I'm A King Bee

Lyrics: James Moore (aka Slim Harpo)
Music: James Moore (aka Slim Harpo)

Pigpen sang this song with the Grateful Dead quite often up to 1971. It was then revived by Bob Weir once in 1993 and once in 1994. It has since been played by the Other Ones and The Dead (with Joan Osborne singing it as "Queen Bee."

I'm a king bee baby, buzzing around your hive
I'm a king bee baby, buzzing around your hive
Yeah I can make honey baby, let me come inside

Well I'm a king bee, want you to be my queen
Well I'm a king bee, want you to be my queen
Together we can make honey, the world has never seen

Well I'm a king bee baby, come buzz all night long
Well I'm a king bee baby, come buzz all night long
Yeah I can buzz better baby, when your man has gone

Cause I'm young and able to buzz all night long
I'm young and able mama, Lord to buzz all night long
And you know together we can make some honey
Like the world ain't never known

Pull your car in my driveway, cut your bright lights way down low (note 1)
Drive your car up in my driveway, mama, cut your bright lights way down low
I'm gonna wind up your transmission
Till your motor won't run no more
Notes
(1) so far as I can tell, this verse is a Pigpen addition: it is not on the original Slim Harpo version.

Grateful Dead Recordings
     Date Album
     12 Mar 1966 Rare Cuts And Oddities
      Jul 1966 Birth Of The Dead (note 2)
     11 Feb 1969 Fillmore East 2-11-69
     28 Feb 1969 Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings
     12 Dec 1969 Dave's Picks Volume 10
     24 Jan 1970/TD> Dave's Picks Volume 19
     21 Feb 1971 Workingman's Dead (50th Anniversary Edition)
     28 Apr 1971 Ladies And Gentlemen ... The Grateful Dead

Notes
(2) originally released as part of the Rhino box set The Golden Road (1965-1973)



Further Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography

 


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