Honeymoon Avenue

Honeymoon AvenueSong by
General information
Release date	September 3, 2013
Recorded	August 10, 2011 at Brandon's Way Recording Studios, Los Angeles CA
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	3:54 (Original) 5:39 (Album)
Label	Republic Records
Songwriter(s)	Antonio Dixon, Dennis "Aganee" Jenkins, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Khristopher Riddick-Tynes, Leon Thomas III, Maurice Wade, Roahn Hylton, Thomas Lee Brown, Travis Sayles, Victoria McCants
Producer(s)	Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio Dixon, The Rascals, Tommy Brown, Matt Squire, Travis Sayles
Credits	Honeymoon Avenue credits
"Honeymoon Avenue"

Ariana Grande - Honeymoon Avenue (Full Song) (Official Audio)

Audio

"Honeymoon Avenue" is the first track from Ariana Grande's debut album Yours Truly. With a duration of 5:39 minutes, it is the longest track off the album. It is one of her favorite songs she has ever recorded.

Background

There is an original version of the song, which is much different from the version that appears on Yours Truly. Ariana said in an interview when the song was originally recorded, it sounded very upbeat and bright and happy and mo towny and didn't really capture the emotional part of what the song was about. So between 2012 and 2013, Ariana's good friends and producers The Rascals, rearranged the song to better fit the message. They added violins and cellos, slowed down the tempo, and changed some on the arrangement. Ariana said she feels, "like it finally captures what the song's really about."

On November 6, 2015, Ariana posted on Snapchat that she would be releasing the original version of "Honeymoon Avenue" that same week as well as the studio version of "Voodoo Love". Ariana also played short snippets of the original composition on Snapchat. Several days later, Ariana apologized to fans for the delay but still did not release the songs. In February 2016, promised she would release it by the end of the year but it taking time because there was a lot of paperwork involved. Finally, the "OG Honeymoon Avenue" (along with "Voodoo Love") was released on August 2, 2016 through her SoundCloud account.

Composition

Literally, the song speaks of someone in a car being driven by her (romantic) partner. The driver is stuck to the same old route and driving mode that may make them crash. The passenger knows that well and tries to make their partner turn away, but is (almost) unable to.

Metaphorically, the song speaks of two people who used to be very in love and in that "honeymoon phase". The spark has faded though and they are drifting farther and farther apart. The relationship is not where it used to be. The singer says that they want to go back to the way things were. In order to do that, they need to make a change in the relationship, or else they might "crash and burn" meaning they might break up.

Ariana revealed in an interview with Cosmopolitan, that she was "in some relationships that actually took a toll on me mentally and made me feel like a different person in a bad way." She then went on to say that "Honeymoon Avenue" was written about "a very confused relationship that I stayed in for all the wrong reasons. I was so incredibly sad while I was with this person. I'm a happy girl — I love laughing. But I don't remember smiling once when I was with him."

Trivia

• This is Ariana's longest song that has ever been released.
• Ariana said on Twitter that when she recorded this song along with "Tattooed Heart", she was ill with a skull and lung infection. She would sing for ten minutes then nap for twenty.
• Ariana got a "honeymoon" tattoo written out in cursive on the side of her right middle finger.
• The first voice on the track is Leon Thomas III. Leon and Ariana both starred in the Nickelodeon show, Victorious.
• Ariana sang this song on her YouTube segment called Lullaby Friday on her personal YouTube account.
• The Original features Dap Kings

Lyrics

• Album version
• Original version

[Intro: Leon Thomas III]
It's the rascals

[Verse 1: Ariana Grande]
I looked in my rear view mirror and
It seemed to make a lot more sense
Than what I see ahead of us, ahead of us, yeah
I'm ready to make that turn
Before we both crash and burn
'Cause that could be the death of us, the death of us

[Pre-Chorus]
Baby, you know how to drive in rain
And you decided not to make a change
Stuck in the same old lane
Going the wrong way home

[Chorus]
I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper
Traffic, I'm under pressure
'Cause I can't have you the way that I want
Let's just go back to the way it was

[Post-Chorus]
When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
Baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

[Verse 2]
Hey, what happened to the butterflies?
Guess they encountered that stop sign
And my heart is at a yellow light (a yellow light)
Hey, right when I think that we found it
Well, that's when we start turning around
You're saying, "Baby, don't worry"
But we're still going the wrong way

[Pre-Chorus]
Baby, you know how to drive in rain
And you decided not to make a change
Stuck in the same old lane
Going the wrong way home

[Chorus]
I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper
Traffic, I'm under pressure
Cause I can't have you the way that I want
Let's just go back to the way it was

[Post-Chorus]
When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
Baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

[Bridge]
They say only fools fall in love
Well, they must've been talking about us
And sometimes I feel like I've been here before
I could be wrong, but I know I'm right
We gon' be lost if we continue to fight
Honey, I know, yeah
We can find our way home

[Chorus]
I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper
Traffic, I'm under pressure
'Cause I can't have you the way that I want
Let's just go back to the way it was

[Post-Chorus]
When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
Baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
My baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

[Outro]
You know how to drive in rain
You decided not to make a change
Stuck in the same old lane
Going the wrong way home

I feel like my heart is stuck in... traffic,
I'm under... pressure, pressure
Let's just go back to the way it was

When we were on...
(Honeymoon Avenue, Honeymoon Avenue, Honeymoon Avenue, Honeymoon Avenue)

Let's just go back, back, back

[Verse 1: Ariana Grande]
I looked in my rear view mirror and
It seemed to make a lot more sense
Than what I see ahead of us, ahead of us, yeah
I'm ready to make that turn
Before we both crash and burn
'Cause that could be the death of us, the death of us

[Pre-Chorus]
Baby, you know how to drive in rain
And you decided not to make a change
Stuck in the same old lane
Going the wrong way home

[Chorus]
I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper
Traffic, I'm under pressure
'Cause I can't have you the way that I want
Let's just go back to the way it was

[Post-Chorus]
When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
Baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

[Verse 2]
Hey, what happened to the butterflies?
Guess they encountered that stop sign
And my heart is at a yellow light (a yellow light)

[Pre-Chorus]
Baby, you know how to drive in rain
And you decided not to make a change
Stuck in the same old lane
Going the wrong way home

[Chorus]
I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper
Traffic, I'm under pressure
Cause I can't have you the way that I want
Let's just go back to the way it was

[Post-Chorus]
When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
Baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

[Bridge]
They say only fools fall in love
Well, they must've been talking about us
And sometimes I feel like I've been here before
I could be wrong, but I know I'm right
We gon' be lost if we continue to fight
Honey, I know, yeah
We can find our way home

[Chorus]
I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper to bumper
Traffic, I'm under pressure
'Cause I can't have you the way that I want
Let's just go back to the way it was

[Post-Chorus]
When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
Baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?

When we were on Honeymoon Avenue
Honeymoon Avenue
My baby, coastin' like crazy
Can we get back to the way it was?