MacArthur Park

Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain ...

Jimmy Webb wrote a classic in 1967 that still divides opinion today. The song "MacArthur Park," was written out of his own experiences with a failing romance at that time. Webb says that all the images in the song relate to real things he saw and experienced during the summer and fall of that year in Los Angeles. The song is also a response to a challenge from music producer Bones Howe to write a pop song with multiple movements for radio. The story of how it became the focus of extreme admiration and alternatively, loathing by some is a fascinating read. I just see it for what it is, one of those rare anomalies in artistic creation that transcends understanding and encapsulates the pure tragedy of a once in a lifetime love that is slowly, inexplicably drifting away.

The following video is an original live performance by the writer, Jimmy Webb. 

Here are the lyrics to the song.

Spring was never waiting for us, girl
It ran one g step ahead
As we followed in the dance

Between the parted pages and were pressed
In love's hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again, oh noooooo

I recall the yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a wave
On the ground around your knees
Birds like tender babies in your hands
And the old men playing checkers, by the trees

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again, oh noooooo

(Short instrumental interlude)

There would be another song for me
For I will sing it
There would be another dream for me
Someone will bring it

I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life, you'll still be the one

I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers through the sky

And after all the loves of my life
Oh, after all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you - and wondering why

(Longer instrumental interlude)

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh noooooo, o-oh no-ooooo

The story goes that the song was rejected for commercial recording and release in late 67 but that Webb serendipitously met Richard Harris  at a fundraiser and Harris told him in conversation that he wanted to make a record. The result was that Webb flew to London and after going through a list of song possibilities they tried MacArthur Park and Harris said "that's the one!" The following year in 1968 Harris' version of the song went 'gold' topping the charts in Europe and Australia. 

It was an unusual choice for a single as it was more than 7 minutes long and that was weird in a time where all songs were written at 3 minutes or less. I was thirteen when i first heard this and all i know is that it left an indelible impression on me that i have never forgotten. Even today, it is hard for me not to be moved by the emotional waves felt in the voice and music, painting a picture of true love lost. This was heady stuff for a teen beginning his personal voyage through a sea of turbulent passion and romance. I still play it, but not too often in order to retain it's impact and efficacy.  

The following video is the original recording by Richard Harris released in 1968.

I don't know why many people railed against the song at the time and still do now. Actually, i don't really care and am glad i was ignorant of all the ruckus surrounding it! What i do know is that it is a miracle that it was produced and released at that time. Maybe it was because of the strength of Harris' acting reputation that they took a gamble on it. The song is unusual as it has four movements based on classical music structure and the lyrics do seem to paint a strange hallucinogenic vision if you close your eyes and let your imagination go. 

Webb states that the lyrics describe exactly what he saw in the park where he would meet and have lunch with his love (Susie Horton) and the futility and powerlessness that he felt as the love affair came to an end before his eyes. I don't think any apologies are necessary from a writer when they share their lives and when that piece of art then touches so many people deeply. There is no perfect way a song or piece of music should be made. It becomes what it is by virtue of the creative talents and insights of the people shaping it to completion. After it's released, that's it, like a newborn baby it's arrived, like it or not!  

Personally, i believe the talent of the "Wrecking Crew," that infamous troupe of LA musicians who worked on the studio hits that formed the sonic background of a whole generation, did a masterful and sensitive job on this recording! 

I get inspired every time i hear this song. I sense anew the frailty of human life and the misery felt when a good thing is lost. I can identify totally with the writer and singer and all those who have a sensitive heart and have experienced similar sadness in their own lives!


Check out these alternative versions of the song recorded by Glen Campbell and Donna Summers.