Well, Buzz a While
Becky Masterman & Bridget Mendel
There are no two individuals with more divergent taste in music than yours trulies. For our Bee Lab bee work, we share a blue Chevy Colorado pickup, and that poor little truck radio toggles between heavy metal (Becky) classical (Bridget) heavy metal (Becky) R&B (Bridget) and heavy metal (Becky) until it’s dizzy and broken.
We both love music though, so we thought we’d make a honey bee playlist for your winter days and nights. Songs were chosen because they mention bees or they have an interesting relationship to them, but it’s somewhat curated since there are *a lot* of bee songs out there. We also omitted songs with R rated lyrics, though we did not agree on this decision. Please reach out to the editor for additional song recommendations. Which songs would you have included?
Scan to go directly to the ‘Bees&Cues’ Buzz a While Playlist!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qHKUTp6gu620FDbwRnzWd?si=Xb45uz3lS46CH1GtT_kn2Q
For best results while reading this article, please visit Spotify and search for the ‘bees&cues buzz a while’ playlist. Press play and read on.
Taj Mahal’s Queen Bee
Bridget: This is the crown jewel of honey bee songs. It’s a classic and should be played at all bee conferences and events. Beekeeper and Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association President, Bob Sears, is inspirational in this regard.
Becky: I completely agree with Bridget. The genre is blues and the song’s soulful refrain is why we keep bees.
Slim Harpo’s I’m a King Bee
Bridget: I’m pretty into Mr. Harpo’s sense of honey bee biology. King bees are welcome in my hives. Side note, my very favorite recording of this song is Muddy Water’s version…
Becky: In beekeeping, there are many correct answers to a single question. It is the same with this song as there are many great ways to cover it. My favorites from the over 50 versions of I’m a King Bee is one performed by Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Steven Tyler and another by the Rolling Stones. For you Deadhead beekeepers, there is a 1969 Grateful Dead cover. Even Pink Floyd recorded a version of this song.
Metallica’s Iced Honey
Bridget: Wait, Lou Reed is in Metallica? Iced honey sounds like it should be a cocktail. I’m going to request it next time I’m at a bar.
Becky: While the Lou Reed-Metallica collaboration is a sensitive subject for some Metallica fans, if you like Metallica and are a beekeeper, this song deserves your attention. If the song’s title doesn’t sway you, maybe this fact will: Metallica’s front man, James Hetfield, is a beekeeper. Although I have no data to support it, my bees appear to like it when I play Metallica (my bees prefer Master of Puppets to Lulu) during apiary management.
June 18, 2017
Metallica
concert at Soldier Field. James Hetfield, beekeeper and band front man not singing Iced Honey, which has only been played live five times in concert
(setlist.fm).
Photo credit: Tom Masterman
Wilco’s Muzzle of Bees
Bridget: I’m just assuming this song is about a bee beard experience gone wrong. Possibly bees got up their unstitched sleeves and made this band sad.
Becky: I agree.
Dessa’s Beekeeper
Bridget: Dessa’s a local Twin Cities musician that I don’t really listen to. I do love the lyrics of this song, and wonder if it is based on any of our Twin Cities beekeeper friends in particular.
Becky: It is a lovely song. Just like beekeeping, it makes you think.
Zee Avi’s Honey Bee
Bridget: This song is absolutely adorable.
Becky: From her 2009 debut album titled Zee Avi, this song is a must-have in your bee music library.
Blake Shelton’s Honey Bee
Becky: At the risk of alienating the dear reader, I admit that I do not have a country music station programmed on my truck radio. With that said, Honey Bee is a strong addition to any bee themed playlist and we would be remiss to miss it.
Bridget: I like that this song mentions an invasive plant.
Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey
Becky: A classic. I think this song is a serious contender as a wedding song.
Bridget: It is a classic. I would recommend the Nicki Minaj song that got censored by my co-writer for any bee loving wedding planners out there.
Gloria Gaynor’s Honeybee
Becky: Disco great, Gloria Gaynor, delivers a danceable or workshop-ready tune in ‘Honeybee’. Get ready to tap your feet while building boxes or just set your hammer down and dance like it is 1973.
Bridget: This is definitely a great anthem for extraction room cleaning day. Which is coming up at the Bee Lab. Disco is definitely essential for getting bee poop off walls and keeping up the pace with mopping sticky floors.
August 7, 2015
Canton Football Hall of Fame
performance by Aerosmith. Joe Perry
and Steven Tyler, two of the many
artists to cover ‘I’m a King Bee’ are
front and center.
Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman
Barenaked Ladies’ Daydreamin’
Becky: Daydreamin’ makes you appreciate that as a beekeeper, you are living the dream of many who express a desire to keep bees. This song should remind us that we are lucky to have made it happen.
Bridget: According to this playlist, a lot of people daydream about being actual bees or actual honeys. Quick Q, Becky: would you rather be a worker bee that lives for four weeks, or a jar of honey that lives forever because it’s crystalized and no one can get it out of the jar? Or would you rather be a king bee?
Becky: At the risk of offending our dear readers once more, I must admit that I am not a big fan of honey, so that choice can be ruled out immediately. I am in it for the bees and am quite good at multitasking, so worker bee it is.
References
I’m a King Bee covers
https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/9988/versions
Music lyrics
http://www.songlyrics.com/
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Dr. Marla Spivak for helpful edits and suggestions.
Authors
Becky Masterman led the UMN Bee Squad from 2013-2019. Bridget Mendel joined the Bee Squad in 2013 and has led the program since 2020. Photos of Becky (left) and Bridget (right) looking for their respective hives. If you would like to contact the authors with your egg hunting success stories or other thoughts, please send an email to mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com
Authors
Becky Masterman led the UMN Bee Squad from 2013-2019 and currently alternates between acting as an advisor and worker bee for the program. Bridget Mendel joined the Bee Squad in 2013 and has led the program since 2020. Photos of Becky (left) and Bridget (right) looking for their respective hives. If you would like to contact the authors and share your favorite bee song or other thoughts, please send an email to mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com
