Songfacts®:

• This was released as the first single from American electronic artist Moby's sixth studio album, Play. In the US the song got played a few times on radio, then disappeared. In the UK it did better peaking at #33.
• This samples a recording by American folklorist Alan Lomax of "Sometimes" by the blues artist Bessie Jones. Moby recalled to Rolling Stone: "My friend Dimitri Ehrlich, who is a music journalist here in New York, got this Alan Lomax box set. He had listened to it and wasn't that interested in it and he gave it to me, and I heard all those great a cappellas. I wrote 'Honey' in about 10 minutes. My girlfriend at the time really liked it. And that surprised me because she didn't really like my music."
• After Play became a commercial hit, a remix of this song by Fafu featuring new vocals by Kelis was released as a double A-side single along with a re-issue of "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" This time it peaked at #17 in the UK.
• This song featured in the movies Permanent Midnight (1998), Holes (2003), and Middle Men (2009).
• This was mixed by Mario Caldato Jr., who mixed most of the Beastie Boys' albums, including Hello Nasty, which dropped a month before "Honey" and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
  
  Moby was surprised that someone of Caldato's caliber would be willing to work with him, considering his own career was on the brink of failure. After an ill-received foray into punk rock with the album Animal Rights, Moby was sure Play would be his last musical endeavor. Instead, it made him an international sensation.
• The music video, directed by Roman Coppola, opens with a box falling from the sky. Inside are three Moby clones, wearing identical suits and glasses, who take off for an adventure in the city. The main action involves stealing a luxury car, but the trio is waylaid by a disappearing map and a portal that redirects them to a woman's apartment. Finally, they're able to boost the vehicle, which takes them back to the box. They climb back inside, and it explodes.
  
  Coppola, who also directed music videos for Ween, Daft Punk, Phoenix, and Mariah Carey, co-wrote many Wes Anderson films, including The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom.