The melody, which has a catchy, soulful feel to it, was borrowed from Morrison's song "Crazy Love", released the previous year.

[6] In an Uncut review for the album, David Cavanagh remarks: "Building upwards from a gentle flute refrain, and then pushed forwards by mighty fills from jazz drummer Connie Kay who played on Astral Weeks, 'Tupelo Honey' is sung by a man who has grabbed us by the lapels and won't let go until we understand precisely what he's experiencing.

On an album where the vocals are exultant to say the least, this song sees Morrison use larynx, diaphragm, teeth and tongue to find new ways of enunciating the lines 'she's as sweet as Tupelo honey' and 'she's all right with me', seemingly in ever-increasing adoration.

"[8] A duet with Morrison and Brian Kennedy appears on the 1994 live album A Night in San Francisco.

[10] The female Asian elephant calf born to Tess on 3 October 2010, at the Houston Zoo was named Tupelo in honor of this song.