"Honey Pie"
Cover of the song's sheet music
Song by the Beatles
from the album The Beatles
Released22 November 1968
Recorded1–2, 4 October 1968
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length2:41
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

"Honey Pie" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written entirely by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership.

Interpretation

The song is a direct homage to the British music hall style. It concerns a famed actress, called only by the term of endearment "Honey Pie", who becomes famous in the United States, and her old lover, who wishes for her to rejoin him in England. The premise – a humble admirer yearning for the return of his lover – is not unlike a typical music hall plot. To establish an appropriate, old-timey sound, the band added the third line, "Now she's hit the big time!", along with "crackles" taken from a 78 rpm record.[3] The song begins with a slower intro, and becomes fast after that.[4]

Clarinet and saxophones

The song also contains a saxophone and clarinet arrangement. The clarinets, according to Alan W. Pollack, "produce water sprays in parallel thirds" and the saxophones play in tight harmony.[5]

Recording

Recording began on 1 October 1968, at Trident Studios in London's Wardour Street. Only one take was recorded on the first day, although it is likely that a number of rehearsal attempts had previously been recorded and wiped. The next day, McCartney taped his lead vocals, and a lead guitar part was added. According to George Harrison, John Lennon played the guitar solo.[4] The song's woodwind arrangement by George Martin was recorded two days later on 4 October. McCartney added a final vocal overdub at the end of the session.[4]

Before recording sessions for the album began, the Beatles recorded a demo of Honey Pie at George Harrison's Esher home studios. This version contained slightly different lyrics and lacked the introduction of the final version.[4] The demo was later released in 1996 on Anthology 3[4] and the 2018 Super Deluxe edition of The Beatles album.

Legacy

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent listed "Honey Pie" at number 25 in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He wrote: "A catchy if uninspiring homage to music hall entertainment from a wartime-era that succeeds in feeling fresh." He called the song one of McCartney's weaker tracks.[6]

Cover versions

The song has been covered by Alan Klein (1969), Barbra Streisand, Jack Sheldon, the King's Singers, Don Partridge,[7] the Golden Gate Quartet, Tuck & Patti, and John Pizzarelli, among others. In the 1978 film Sextette, Dom DeLuise performed the song. Phish covered the song, with the rest of the "White Album", on the album Live Phish Volume 13.[8]

In 2016 Wesley Schultz sang it in Beat Bugs episode 12b.

Personnel

The Beatles

Additional musicians

  • George Martin – saxophone and clarinet arrangement
  • Harry Klein – saxophone
  • Dennis Walton – saxophone
  • Ronald Chamberlain – saxophone
  • Jim Chester – saxophone
  • Rex Morris – saxophone
  • Raymond Newman – clarinet
  • David Smith – clarinet

Notes

  1. 1 2 Asher, Peter (2019). The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour. Macmillan. p. 131. ISBN 978-1250227843.
  2. ↑ Lynch, Joe (22 November 2018). "The Beatles' White Album: Every Song Ranked From Worst to Best". Billboard. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Whitley, E. (2000). "The Postmodern White Album". In Inglis, Ian (ed.). The Beatles, popular music and society: a thousand voices.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Honey Pie". The Beatles Bible. 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  5. ↑ Pollack, Alan W. (1988). "Notes on 'Honey Pie'". Soundscapes.info.
  6. ↑ Stolworthy, Jacob (22 November 2018). "The Beatles' White Album tracks, ranked – from Blackbird to While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  7. ↑ Album: Don Partridge & Friends, Sonogram Records EFG 7344 (1973)
  8. ↑ "Live Phish, Vol. 13: 10/31/94, Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY - Phish". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
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