.

@secondaryemail6564

4y↑6

1978garfield for some reason, I find that line to be my favorite line throughout the whole song. Old school, alley cat style, classic

@jamessarnik4879

It's an old blues song

@claytonwalter8700

...or death metal.

@leeetchells609

3y↑1

It's an old Joe turner r&b track from early fifties.

@billyzoe1816

Righhttt that metoo movement shut all the man the f up 😂😂😂😂

1 More Replies...

@paulandersen9492

4y↑4

It does not get better than this. Nuff said.

@desertrock1036

3y↑3

Yardbirds..Stroll On …Jimmy Page brought me here!…this is sensational!..in the top 5 rock n roll song ever!

@andymcstab534

What a tune!!!! Little Barrie bought me here.....

@NiteDriv3r

1y↑2

PURE ROCK N ROLL HOW I EXPECT ROCK N ROLL TO SOUND LIKE

@pietroaligischiavi6951

8y↑10

He was a Genius!!!!!! Great music and voice!!!!

@gwendometz2025

5y↑2

Un blues à la base!bonne version rockabilly. ..des précurseurs niveau sons....super groupe 💟

@Tysto

28w

How have I never heard this before??

@billychristie1640

5y↑5

one of the greatest albums ever released or recorded.got my copy today on purple vinyl

@sevenantony7376

Wow this is the reckless Fifties wild and dangerous excellent

@jormakanto420

4y↑5

Hell of a sound!real rock'n roll!🤘

@soulman4692

6y↑6

Awesome music...!!!

@jotattoo1

6y↑3

very nice burnette........

@thesmithchannel6192

7y↑5

great song awesome just to awesome great when music was good

@91pollici37

7y↑4

fenomenale!!!!!!!!

@charleshall3372

3y↑8

Grady Martin ROCKS it on lead guitar.

@palisantrancho

7y↑14

Best guitar sound ever, along with Spirit In The Sky, by Norman Greenbaum. This song is rock n roll.

@SEALCOATINGISLIFE

💯

@thesmithchannel6192

7y↑4

awesome

@mmmdedek

10y↑17

Does anyone else hear about a dozen subsequent songs in this one? The obvious one being their own Train Kept A' Rollin'. The chord progression, time, and melody are identical - I think they may have transposed it couple keys up Train...I'd have to listen to it in 2 second intervals to list all the songs I heard, but one notable one is "Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On" - the title line is melodically and rhythmically identical to the line "Come on let's Yackity-Yak" in this one. What a travesty that this has less than 5,000 views and 40 likes. I saw on Burnette & the Trio's "Train Kept A' Rollin'" this comment: "I didn't know Aerosmith was a cover band." Really now...even if you didn't know Train was a cover surely the person knew Come Together was...

@ElvisThunders

9y↑4

These guys did a lot of covers too including this song and Train Kept a Rollin'. The R & B originals were ok but the Trio's covers were incredible and it is their versions that subsequent bands have covered including the Yardbirds, Aerosmith etc.

@aaron4wilkins

8y↑1

+ElvisThunders Yes, Tiny Bradshaw did "train kept a rollin'" 1951

@thedivinemrm5832

7y↑1

In 1956, this was as raw, mean and punchy as it got. Those bands in the know took this as blueprint for forming their own sounds. The Trio's influence on Rock music is as much their legacy as their awesome recordings.

@slicksnewonenow

The Punk Rock/ Heavy Metal of 1956!
Imagine how absolutely WILD this must have sounded to teenagers back then... And how TERRIFYING it sounded to their parents!

@miltonlevant2290

4y↑1

This rockabilly more popular in Britain not America who prefers elvis

3 More Replies...

@fabreezethefaintinggoat5484

Thank you

@user-nz9ui6ll2u

14w

De lo que hizo Mr. Burnette en la primera era del rock con su trío, los músicos ingleses, años después, comenzaron a formar todas las vertientes del hard rock.
Fue una lástima que a inicios de los '60, como solista, se dedicó al pop adolescente, muy en boga en la Norteamérica de esos años, aunque, al parecer, fue mas exitoso. En fin.

@r1b0schma

5y↑3

great song, great performance, the story on the sleeve tells something about a burning cigarette which hit one of the band members bij accident, therefore the cry; "...AAAAAH!!!!" a nice story about the "BURN-ette"-boys

@dax6376

8y↑2

Tune.

@timothyflyte9443

4y↑4

Nice version. Im use to Big Joe Turner's version

@jotattoo1

6y↑3

honey hush grande pezzo

@paganpunk666

There’s a song I’ve been searching for for years now, it sounds ver similar to this one, the guitar has the same distortion but I don’t know the name of it. Anyone out there with even an inkling of an idea, maybe you could help.

@fd69

2y↑1

Try Link wray.
Sounds like you might be
Referring to one of
His tunes known as poppa fuzz
To guitar singers .
Rumble . Zapata .apache.

@davew5167

Rock n roll pure as it gets

@thomasstillman4805

3y↑3

Train kept a rolling

@DanPaquin1

It sure is!

@GiordanoAguirre

40w

I have two questions:
1) how can the rhythm guitar sound like this in that period, with no effect pedals?
2) how they obtained that snare sound, who played it? The trio didn't have a drummer.

@mrkleeg5637

39w↑2

1) Paul Burlison said it was first produced accidently, after he had dropped his amplifier. “When I plugged my guitar in when we went on stage, it had a real fuzzy sound. So I looked back there in the back of the thing, and saw one of the tubes was just barely sticking in the prong. It sounded pretty good, so I just left it there. And from then on, when I wanted to get that sound, I just reached back there and loosened the tube.” 2) The drummer was Eddie Gray.

@KOSMICKEN09

First knew the song from Foghat Live- odd I know But great version too

@StagPreston

10y↑18

Great guitar work by Grady Martin, NOT Paul Burlison, who was mistakenly assumed to be the lead guitar for many years.

@StagPreston

10y↑4

Glad to give you the information. I didn't know it till a few years ago myself. But I always wondered because I bought a record called TENNESSEE ROCK AND ROLL by Bobby Helms in 1958. and I KNEW it was the same guy from the Johnny Burnette sessions because the style of guitar was the same, but I knew Paul Burlison did NOT play with Bobby Helms because he wasn't a Nashville session player. I finally figured it out. In fact, Grady Martin let Cliff Gallup use his amplifier when Gene Vincent did Bebopalula. They expected Grady would play on it, but Cliff Gallup was so good, Grady said, "I don't need to play on this one."

@rottamato

9y↑2

StagPreston Great info. That guitar never fails to blow my mind every time I hear it...

@StagPreston

9y↑3

Yes, I've heard that's the story Paul Burlison always said. Supposedly Grady Martin found another way of distorting his amp when he did "Don't Worry" by Marty Robbins, and he is also credited with recording the first "official" song with a fuzztone box called "The Fuzz". There is an attempt at the following link to explain how he got that sound, and it seems pretty authoritative to me. Personally, I don't know. I do know that you can get a distortion thru an amp back then simply by running the guitar through a preamplifier before you plug it into the amp itself. That's how I used to do back in the early sixties before they had fuzz boxes available. http://www.the-jime.dk/Rockabilly_Guitar/Johnny_Burnette_The_Rock-n-Roll_Trio.htm

@dkfelix

In fact, it was not as distorted as suggested - only the low E-string. Grady Martin had probably loosened its pickup to get it closer to the string. Look here for an exhaustive explanation: http://www.the-jime.dk/Rockabilly_Guitar/Johnny_Burnette_The_Rock-n-Roll_Trio.htm

@StagPreston

8y↑3

Yes, thanks. I read that years ago. Kittra Moore, Bob Moore's wife, supplied a lot of that information on the page. She's one of my Facebook friends. Very cool lady. She reveals all kinds of rare inside facts about early Nashville.

2 More Replies...

@mickmiah7605

2y↑2

JB kickin shit- proper Rockabilly. Proper and more intense than Punk.

@hollyhockbaby1216

Oh ** yeah

@depuydtpieter6131

Kstoan vaste in Elverdinge deur e boerekarre me klootn gerrard. Witje kgoa geweun genietn vandie schieve, ken nog gedanst in La Palme 1972

@elvisthunders3529

5y↑3

Hi Ho Hi Ho Silver!

@stevepseudonym445

That's the Fleetwood Mac version.

@sandem2812

Hunny hush

@jesuscamposvaldez2402

10y↑3

Good, Good ,VERY GOOD.

@phillipbutcher6615

43w

Those old Rockabilly singers would make the Punks look like Girl Guides

@luisherrera8534

esto es rock and roll fuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

@juancarlosmendez7087

6y↑1

en el mas alla se escucha rockabilly....

@metralla

Sin duda

@Raymantico

6y↑2

immortal

@captlarry-3525

6y↑3

So, over in England...some guys in Liverpool were probably listening to this.. Although this is a Big Joe Williams song..

@stevepseudonym445

5y↑2

I think they were largely inspired by other stuff, but McCartney covered this in '99on "Run Devil Run".

@guilhermeguedes7246

4y↑1

@@stevepseudonym445 Paul McCartney stated that John had this record in Gambier Terrace and it was one of the few records that John enjoyed from the beginning to the end.

@aaronstandingbear

@alexcamichel7771

8y↑10

sounds like the yardbirds copied this

@hathawayalfred6084

8y↑5

They fucked this, actually.

@dax6376

8y↑2

tune

@almishti

7y↑2

It's a pretty similar riff to Burnette's Train Kept a Rolling which the Yardbirds had a hit with their version of.

@lewisallen1027

6y↑2

The original was written and recorded by Big Joe turner 3 years earlier. Johnny also covered train kept a rolling..written and recorded in 51 by Tiny Bradshaw. Those 2 songs just mightbe 2 of the greatest rock and roll songs ever recorded. For Honey Hush....give me Foghat...for Train kept a Rollin....Aerosmith :)

@stevepseudonym445

5y↑1

Sort of. To be more clear than the other posts, Burnette did covers of both Honey Hush and Train Kept a Rollin'. Burnette played acoustic/rhythm guitar. Paul Burlison played electric/lead using pretty much the same the same riff and distorted guitar sound on both songs, and setting the tone for future versions. On TKaR the guitar is mostly buried under the (IMHO overly loud) lyrics, but you can hear it in the places without vocals. The Yardbirds' version is a lot different, but has a bit of the same fuzzy riff. Other than the vocals it seems to be the version that inspired Aerosmith to do a far better job. Jeff Beck has played on versions that are truer to the Burnette version that anything the Yardbirds did. If Jimmy Page ever played on aversion I don't dislike I haven't heard it yet. Imelda May has a few great live versions on YT that also honor Burnette's version.

As near as I can tell the Yardbirds never covered Honey Hush, but a lot of other bands did. That includes Paul McCartney and Fleetwood Mac (under the title of "Hi Ho Silver" several years before Buckingham/Nicks came onboard), and of course Foghat (which I agree is the version to beat).

@kimgarcia2448

6y↑1

lol

@billyzoe1816

Lmfao the song to beat your women to oh yeahhhhhh

@ffsneednamealltaken

4y↑2

Alright

@TheSispop

10y

a baseball batte ^^

@VladanMovies

This is avant-garde.

@bruceleroyhoffman

100 👍 for every 1 👎

@davew5167

4y↑1

Anyone that thumbed this down is deaf and/or a real jerk!

@btipton6899

Paul F'n Burlinson!

@leetaylorchristian

this song broke up with my girlfriend . this song left my wife.

@Frank289100

THIS SONG WAS RECORDED IN 1956. 2 YEARS LATER CHUCK BERRY RELEASES JOHNNY B GOOD. THE SIMILARITIES ARE INCREDIBLE BETWEEN THE TWO SONGS. ONE IS IS SLOW AND THE OTHER ONE IS FAST.