Black Honey

This is not hard to figure out, but that doesn't subtract from the painful truth the song carries. He's talking about the United States going to war in the Middle East for personal gain (oil is black honey) and the effects that it has on us. We keep getting stung each time we go to someone else's country and destroy people's homes and lives while our government pretends to be waging war for our safety. If you don't want to get stung, don't swing your hand through the swarm of bees. It also references the greed and selfishness of American culture "do what I want, do what please, I'll do it again till I got what I need", and "do you understand I deserve the best". The swarm following us home across the sea is a reference to sleeper cells and domestic terrorism in western countries: San Bernardino, Paris, Brussels, etc. ISIS is just the newest swarm we have created ourselves and are following us home to "sting" our friends and family. The butterfly part is interesting in that it seems to be reflecting on our wastefulness and carelessness in destroying things over and over and not learning the result of our actions (threw it in the fire to burn with all the others). The part he repeats "but I never get it right" and then "this time I'll get it right" parallels this. We keep going to war, to reap death and destruction, while a select few profit, and then blame the "bees" for stinging us. We are doomed to do this over and over until we realize the result of our actions.

I don't see a compelling reason from the lyrics to equate it with oil in the Mid-East. That certainly may be the meaning, but I think it's reading into it a little bit.

Instead, I think it's just a general metaphor for sin and pride. Our fallen hearts want what they want and they are willing to sin to get it.

Instead of seeing all good things as a gift from God, we think we are owed a life of luxury or a life free of pain. When we pursue that life at all costs, we shouldn't be surprised when it actually comes with a cost. But our sinful hearts are so blind that we don't see why we're being stung.

In reference to "cutting the branch off the cherry tree" I think that just means in our pursuit of luxury we keep going bigger and bigger. Going for the honey hasn't satisfied, so we must not be going after it enough.

And of course when we live that type of lifestyle and have that mentality, the consequences are impossible to run away from "following me across the sea" and they affect even our loved ones "stinging my friends and family."

If this is the case, then the "black" doesn't refer to oil, but simply the darkness that comes with vainly pursuing idols. Such a person doesn't live in and for the light, but for darkness. They may get honey, but it's honey tainted by blackness.

I think the song in my eye view to what pops to mind, is addiction to Herion, My uncle Pat is a recovering heroin survivor, I can take a part each lyrical point, he was making, it is not only a rare type of syrup nectar from japan, it is also in my eyes a cookable versuion of getting heroin in your body, it is very dark to imagine the preperation and need to liquidate the opiate syrum, Now that shows what a fucked up childhood I had growing up being raised around drug addicts... my mom is a major abusive psychopath narcasisitic addict... the sound layout for this song is very grungier and dark... it has a very strong Alice in Chains vibe in my opinion...

I am fairly sure this is about heroin. Black honey (black tar?) I think it is mostly about the need to be high, how it is an insatiable habit, and how it negatively effects the friends and family. Every time they try to quit, they go right back at it. Which is true with most heroin addicts, or most addicts of any sort. "This time, I'll get it right." There is an urge to stop, and they are trying. They do not understand why this addiction happened to them, and why they can't stop hurting their friends and family. Maybe I'm wrong, but that was my take.

I like to relate it to addiction, the bee's are the everyday stuggle to get money, steal, rob ect to get your honey but you get stung with the sadness, withdraw, pain and suffering, jail ect. Just like an old Chris Cornell line 'The Sky was your Playground but now the cold earth is your Bed' and even the part where the bee's follow me across the sea and now theyre stinging my family is the suffering you put on your family from addiction.

So Dustin tends to get political in a few of his songs (Blood on the Sand most certainly is, and Broken Lungs he's stated is about September 11th). This song is about oil in the Middle East (thus the Black Honey) and the repercussions we've felt by going after it under the guise of war.

I'm not saying he's right or wrong, just what I believe he's saying through the song. Cheers, all.

The great part about this song is how sardonic it is about the narrator's lack of understanding of cause of effect. "I DON"T GET IT! WHY DO I KEEP GETTING STUNG?"

My first reaction was to the addiction to heroin. He says "I try to stick this pin through a butterfly cause I I like all the pretty colors". This sounds like shooting up to me? Black honey? Heroin.

Let's start at the beginning. "I keep swinging my hand through a swarm of bees ‘cause I ... I want honey on my table" a heroin addict keeps going through difficult times to get high.

"But I never get it right no I never get it right" It's never enough.

"I’ll do it again till I got what I need" I'll keep trying to chase that dragon.

This was just my own personal reaction to the song. Though the middle East oil theory sounds legitimate as well. I'd like to hear what the artist's thoughts are.

Hmmm... difficult to say what it is about. Lyrically the middle-east-oil-thing makes the most sense to me, but when I watch the music video, I see absolutely no reference to it.

Why do artists hardly ever give explainations or at least comments to their lyrics??? Sometimes it really makes me angry, when I love the sound of a song and want to know what it´s about, but the writer is not willing to give a even a hint.

Here all, I hope this helps. Many fans have interpreted the lyrics in different ways to Dustin Kensrue's original meaning. He said in a Reddit AMA: "It was written with the US's narcissistic approach to foreign policy but can easily be seen as applying to any situation where we act in a like manner (and we all do.)" Source: songfacts.com (This is a really great resource for song meanings)