# What Is "MacArthur Park"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015 "2003-03-21T04:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/21 "2003-03-21T20:21:42Z")
I always thought it mean that he was on LSD sitting in the park, it starts raining and he just pictured it all melting. But what does that part about throwing something off the tallahatchee bridge mean? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/22 "2003-03-21T20:24:53Z")
I may be tripping, but Iswear I once heard Jimmy Webb on some talk show explaining that the song is about a wedding that was called off at the last minute. And the Donna Summer version kicks butt! ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/23 "2003-03-21T20:38:40Z")
I thought that “cake out in the rain” lyric was a reference to W. H. Auden’s famous quote: “My face looks like a wedding-cake left out in the rain” Something to do with old age maybe? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/24 "2003-03-21T21:39:37Z")
What is MacArthur Park? 1. MacArthur Park is a park in Los Angeles. 2. MacArthur Park is the second worst song ever written in the history of pop music (the worst is “In The Year 2525.”) 3. MacArthur Park is a restaurant in Palo Alto, CA (45 minutes south of San Francisco) 4. MacArthur Park is a critically acclaimed independent movie. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/25 "2003-03-21T21:47:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*MacArthur Park is the second worst song ever written in the history of pop music (the worst is “In The Year 2525.”) > \*\* Ohhh yeah. I can go along with that. 3rd worst would have to be “Who put the bomp” by Barry Mann. Time for a new worst song thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AV8R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AV8R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AV8R)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/26 "2003-03-21T22:40:27Z")
In a radio interview when asked about the cake melting in the rain, Jimmy said something like “Hey, it was an era of psychedelic lyrics – it doesn’t mean anything.” ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/27 "2003-03-22T01:08:20Z")
It was the first song I ever heard of getting blacklisted by a Los Angeles area (Peoples Republic of Santa Monica to be exact) NPR affiliate for being politically incorrect. KCRW banned The Negro Problem’s cover version because Stew changed the infamous line to “Someone left the _crack_ out in the rain” to reflect the seediness of the 1990s reality of MacArthur Park. Apparently suggesting there might be anything wrong in the inner city without explicily declaring it to be the fault of evil white male heterosexual Republicans is taboo on KCRW. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/28 "2003-03-22T01:09:22Z")
Macarthur Park is OK to see in the daytime. It gets a little dicey there at night. Don’t drink the water in the lake however. I’m not sure what it’s made of. The lake was drained for a few years during the construction of L.A.'s subway. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/29 "2003-03-22T01:16:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*What is MacArthur Park? > > 1. MacArthur Park is a park in Los Angeles. > > 2. MacArthur Park is the second worst song ever written in the history of pop music (the worst is “In The Year 2525.”) > > 3. MacArthur Park is a restaurant in Palo Alto, CA (45 minutes south of San Francisco) > > 4. MacArthur Park is a critically acclaimed independent movie. \*\* There’s a MacArthur Park restuarant in San Francisco too. Same restaurant, same chain. And I beg to differ on your rank of the song MacArthur Park. It’s one of the coolest trite pop songs ever written. And with all due respect to Richard Harris, the Donna Summer version rules. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/30 "2003-03-22T16:56:40Z")
It is saying “McArthurs Park is melting in the dark” This is one line. “All the sweet green icing flowing down. Someone left the cake out in the rain.” This is a seperate line from the first one and it makes sense if you were to rearrange it “Someone left the cake out in the rain. All the sweet green icing flowing down” It was put out of order for poetic and rhyme purpose. “I don’t think that I can take it cause it took so long to bake it. And I’ll never have that receipe again.” What that is saying is once something is destroyed it can’t be rebuildt exactly as it was, so why should I bother to try…With a hint of maybe I should" The next verses go on to describe the love that occured in the park, what it was like to be in love and that love is associated with the park. Therefore the park is a metaphore for the love." ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/31 "2003-03-22T21:32:42Z")
What’s the They Might Be Giants song where they say “When this grey world crumbles like a cake / I’ll be hanging from the hope / That I’ll never see that recipe again”? I heard that before I read Dave Barry’s book of bad songs where he said MacArthur Park was worst song ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/32 "2003-03-23T00:06:47Z")
That TMBG song is “It’s Not My Birthday”. The lyrics right before the lines you quote are: > [@](#): > > Well the rain falls down without my help I’m afraid > And my lawn gets wet though I’ve withheld my consent So, again, it appears that someone left the cake out in the rain. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/33 "2003-03-23T02:27:23Z")
I used to go to school right across the street from MacArthur Park. I don’t think I visited MacArthur Park; if I did, it was with a group of students. One time, however, I was so terrified by a wacko on the bus (he was beating up people, and indicated that I might be next) that I got off the bus and walked next to MacArthur Park in order to get to school. It was sort of a “rock and a hard place” decision for me: stay on the bus with the crazy wacko, or get off the bus and walk by _MacArthur Park_. MacArthur Park won out, just barely. That’s how scared I was of the wacko. That should tell you a bit about what kind of neighborhood MacArthur Park is in. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/34 "2003-03-23T02:38:41Z")
I’m inspired. I’m off to write “Malcolm-X Park”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/35 "2003-03-23T07:28:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*I used to go to school right across the street from MacArthur Park. I don’t think I visited MacArthur Park; if I did, it was with a group of students. > > \*\* Would that have been the old Westlake school, better known as the alma mater of Shirley Temple? It’s not by MacArthur park anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/36 "2003-03-23T13:08:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*I used to go to school right across the street from MacArthur Park. I don’t think I visited MacArthur Park; if I did, it was with a group of students. > > One time, however, I was so terrified by a wacko on the bus (he was beating up people, and indicated that I might be next) that I got off the bus and walked next to MacArthur Park in order to get to school. It was sort of a “rock and a hard place” decision for me: stay on the bus with the crazy wacko, or get off the bus and walk by _MacArthur Park_. MacArthur Park won out, just barely. That’s how scared I was of the wacko. > > That should tell you a bit about what kind of neighborhood MacArthur Park is in. \*\* **Yosemitebabe** , can you tell me the name of the school? I’m interested in the oldest schools in the L.A. district; if it’s in that neighborhood it must be old indeed. This might not be appropriate for CS so maybe you could email me. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015/37 "2003-03-23T13:23:57Z")
The school was Otis/Parsons, an rather well-known art school. It’s no longer there (well, I assume the building is, but Otis got rid of “Parsons” and moved near LAX). There was a building down the street from Otis (I believe the street Otis was on was Carondolet? Something like that.) Otis was on the corner, this building was just a little bit down the block. It was a kind of unique-looking building. Almost every damned week, they were filming something there. It got to be an irritant. Every. Damned. Week. All their trailers and equipment set up, sometimes blocking my path to Otis. (I really did love seeiing all the film crews, as a film buff, but after a while even _I_ got sick of it!) I still wonder what this building was. Two films I know they shot there was “Young Doctors in Love” and “Splash”. (I remember asking one of the crew what were “Splash” about, and who was in it? I was told, “Oh, no one you’ve heard of.” _ARGGHHHH!!!_) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-macarthur-park/163015.md?page=1)