MacArthur Park

"MacArthur Park" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally written as part of an intended cantata rejected by The Association, it was first recorded by Richard Harris in 1968 and then covered by many other performers. One of the best known covers of the song is Donna Summer's 1978 disco hit. Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, and Woody Herman all performed dynamic big band jazz versions.

The song is named after MacArthur Park, a park in Los Angeles, California, although the title on the disc and record cover art is spelled with a space between Mac and Arthur. Its lyrics, which include the memorable line "Someone left the cake out in the rain", are more symbolic than descriptive, beginning as a poem about love, then moving into a lover's lament. English poet W. H. Auden said, "My face looks like a wedding-cake left out in the rain."

Musical structure
"MacArthur Park" is unusually complex for a pop song. The music can be split roughly into 4 sections, or themes. The first theme contains the verses and chorus, and the lyrics begin "Spring was never waiting for us girl." 9/8 fanfares interrupt the 4/4 of the song by adding an additional beat to the end of each phrase. This section centers on Dm, the fanfares center on A♭, and the chorus centers on C major.

The second theme is a slow lamenting melody, and starts with "There will be another song, for me." It is in F, and contains many Maj7 and a few M7♭5 chords. At the end of this it briefly goes back into the opening theme.

The third theme is a fast paced instrumental, centered around G minor. It contains a lot of V/I style chords. The theme chords climb diatonically over a droning bass line. It then goes to an ascension of notes based on the chords G♭, B♭, D♭, and resolves to F.

The first and fourth themes are similar, but have some differences. The "MacArthur's park is melting." starts this time in F, not C. And instead of the lines "I don't think that I can take it. .." starting on a I/III, it starts on a VI, and descends. The finale concludes with a phrase similar to the opening theme (but in A♭ instead of a Dm). The final chord is a B♭.

Harris recording
The song was first recorded by Richard Harris on his album A Tramp Shining in 1968 and was released as a single. It was an unusual single, running for more than seven minutes, with a long, climactic orchestral break. Harris's topped the music charts in Europe and peaked at number two on the U.S. charts.

Harris sings the song's final chorus at an elevated pitch near the top of his falsetto range.

Throughout his recording, Harris can be heard using the incorrect possessive form, "MacArthur's Park". Webb has said he tried correcting Harris during re-takes, but gave up when he simply could not sing the correct words.

Donna Summer recording
A multi-million selling disco version of the song by Donna Summer topped the U.S. charts for three weeks in 1978. Her recording, which was included as part of the "MacArthur Park Suite" on her double album Live and More, ran to 8:40 in its full-length version. The shorter single edit of the song was Summer's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The 17:47 long medley "MacArthur Park Suite", which incorporates the songs "One of a Kind" and "Heaven Knows", was also issued as a 12" promo, which stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for five weeks in 1978.

The song was not included on the CD release of Live and More, but can be found on 1987's The Dance Collection and Universal Music's Deluxe Edition of Bad Girls.

Other notable cover versions
The song has been covered more than fifty times, including versions by Only Men Aloud!, Sammy Davis Jr, The Fifth Dimension, Psychotica, Andy Williams, Waylon Jennings, The Four Tops, Frank Sinatra, Beggar's Opera, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Elaine Paige, Hugo Montenegro, The Queers, The Negro Problem, Zumpano, Glen Campbell, Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, Justin Hayward, Vic Damone, Michael Feinstein, The Three Degrees, Alien Crew, Liza Minnelli and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Ed Ames each recorded versions utilizing only the middle section. The Four Tops recorded their version of the song, omitting the long instrumental breaks of the song, and reached #38 on the Billboard singles chart. The song was also performed by the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps in several productions in the mid-1970s; and there is a Spanish version of this song (Palabra De Mujer) performed live by Mónica Naranjo in the 1990s. It was also performed by Carrie Underwood in season four of American Idol. UK Hip Hop artist Roots Manuva uses the main chord structure in his 2001 single Dreamy Days.

Negative press
"MacArthur Park"'s odd metaphors and sentimentality have made it a frequent target of parody and ridicule over the years. In 1992, humorist Dave Barry conducted a poll among his readers (as recorded in Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs) of the worst songs ever. Barry's readers selected Harris's version of "MacArthur Park" as the worst song ever recorded, both in terms of "Worst Lyrics" and "Worst Overall Song."