Have you ever loved a song before you even heard it? That’s been the case for many readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six, an oral history of a fictional band that rose to superstardom in the 1970s, then abruptly fell apart due to turmoil behind the scenes. With in-depth backstories and even complete lyrics for some, the songs in Reid’s pages were so close to being real; they just needed to be heard. Now, they finally can be, thanks to Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & The Six series adaptation and Aurora, a whole, actual album by the titular band. (It’s produced by Grammy winner Blake Mills, though actors Riley Keough and Sam Claflin perform their own vocals.)
Songs from the 11-track album will appear throughout the series, which just debuted today, but “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” stands out in first three episodes. Like in the book, though Reid’s version is just called “Honeycomb,” this is the first song Daisy (Keough) and The Six, led by frontman Billy Dunne (Claflin), work on together, which leads to their game-changing partnership, musical and otherwise. However, when she joins the band in the studio, Billy is shocked to learn she’s altered some of his lyrics. For example, she changed the hook from, “I know we can get it all back,” to “We can make a good thing bad.” He recoils.
After all, the song comes from a personal place for Billy. He’s trying to make right after abusing drugs, cheating on his wife Camila, and spiraling so badly that he missed the birth of their daughter to check into rehab. His “Honeycomb” is a vow to his family, and also to himself, that he can be a better man. Perhaps it’s even proof that he already is. (Hence the line, “Look at us now.”)
But the music industry is hard to please, and Billy’s lovey-dovey demo bored record executives. Producer Teddy Price knew when Daisy overheard the demo in his office that he had to bring her in to shake things up. To be clear, she loves the song, but she doesn’t buy Billy’s plain message. “It’s about starting a new life, Daisy, it’s about redemption…from letting people down,” he tells her as they argue in the recording booth.
Unconvinced, she presses, “So, you let somebody down, right? And now you’re saying everything’s fine, look at us now, everything’s in the past…I don’t believe it. It doesn’t sound honest and it sounds simple. And I don’t know you very well; you don’t seem simple to me.”
So, she complicates the lyrics to add some tension and turbulence to Billy’s very linear narrative. But what he sees isn’t just a swapping of words; it’s a disturbance in his journey of healing. Little does he know, Daisy will only continue to take over his life from here, and he’ll do the same to her.
The resulting song begins as a mellow rock ballad but picks up speed, blossoming into rock-pop territory. Guitars go wailing while Billy and Daisy belt in crisp harmonies. And honestly, it’s pretty catchy. “Oh, we can make a good thing bad” has been echoing in my head for a whole week prior to writing this story.
“Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” was written by Blake Mills, Jason Boesal, Stephony Smith, Jonathan Rice, and Marcus Mumford, which can explain its folk-rock influences. (Mills himself has collaborated with a number of artists including Fiona Apple, Alabama Shakes, Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, and Phoebe Bridgers.) Accompanying Keough and Claflin were Mills and Madison Cunningham on guitar and background vocals; Tyler Chester on electric piano, organ, and synth; Pino Palladino on bass; Abe Rounds on drums; and Matt Chamberlain on percussion.
Readers will notice that the lyrics are different from those in Reid’s novel. Though she didn’t write out the full lyrics to “Honeycomb,” characters mention lines in the story, like: “One day things will quiet down / We’ll pick it all up and move town / We’ll walk through the switchgrass down to the rocks / And the kids will come around.” And the refrain, which Daisy changed based on her interpretation, was originally: “Will the life we want wait for us? / Will we live to see the lights coming off the bay? / Will you hold me, will you hold me, will you hold me until that day?”
The recorded version uses less specific phrasing and focuses more on the tumult than Billy’s good intentions. As present-day Billy recalls in the series, “Come to think of it, we never did my version.” But it’s an impressive song, and it foreshadows his and Daisy’s long and winding saga ahead.
Read the full lyrics below.
I don’t know who I am
Baby, baby, baby,
Do you know who you are?
Is it out of our hands?
Tell me, tell me, tell me,
How we made it this far?Did we unravel a long time ago?
Is there too much that we don’t want to know?
I wish it was easy, but it isn’t soOh, we could make a good thing bad
Oh, we could make a good thing badNow where do we stand?
Baby, baby, baby,
No one knows who you are
And if this was your plan,
Tell me tell me why
You’ve been crying in the darkWe unraveled a long time ago
We lost and we couldn’t let it go
I wish it was easy, but it isn’t so
So baby,Oh, we could make a good thing bad
Oh, we could make a good thing bad
Oh, we could make a good thing bad
Oh, we could make a good thing badHow did we get here?
How do we get out?
We used to be something to see
But, baby, look at us now
Baby, look at us now
This thing we been doin’
Ain’t working out
Why can’t you just admit it to me?Oh baby, look at us now
Oh, baby, look at us now
Oh baby, look at us now
Oh baby, look at us now
Oh baby, look at us nowHow did we get here?
How do we get out?
This thing we been doin’
Ain’t working out
Oh,How did we get here?
How do we get out?
We used to be something to see
Oh, baby, look at us now
Baby, look at us now
This thing we been doin’
Ain’t working out
Why can’t you just admit it to me?
Baby, look at us now
Baby, look at us now
Oh, we could make a good thing bad
Oh, we could make a good thing bad
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.