# MacArthur Park **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 26, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414 "2026-05-26T20:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/1 "2026-05-26T20:52:02Z")
I just overheard someone praising MacArthur Park, claiming it is “One of, if not THE BEST song ever written”. Well, the Harris version reached the number two spot in America and Donna Summer’s version stayed at number one for 3 weeks. So there’s that. But it does have its detractors, often topping lists of the “worst songs ever”. So, for you, is this song great or awful? Me, personally, I like the music but the lyrics, I just can’t get past them. So overall, I have to say, nay. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/2 "2026-05-26T21:01:59Z")
I kinda like it? I find it funny. Plus, I always want to say “It’s Westlake Park!” Doesn’t have the same resonance. I did really like it when Alyssa Liu used Donna Summer’s version for her long program last season. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/3 "2026-05-26T21:22:18Z")
If you ignore one line about a wet cake the lyrics are good. And as disco diva music goes, the music is great. Judged by that era. Helps a lot if you were the age and place to be dancing to it a lot while Summer was the Taylor Swift of her era. I’m sure that song narrated at least one college sexytime for me. Big smile. As to the wet cake line itself, tortured metaphors are a staple of both poetry and pop lyrics. This one just landed extra badly. Almost needless to say, but I vote Yaay! If it comes on it gets turned up, not off. ETA: there is only one version. By Summers herself. All else is heresy. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/4 "2026-05-26T21:23:11Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > is this song great or awful? The correct word is “pretentious.” Personally, I find it ambitious and successful musically, trite while being overwritten lyrically, and bombastic and artsy - yet somehow appropriate - vocally. I enjoy it most when I treat Richard Harris’ vocal treatment as an annoying youngster trying to shout over the music. Donna Summer’s vocal is better, but I’m lukewarm about the disco arrangement. Waylon Jenning’s country version is a misfire. And yes, I keep it on my master playlist. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/5 "2026-05-26T21:38:03Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you ignore one line about a wet cake the lyrics are good. Let’s discuss “love’s hot fevered iron.” 🧐 Actually, I think it’s a great song, and a fascinating artifact of… well, something. I always pay attention to song lyrics, and there are lots of popular songs out there that are incredibly trite and lame. We’re just used to such pap. Lines like “holding back the night.” What is that even supposed to mean? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/6 "2026-05-26T21:38:26Z")
The bombastic arrangement is what makes the Harris version so great. How many 60s songs went full cantata? Jimmy Webb maintains that everything, even the cake left out in the rain, was stuff he saw. It’s a pretty sad image all by itself. You might also want to consider that it was beaten out for #1 by Herb Alpert’s “This Guy’s in Love with You.” Compared to that song - probably truly the worst #1 of the 60s - “MacArthur Park” is practically Dylan. While pondering metaphors, here’s one. The best thing to compare 60s’ hits to is a time capsule buried in some cornerstone, full of period junk and awesome timeless treasures, and it may be hard to tell which is which without knowing some context. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/7 "2026-05-26T21:39:30Z")
It’s all worth it for this gem: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h6upujeqpvs/hqdefault.jpg "SCTV MacArthur Park Extended version") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6upujeqpvs) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/8 "2026-05-26T21:51:18Z")
I moved this from #In My Humble Opinion to #Cafe Society as that is the best fit for a thread about a song. **Moderating:** * * * As a poster, it has been a joke song most of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/9 "2026-05-26T22:27:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you ignore one line about a wet cake the lyrics are good Even this? _"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"_ Or this: _“The birds, like tender babies in your hands”_ A little tortured for my taste. I will say, however, that I think Jimmy Webb, in general, is a brilliant songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/10 "2026-05-26T23:13:59Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You might also want to consider that it was beaten out for #1 by Herb Alpert’s “This Guy’s in Love with You.” Compared to that song - probably truly the worst #1 of the 60s - “MacArthur Park” is practically Dylan. Funny that you should mention Dylan. He maintains that another Jimmy Webb song, _Witchita Lineman_, is the greatest song ever written. It too was inspired by something that Webb had seen in real life. His book [Tunesmith](https://www.amazon.com.au/Tunesmith-Inside-Songwriting-Jimmy-Webb/dp/0786884886) is fascinating reading. I bought it for a friend that was a song writer and, after a quick look at it, ended up reading it before I gave it to him. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/11 "2026-05-26T23:22:51Z")
It was one of the few bright spots of the recent Beetlejuice sequel, which otherwise didn’t measure up to the original. That’s enough for me to rank it on the good to great part of my measurement scale. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/12 "2026-05-26T23:24:32Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > So, for you, is this song great or awful? I somehow managed to not notice the existence of this song until it was used in _Beetlejuice Beetlejuice_. I think it is really terrible. (I _was_ familiar with the Weird Al “Jurassic Park” song; I thought it was an original of his, and really terrible.) ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/13 "2026-05-26T23:28:35Z")
Maynard Ferguson played a trumpet version of it – well, a medley with other melodies – done most excellently, skillfully and passionately. He got high notes out of that horn that very few others could get. I love the music, the cringe-y lyrics not so much. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/14 "2026-05-26T23:33:54Z")
And pronouncing “striped” as “stri-ped”. Is that a Brit thing or did he just do that? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/15 "2026-05-26T23:56:45Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > _Between the parted pages and were pressed_ > _In love’s hot, fevered iron_ > _Like a striped pair of pants_ Must grant Jimmy: NOBODY EVER wrote those last two lines as verse before. You see “parted pages”, “pressed”, and you normally think of a figure of speech evoking dried flowers or something like that. Not ironing a pair of striped pants. That comes out of nowhere and is not a trope of any sort. So it creates a “wait, what?” moment if anyone is actually paying attention. It comes across as one of those cases where the provisional filler line or title put in to hold the meter is left in the final release because you could not come up with anything better. At least it’s relatively early in the piece so your focus moves on. And it benefits from that most people will just be predisposed to say “ah yes, those were _good_ drugs we had then” and give it a pass on that account. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/16 "2026-05-27T00:30:15Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Me, personally, I like the music but the lyrics, I just can’t get past them. I’m the same. I didn’t like the song at first, but hearing Weird Al’s _Jurassic Park_ made me realize that it actually has a pretty good tune. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you ignore one line about a wet cake the lyrics are good. It’s six lines, which are repeated three times, more than half of the song. And it’s terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/17 "2026-05-27T00:35:50Z")
Terrible song. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/18 "2026-05-27T00:55:40Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > So, for you, is this song great or awful? To steal from Roger Ebert it is a _A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length_. > [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Terrible song. End of story. You are correct. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/19 "2026-05-27T00:59:44Z")
I absolutely love it, but then I’m a sucker for anything that’s melodramatic, bombastic, and over the top. Here’s a performance featuring Webb himself from one of David Letterman’s final episodes of the Late Show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RUPSilcJFrQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Paul Shaffer, Jimmy Webb And Will Lee Perform "MacArthur Park" | Letterman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUPSilcJFrQ) ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414/20 "2026-05-27T01:32:29Z")
Glen Campbell does a fine job with it (as he does any Jimmy Webb song). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macarthur-park/1030414.md?page=2)