Talk:MacArthur Park (song)

Lyrics
I heard that this songs lyrics were meant to be weird? Jimmy Webb made some kind of bet, that songs lyrics aren't so important. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.216.199.6 (talk) 12:57, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Nope. They have actual meaning. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.83.246.171 (talk) 10:01, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Has a hook in it
The odd paradox about this song is that in spite of being such a lousy song of its own merit, it's been covered so many times. I have the original sheet music to this because I'm working on a remake of my own, and the way Jimmy Webb wrote it on the page, it sucks! It drones on forever and is devoid of energy and life, lacking anything resembling syncopation. I think that's the reason it's been done so many times: everyone who hears it knows they can improve on it (that or it's just out of plain sympathy). There's enough about the song that's good that it can be re-appropriated into just about any genre or style. Every performer hears their own ideas on the song.

It reminds me of Charlie Brown's scrawny little Christmas tree, where other people come along and manage to add enough stuff to it to make it a regular Christmas tree. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nightvoice (talk • contribs) 03:03, 10 December 2006 (UTC).


 * I think it's more like Christmas Time is Here from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." The kids are singing a bit out of tune. The snare drums suggest not dancing but clumsy children shuffling on stage at some amateur Christmas pageant. Today that song is a Christmas classic. Zyxwv99 (talk) 00:09, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

Chart Peak Inconsistencies
The description at the beginning of this page says that the song peaked in the U.S. at number 2, and in the U.K. at the very top. The description in the object on the right with album art, however, says that it topped the U.S. chart, and only made 5th in the U.K.. Do we have conflicting references or what? Do I not understand how these music chart things work? Mr Elmo 22:04, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Come to that, where it says "One of the best known covers of the song is Donna Summer's 1978 disco hit" I suspect that is a tad subjective. Certainly I've never heard it, and I have heard most of the earlier ones" Brunnian (talk) 19:42, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I was going to say - it should be changed to 'the most well known version is by Donna Summer'. Her version was a top 10 throughout the world and sold somewhere in the region of 10 million copies ( I have no citation for that, so I won't put it on the page) - but probably sold quadruple the amount of any other version.--Tuzapicabit (talk) 21:17, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Covers?
It's not really a cover, the song is Webb's, not Harris's. The later versions are simply that, different versions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.192.9.16 (talk) 05:55, 17 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, covers. Traditionally, a song is referred to as a cover when one person does a version of it first and does so successfully, and then others follow doing their own rendition. Yes, they can be simply referred to as 'different versions' as well. That said, it is Richard Harris' original version of the song that put it on the map and made other artists aware of it. Mbyllm (talk) 03:29, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

Meaning?
I see that nobody has tried to explain what it means -- SteveCrook (talk) 16:50, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I remember hearing a rumor back in the 70's that the song was about a woman who was raped (and murdered?) in MacArthur Park. The cake being left out in the rain is the spoiling of innocence, or the snuffing out of life, as the case may be. I was surprised to see that this article does not deal with the meaning of the song. --Westwind273 (talk) 21:05, 14 September 2009 (UTC)


 * While, or shortly after, the song was charting, Richard Harris himself was a guest on the Merv Griffin show and divulged that the lyrics were composed on a bet over whether or not a popular song could be written that was deliberately absolutely meaningless. I see that after the above talk comments (2008), the writer Webb seems to have post-rationalized--in his later years (2014)--the legitimacy of said lyrics with a little breakup story. To the extent that the complete Mervin Griffin show tapes have been preserved, indexed with guest-lists, and distributed, I think that Harris guest-appearance and his statement will be verifiable. JohndanR (talk) 05:01, 30 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Part of the reason it was a hit in the UK, I suspect, was that it was presented on Top Of The Pops by the show's go-go dance group (which I think at the time was Pan's People). The presentation was incredibly crass and corny. One of the dancers was literally dressed as a birthday cake. Certainly, that dance rendition did nothing to make the song easier to understand! But Top Of The Pops was never about lyrics. MrDemeanour (talk) 20:51, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

jeepers
Do we really need that vast trivia list? Perhaps the whole thing needs to be purged. --jpgordon&#8711;&#8710;&#8711;&#8710; 23:26, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Today I say Men Aloud-from Wales perform MacArthur Park on PBS...They said that they had once performed this song with Jimmy Webb's son in the lobby and after talked with him and reported the the son said there was a painful breakup and that it snowed in MacArthur Park and that someone had made a cake out of snow that he found while walking in the park as it rained...is there a MacArthur Park where it has snowed?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Solotau (talk • contribs) 23:00, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Now I'm going to go back to the 2009 version of this article so I can find where I know this song from. Cheers. 114.198.120.17 (talk) 11:10, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

For the record, it was Weird Al's parody, Jurassic Park. Thanks for being a useful source of information, wikipedia. 114.198.120.17 (talk) 11:15, 22 January 2016 (UTC)


 * MacArthur Park is in Los Angeles, so I rather doubt that any snow was involved. fishhead64 (talk) 00:22, 10 March 2016 (UTC)

Edit on Notable Cover versions
I deleted the note on Regine Velasquez's version, as it was obviously written by another of her peacock term-loving fans. Velasquez's R2K album, first off, did not earn multi-platinum awards in all of Asia. The album is an album of cover songs that barely received any-- if any-- international reviews. The note made in the article unnecessarily included unreferenced statements about Velasquez's album's "success"; in fact, there were no citations at all. Nor are there searchable references about the international success of her R2K album or her version of the 'MacArthur Park' song. On the most basal level, Velasquez's version of the song is not famous, never having dented any chart anywhere.Doctorqui (talk) 05:35, 25 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Seems to me the entire list needs to go. It says, "notable cover versions"; however, the versions are generally not notable enough to be mentioned in the articles about the artists, nor did they chart, nor are they of any special interest. Who is assigning this "notability"? WP:NOR says it needs to go. --jpgordon:==( o ) 16:04, 27 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Disagree! In this age, conventional music industry "charts" cannot come close to gauging the memetic value of the song. Which is what seems to be the basis of this article.(~Grimblorski~) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Grimblorski (talk • contribs) 20:42, 23 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Again editors are adding in unsourced and non notable covers with nothing or only a YouTube link to support their notability. These fail WP:SONGCOVER.--Egghead06 (talk) 05:47, 13 December 2015 (UTC)
 * I am wondering what criteria are used to judge the notability of Weird Al's parody "Jurassic Park." The vast majority of this artist's covers are more than intelligent enough to deserve at least a passing association via Other or Trivia links. ZappoTheGentleman (talk) 02:56, 19 August 2018 (UTC)

Love this song - Love this page... But why the continued desire to remove any/all references to other versions of this song simply for the reason "non notable cover"?? Any cover of this song recorded by any noted performer - and certainly any version released by a major record label should, at a minimum, be listed. It is the wide variation of interpretations of this song that have made it popular over the years - and continue to keep it in the public consciousness. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2606:A000:140F:4C50:B1A4:BD27:75CF:9D54 (talk) 19:22, 22 July 2020 (UTC)

Removing a Note
Someone added a note under Popular Culture about me referencing the song in one of my Facebook updates. As much as I appreciate the press, it doesn't fit in this article at all. I'm going to remove it. I'm posting about it here because I feel that otherwise it might appear suspicious that I removed a mention to myself. It's nothing controversial or anything, just don't think a reference to a Facebook update is needed in this article. (Admittedly, I did correct the Wikipedia article link in the reference first, as a lark to the person to alerted me to the note in the article.)

JasonLBlair (talk) 16:41, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

My contribution removed without reason or explanation
I added information about the song's inclusion in the film "Double Happiness," which was removed my user Treybien, who apparently thinks he's special and doesn't have to explain his reasons like the rest of us. I've added it back. If you want to remove it, at least man up explain why. Simply deleting something (other than blatant vandalism, which should be removed) without saying why seems arrogant. As if your disinterest in the information is reason enough to delete it. --HillbillyProfane (talk) 06:35, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Not about the park
Funny, I always thought it was about the actual park in LA. In the 50's it used to be a great place for families to hang out. Now its just a hangout for drug dealers. Some years ago they drained the lake and found hundreds of discarded guns. Its sad to see how all these great places get overrun by thugs; especially in LA where its so common. --RobertGary1 (talk) 19:03, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Rejected by The Association
"The song was initially rejected by The Association." Jimmy Webb stated in a discussion with Tom Russell on the "Master of American Song" train in January, 2001 that the reason it was "rejected" was that there was insufficient room on the album to include it. This was back in the vinyl days, and there were only so many minutes of music that could be included on an album. They had room for one (typical) song - i.e., about 3 minutes or so, and at 7:21, this wouldn't fit.

166.70.244.179 (talk) 02:34, 23 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Nice. Got a source we can use for that? I always wondered about it; it fits in well with the somewhat overblown style The Association was fond of for a song or two on an album. (Requiem for the Masses, for example.) --jpgordon:==( o ) 03:19, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

ERROR -- Song was NOT sung on the final Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
Macarthur Park was sung by Richard Harris on the Tonight Show, but in 1968, shortly after its release. It was a lavish production, backed by the Tonight Show Band and featuring swirling lights and a silent model who appeared mid-song in front of Richard Harris, gazing into his eyes. Carson was clearly moved at the artistry of the entire performance.

Tlhansford (talk) 05:56, 12 February 2014 (UTC) tlhansford


 * According to IMDB - it was performed during the last show - music for 22 May 19912 episode99.245.230.104 (talk) 02:40, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

It charted
Here you go and read it carefully.  Caden  cool  05:45, 13 December 2015 (UTC) Well add it to the article then and stop behaving like a baby.--Egghead06 (talk) 05:49, 13 December 2015 (UTC)
 * If you have the time to remove it well then you have the time to add it back. Instead of acting like an immature jerk try being more mature especially after I told you it charted several times.  Caden  cool  05:56, 13 December 2015 (UTC)

WP:BURDEN applies here. "I told you" is not a reliable source!--Egghead06 (talk) 06:11, 13 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Do I look like a newbie to you? Spare me all your wiki links, I know how things work around here buddy. One thing I have zero tolerance for is lazy editors such as yourself.  Caden  cool  06:18, 13 December 2015 (UTC)

Orphaned references in MacArthur Park (song)
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of MacArthur Park (song)'s orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "Hot": From The Wonderful World of Andy Williams: . From Love Theme from "The Godfather" (album): . 

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 01:42, 27 December 2016 (UTC)

MacArthur's Park
I removed the following sentence:


 * What is rarely commented on is that Richard Harris sings the words 'MacArthur's Park' rather than 'MacArthur Park'.

For one, there's no cite to back up the claim that it is "rarely commented on", and secondly if it is actually "rarely commented on" then it probably doesn't belong in the article.

The fact that Harris seems to have incorrectly sung the wrong lyric is interesting and maybe should be in the article, but seems to me that there's a better way to present it. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 16:16, 22 August 2017 (UTC)

Other Webb versions
I think it should be worth noting that Webb has done different versions of this. One is on of his albums that is done with the orchestra with Brian Wilson replacing the string parts with Beach Boys dense harmonies. Another one was the one where David Letterman and his producers spent months putting together a whole show about the song and brought in an orchestra to add to the Letterman band when they performed it. Letterman's bass player sang it and Webb was surrounded by different keyboard instruments. Maybe they could be called other notable Jimm Webb versions. I no this page isn't gettin get much attention so if I don't get feedback I'll go ahead and do it. Jackhammer111 (talk) 00:13, 18 August 2018 (UTC)