Expert: Kristen - 8/29/2004

Question
How did the audience singing "honey honey come and dance with me" during the song "Everyday" come about?

Answer
When Dave Matthews and producer Glen Ballard were writing the "Everyday" song, they borrowed the guitar part from an old DMB song called "#36" (which can be found on the Live at Red Rocks album).  There is a line in "#36" that says, "Hani, Hani (pronounced Hon-ee) come and dance for me."  Dave Matthews is from South Africa and "#36" is a song dedicated to the memory of South African anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani, who was killed in his efforts to free South Africa.  The main refrain of "Hani, Hani come and dance for me" was changed to "Honey, honey come and dance with me" because Dave felt that the song "#36" was too upbeat to have such a sad message of death.  Consequently, Dave also dropped the original "#36" lyrics about Hani's murder for a more upbeat mix and lines about love and happiness ("Everyday").  Because the song "Everyday" is morphed from the song "#36", DMB weaves the "#36" line "Hani, Hani come and dance for me" into the "Everyday" line "Honey, honey come and dance with me" when performing the song in concert.