“MacArthur Park,” written by Jimmy Webb and first recorded by Richard Harris in 1968, stretches to more than seven minutes and includes lengthy, climactic orchestral intermissions. That’s not even the strangest part. That honor goes to the lyrics, whose utter bizarreness can be best summed up by the chorus: “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 I can take it/ ‘Cause it took so long to bake it/ And I’ll never have the recipe again, oh no.” When asked to explain his lyrics, Webb said the cake is symbolic of a relationship and the song refers to the end of a love affair.
