Thursday, February 26, 2009

MacArthur Park

Gitmo for the Ears







This song is so moving, it has funny lyrics, yes, but if a person does some research, this "story" actually is quite moving. The way the music flows with its highs and lows, is so moving to me - PLUS Donna sings it with such stirring and powerful emotion that pulls me into it so much, almost as much as Richard Harris did with the original, which I of course, love.

This song, whether or not intended to be a hit, became one because of its phenomenal theatrical structure, melody and unforgettable/memorable lyrics. And the song makes perfect sense if you know what it is to have loved and lost like Jimmy Webb (and Richard Harris) did. "Awful instrumentation"?? You must be out of your mind. This song is and will always be a 20-century classic!!!

As for the metaphor "The cake is melting..... & the icing ...." could possibly be Webb's taking a phrase from one of the poems by English poet, W.H.Auden which included: "My face looks like a cake left out in the rain."

Even if you hate the lyrics, you have to admit that this song has an amazing opening melody!

-(from various YouTube comments)







Jimmy Webb - MacArthur Park - Live in London 1999







Jimmy Webb remembers Richard Harris



1 comment:

  1. Being a lifelong Jimmy webb fan (and a skeptic at times), what poem of W. H. Auden did Webb "possibly" cop the cake in the rain line from?

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