Song of the Day: Girls – “Honey Bunny” [MP3 + lyrics]

Who else could receive two Song Of The Days within one month but Girls? Christopher Owens and co. already scored our most-viewed article of July when we bestowed Song Of The Day upon the lead single, “Vomit,” from the band’s upcoming sophomore effort Father, Son, Holy Ghost (review coming soon); they’re one of The Tune’s favorite young bands, and their classic rock sensibilities are at once nostalgic and fresh.

“Honey Bunny” is the opening track on Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and in its brief 2:40 it boasts astoundingly catchy California pop melodies, a short surf guitar riff, and a tongue-in-cheek Oedipal breakdown on the bridge. It’s a far cry from the “combination of early-’00s scene band Brand New, Pink Floyd (particularly “The Great Gig In The Sky“), make-up sex, and My Morning Jacket” that made “Vomit” one of 2011′s most epic singles. Instead, we have a pop lovesong that works its magic through its sheer jangly fun.

But this is no ordinary pop lovesong. Owens’ insistence that his true love “might be right around the corner” and she’ll “look at me and know I’m the one” comes across as pitifully, stubbornly unrealistic rather than “I’m A Believer.” When he states that “You will love me/ For all the reasons everyone hates me” and lists those reasons — “boney body,” “dirty hair,” “the stuff that I say,” and drugs — it’s hard not to imagine a grungy misfit who defies the very fantasy-land that pop lovesongs typically try to invoke.

And then there’s the bridge. Owens finally gives a little background on the song, as the narrator ceases the assured rambles about his imminent true love to explain exactly why he needs “a woman who loves me, me, me, me, me, me!” “Mama, she really loved me/ Even when I was bad/ She’d hold my little hand/ And kiss me on the cheek/ … That woman loved me,” Owens proclaims petulantly, revealing the precise standard that all women are measured against — his mother. It’s Oedipal to the core, and this psychological revelation elevates the track to a further level of interpretation that makes it so much more than the pop lovesong on the surface.

I know you’re out there
You might be right around the corner
And you’ll be the girl that I love
No one could take you
No other man could make you an offer
Cause I’ll be the one that you want (always)

Chorus:
I’ve been messing with so many girls
Who could give a damn about who I am
They don’t like my boney body
They don’t like my dirty hair
Or the stuff that I say
Or the stuff that I’m on
I’m gonna get you, honey

I know you’re somewhere
And nothing’s ever gonna phase me
You’ll look at me and know I’m the one
And you will love me
For all the reasons everyone hates me
And we could do whatever we want (always)

Chorus:
I’ve been messing with so many girls
Who could give a damn about who I am
They don’t like my boney body
They don’t like my dirty hair
Or the stuff that I say
Or the stuff that I’m on

Mama, she really loved me
Even when I was bad
She’d hold my little hand
And kiss me on the cheek
And when I cried, she would hold me closely
And tell me, “everything will be all right”
That woman loved me
I need a woman who loves me, me, me, me, me, me, yeah!

I know you’re out there
You might be right around the corner
And you’ll be the girl that I love
And you’ll be the girl that I love
And you’ll be the girl that I love
And you’ll be the girl that I love

(Transcribed by Jordy Kasko. No copyright infringement intended. All lyrics are the property of Christopher Owens and Girls.)