| Richard Harris - MacArthur Park |
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Tribute to the Late Richard Harris and his
performance of Jimmy Webb's 'MacArthur Park'.
Shot in Los Angeles early one May morning
whilst on holiday in 2007.
The video was shot by me and is one
continuous piece of footage. Note the guy
doing some early morning warm up exercises
that is just caught in frame towards the end.
Tags : macarthur park richard harris los angeles |
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Affichage : 138276
Durée : 447 s |
| MacArthur Park Jimmy Webb |
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For LES
"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 the Donna Summer disco 1978 hit.
Maynard Ferguson performed a dynamic big band
jazz version.
The song is named after MacArthur Park, a
park in Los Angeles, California. 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.
Harris recording
The song was first recorded by 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 with what sounds like the top
of Harris's falsetto range, but the final
line is sung with an echo effect abruptly
apparent and in a high and clear soprano
whistle register.
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.
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 has been covered more than fifty
times, including versions by The Fifth
Dimension, Waylon Jennings, Frank Sinatra,
Beggar's Opera, Hugo Montenegro, The Queers,
The Negro Problem, Glen Campbell, Maynard
Ferguson, Stan Kenton, Sammy Davis, Jr.,
Justin Hayward, The Four Tops, Stephen Adams,
Vic Damone, Michael Feinstein, The Three
Degrees and Liza Minnelli. Ed Ames recorded a
version featuring only the middle section as
"After all the loves of my life". 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.
Words to Song
Spring was never waiting for us, girl
It ran one step ahead
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
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 that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
I recall the yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a wave
On the ground around your knees
The birds, like tender babies in your hands
And the old men playing checkers by the trees
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 that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
[break]
There will be another song for me
For I will sing it
There will be another dream for me
Someone will bring it
I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
You'll still be the one
I will take my life into my hands and I will
use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I
will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers through the
sky
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you
And wondering why
[extended break]
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 that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
Oh, no
No, no
Oh no!!
Other tags:
Gentle On My Mind
By The Time I Get To Phoenix
Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife
Witchita Lineman
Galveston
Tags : MacArthur Park Jimmy Webb |
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Affichage : 30388
Durée : 465 s |
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