Sunday Sounds: July 12, 2020, “Tupelo Honey”

Posted On July 12, 2020

Samantha Colleran, July 2020

The first time I became aware of this song’s existence was in 2017 when Harry did his Another Man magazine spread and included this on his list of his all time favorite songs. Shocking, right? Obviously I had to listen to it because Harry said he loves it. Again, shocking, right? Everyone obviously knows Van Morrison for “Brown Eyed Girl”, but this song is, in my opinion, so much better, and way more romantic. 

“Tupelo Honey” is dedicated to Van Morrison’s wife at the time, Janet. Throughout the song he expresses his love for her, calling her “as sweet as tupelo honey” and “an angel of the first degree”. In the first verse of the song, Morrison sings about taking all the tea in China and dropping it in the ocean, a play on an old idiom “all the tea in China” that, when used in a comparison, holds the person or thing being compared at such a high and incomparable standard. That’s how Morrisosn sees his wife; more important than all of the tea China could possibly offer. 

Based on a little bit of research, I learned that tupelo honey is extremely rare; it’s only produced in Florida and Georgia from the Tupelo tree and is very hard for bees to make, plus it has a number of benefits including the fact it’s the only honey that doesn’t crystallize and due to the ratio of sugar in the honey it’s safe for people with diabetes to eat it (read more facts about the honey here)! I’ve personally never had it, but its taste is apparently so distinct and smooth that once you try it you can never go back to regular honey. Van Morrison clearly knows his way with words; comparing your wife to a rare, prized form of honey is pretty sweet. Check out the timeless romantic song below, and let me know your thoughts on “Tupelo Honey” (the song and/or the actual honey, if you’ve tried it)!