☝️ Key Points
- The song is about a love story that breaks apart due to the attraction of another woman.
- The singer watches as her lover boards a ship to Honolulu to return to his 'Honolulu Queen'.
- The singer realizes that she was only 'collateral damage' and that her lover no longer loves her.
- The 'Honolulu Queen' has stolen the lover's love and reaches him across the sea.
- The singer accepts the situation and sets her lover free, knowing that he would rather be with his 'Honolulu Queen'.
Interpretation
"Honolulu Queen" by
Norma Jean is about a love story that breaks apart due to distance and the attraction towards another woman. The song lyrics tell the story of a woman who has to let go of her lover because he would rather be with his "Honolulu Queen" in Honolulu.
The lyrics begin with the singer watching the steamship sail through the bay of San Francisco, taking away her lover. She realizes that this means the end of her dreams, as he returns to his "Honolulu Queen". The singer is aware that her lover no longer loves her and that she is just collateral damage. She may have been in his arms, but she was only in his dreams.
The singer wonders if he will find a love as true as their own, in the arms of his "Honolulu Queen". It becomes clear that the "Honolulu Queen" has reached her lover across the sea and stolen his love. The lover says he has seen her face in every dream.
Finally, the singer accepts the situation and sets her lover free, as she knows he would rather be with his "Honolulu Queen". She realizes that his love for her has extinguished and that he wants to find his happiness elsewhere.
The lyrics of "Honolulu Queen" by Norma Jean describe the pain and disappointment of a woman who has to let go of her love because her lover is drawn to another woman. It is a story of loss and letting go.