I am 85 now and my heart still swells every time I listen to Richard Harris’s perfect rendition just as it did 50 years ago. What a beautiful work of art!
An unorthodox but extraordinarily beautiful song and lyrics, sung by a non-singer who renders the definitive performance of it. . . I'll never tire of listening to it.
Oh yes indeed this is one of the best songs ever written and sung in my humble opinion. The musical arrangement is fantastic! Thank you Jimmy Webb and Richard Harris for helping to define my teenage years!
I've loved this song from the first day i heard it. I was 12. I'm now 62. I never tire from it. No one can replace Richard Harris version. This song is a classic.
The only other version I've heard that I love as much as the original is the Maynard Ferguson arrangement from his "Live at Jimmy's" album. No vocals, but the arrangement is kickin'!
I'm feeling like other people here; this song brings back memories of the summer of my life. Tears form in my eyes but they are tears of happiness. Why does life go so fast and why don't we realize it until we're much older? Thanks to everyone for sharing.
to R.L. - Yes, my thoughts exactly. Why do we grow old so fast? I thought getting older took longer. Tears come - my tears are from loneliness and remembering my life as it used to be and not to be anymore. I hope God gives me a little more time.
dean Schneck I’m 68, still enjoying life, traveling around the world since 2017 (though stalled by Covid in Sydney), writing a novel, and have lost 112 pounds, look and feel better than I have since 2002. But you’re right, as you get older time seems to go faster, my mom told me that when she hit her 60s.
@@nhmooytis7058 - Yes, I agree with you. Such beautiful passionate songs aren't written anymore. I hope you have someone in your life who you love and who loves you. I don't anymore.
I always loved this song since I was a kid. Riding around in my buddies car one night listening to AM radio back then, I said we're not going home until I hear this song on the radio. Finally heard it about 2:30 a.m. We both just looked at each other and laughed. All these timeless masterpieces will live on forever. Young people should listen to these songs instead of the horrible dribble that is out there now.
A true masterpiece ... by the most unlikely singer, yet Richard turned it into an everlasting classic. What wonderful, talented, joyful, high-spirited people him and his pal Peter O'Toole were. Life doesn't make them like that anymore. And that ... is incredibly sad.
Because not ony the music industry but the culture itself, from school to parents and otherwise, very seldom help the most naturally talented people with the most potential and passion anymore unless they are already quite privileged and spoiled, and thus frankly unlikely to sing with this kind of emotional quality. Such people often have great pain, come from troubled families etc. Many are disadvantaged in background and need a lot of help to succeed, but the culture either keeps them down or helps them rise under the control of others without ever really being able to truly express themselves authentically. There was always a lot of this actually but there used to be a lot of acceptions leading to some truly great work. A lot of this hidden talent really was once enabled and grown by the Church in the Southern US as well, -something which sadly just isn't the case these days.
Certainly both writer/composer Jimmy Webb and actor/singer Richard Harris would be unlikely to succeed today. It's not that the potential no longer exists for it is timeless but we sadly just don't allow it to develop anymore which leads to so many early deaths and waisted lives I'm sure. Webb and Hariss both had far too many hardships and failures early on and messed up far too badly to likely not have been thrown out and barred from future success well before they ever had a chance to fully develop, if they had been born just a few decades later. That is truly sad!
Basically, we now have routine "standards" and credentialing and nepotism and planed obsolescence that prevent any would be modern day Richard Harris's from almost ever making it like he did...
@@jKLathis is a masterful explanation, the idea that you have to be either instantly successful or are thrown out is disastrous and would have us bereft of almost any great cultural work of art
@@squaretriangle9208 thank you! But reading this now, in hindsight my comments are a but too negative. There ARE exceptions today, but they have to be fought for more thus often happen later in life and they don't have the early institutional support of industry so they just don't become as successful. There is still some truly great music and songs being made today but they tend to be more obscure with somewhat rare exceptions and as always, even the obscure stuff today is mostly crap too! I should add that my point is about artists of all sorts succeeding as artists. Plenty of such naturally talented but troubled people still end up modestly succeeding against the odds with some help (just not enough to be like the great artist of the past) in more conventional careers or even self employed eventually, but tend to take longer then most to do so, and may then use their (mostly modest) success for artistic purposes or even early on as they are still learning. Some even become very successful, if not especially famously, in time. This is typically after a long struggle with long periods of artistic drought and short burst of artistic energy as they struggle financially and socially, so success and relitive stability is likely not to come untill middle age for such people though again some do succeed young despite the difficulties.
I hope there is a spot in heaven with a pub where Richard and his cohorts: Peter O'Toole, the McCourt Brothers, Trevor Howard and the like can sit by a peat fire, dirnk, tell stories, lie their heads off, sing and plot revolution like the good Irishmen they were! And I hope for a seat in the snug close enough to hear it all.
This song will always bring tears to my eyes. It’s amazing what a song can do to our emotions. It takes me back to my youth when life was so easy. I’ve lost so many people in my life and this song just takes me back to a time when I was surrounded by so many loved ones.
Cinnamongirl I really feel you. I too have lost it all, no one left but me and my son, and so many beautiful memories, all of which evoked by this beautiful song. Music has a unique power over us.
Everything in the song was visible. There's nothing in it that's fabricated. The old men playing checkers by the trees, the cake that was left out in the rain, all of the things that are talked about in the song are things I actually saw. And so it's a kind of musical collage of this whole love affair that kind of went down in MacArthur Park. ... Back then, I was kind of like an emotional machine, like whatever was going on inside me would bubble out of the piano and onto paper. ---- Jimmy Webb (who also wrote By The Time I Get To Phoenix, another song that was about his love affair with Susie Horton)
Remember Richard Harris singing this when I was in the 6th grade. My mom thought the lyrics were laughable, but we all listened to it. Just saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and loved it all over again.
I was going thru a hard times my parents had died. I was twenty at the time. My girl friend I have forgotten her name but she had dumped me. Then I heard this song late one night... It helped me get thru that time. I still get teary eye listening to it 54 yrs later
I lived my life by those words "I WILL TAKE MY LIFE INTO MY HANDS, AND I WILL USE IT". I look back now at all the goals I've accomplished in my life, even when others told me I couldn't do it because I'm disabled.
Few songs touch me like this one. I feel the emotions I felt 50 years so strong today listening to it! What power for it to do this in 2023. RIP Richard. Thanks
Holy (eh-hmmm) MOLY!! .... Richard Harris?? Like THEE Richard Harris.... absolutely never knew... first time hearing this .... TOTALLY blown away.... not to mention the whole arrangement. Like are you kidding me?? Incredible piece of music/art. BRAVO💐💐💐
@Albert Dibari Very true,it takes time to have a strong musical appreciation for classical and fine music. It might take a decade or longer, to notice if The classic MacArthur Park Original 1968' attracts the music appreciation of younger listeners before they reach middle age. Any earler than a decade, I would be pleased to hear or read about it.
@Albert Dibari I was thee year old when MacArthur"s Park became well know. Yet as I can remember I heard it often in the early 1970's on AM radio stations and someone's record player until I heard FM radio in the city I live. FM radio I could hear instuments similar to a stereo record and cassette player As of you replies.👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🎶🎵🎼🎹🎻💿📻. My encougement to you musical appreciation.
@Isabel Beckerman I read somewhere that Webb said it was about a failed love affair. There was an alternate theory that it was about a drug deal gone bad. Webb wanted to set the record straight on that.
Who's listening this in 2020 and valuing people and relationships in this world we are running. The pain,pathos ,emotions in his voice along with the classic Jimmy Webb music and timeless lyrics makes this song glisten ur eyes and touches a nerve deep down in ur heart. Current musicians like Cardi B should be listening to what they called songs.
Yes, listening to it once again it ticks all the boxes as one of the greatest songs of the twentieth century. The words, the orchestral arrangement, but mostly the magnificent voice of Richrd Harris-- so clear & full of emotion, pain and feeling what he is saying and singing... The pitch of the high notes is .....awesome. Thank-you for this Prof Dumbeldore. 👏👏
I remember riding with my mom, I guess it must have been 1968, San Diego freeway, when this song “premiered” on KHJ (I think). I was 11 years old, and stared at the radio. I cut my eyes to my mom. We both broke out laughing. I actually got away with saying “what the hell was that!”
it is so great to hear Richard Harris sing this song . It has been years since I heard this song.He made me feel every word and pain as my heart had been broken. This song could not be sung greater by any artist, in my opinion.
One night in 2016 I had a “disco party” on halloween night. I was married and had a group of friends and my kids over. I made a dance space outside on the patio and we played this song. And then again. And again. My cake was left in the rain shortly after 3 years of loving and being married to “my best friend”. But I will never forget the music that night and this song. It was magic and It will live on for it’s beauty.
I sure do miss the 70s and 80s. The music today is not even the same. Sometimes I wish I could find a time machine and go back in time. Life was much easier and everyone enjoyed life! Is this your favorite song?
I guess precisely because he wasn't a singer he was able to put his soul and passion into it. No consciousness of technique, tonalities, etc. just heart.
I'm 67 now but its like a time machine,instantly I go back to youth when I heard this music,no matter how hard life back then still I wish to be back then.if is like a dream I don't like to be awake.
I never really "got" this song until the love of my life passed away recently. Now, it's as clear as it ever could be. I'll never have that recipe again.
Sí, a mí me ha pasado lo mismo hace 11 meses. Nunca aprecié en todo su valor "la receta". Y ahora la he perdido hasta después de mi paso a otra dimensión en la que espero encontrármela ( 66 años, España).
I'm glad you figured it out. It's a beautiful ballad. One of my long lives. It popped in my head this morning, don't know why, but it did, and I needed to save it to my playlist. 💜
I loved this song in my elementary school years. "Someone left the cake out in the rain" is an unmatchable description of stupidity. The music is so intelligent the contrast is chilling.
Jimmy Webb, in a 2014 interview with Newsday: "Everything in the song was visible. There's nothing in it that's fabricated. The old men playing checkers by the trees, the cake that was left out in the rain, all of the things that are talked about in the song are things I actually saw. And so it's a kind of musical collage of this whole love affair that kind of went down in MacArthur Park. ... Back then, I was kind of like an emotional machine, like whatever was going on inside me would bubble out of the piano and onto paper.[4]
One of the best songs ever, you never could understand this when young now you can, if you have lost that greatest love, you will never have that recipe again
Lyrics 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! 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 Oh, after all the loves of my life I'll be thinking of you And wondering why 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 Oh no!
This song is so meaningful for me, many years ago while serving in the army in Edinbourgh I met and lost a vary special girl, Janis. After all the loves in my life I am thinking of you and wondering why
I was 15 years old when this song came out. For me, what a great time to be alive and enjoy my entire family. There were 12 of us and all of us were alive and thriving in life.
I first heard this record when I was 14 in 1968. It reminds me of a girl I knew back then and, even as a14 year old, I fell in love with her! I'm 66 now and still think of her and wonder what happened to her. I can only hope she has stayed in good health and has been happy. Although my heart is still broken after 52 years and I have never seen her since, she was totally unaware of my feelings towards her because I was too shy to tell her! She and her family emigrated to Australia from the UK in 1969 and I was heartbroken. Even now I am still haunted by her face and often think of her. I would give all my tomorrows just to see her again for one day! I still miss you Alice., but you will never know. Stay safe. X. P.S. Thank you Jimmy Webb.
That is so touching. I have heard people after many yrs seek out the love of their life with mixed results, but it is definitely worth doing it ifdone with graciousness & humlity.
I love this song; happily married after nearly 56 years too! so glad I heard this on the radio the other day, which prompted me to search it out here on You Tube. (and down the music hole I go~~)
One of my very favorite songs and Richard's rendition is the best by far. This takes me back many decades when I saw one of Richard Harris' performances. A much simpler time in my life.
Today I attended an amature stage show and this song of MacArthur Park came into the show. Memories. Memories. Took me right back to that wonderful era ........not forgetting the mini!! I went online when I got home and sought it out to listen to once again. Richard did this brilliantly. Love it to bits. RIP.
No one can replace sir Richard Harris version!because he give passion and great emotion!magnificent actor..awesome man and beautiful voice...never forget please.Respect
Sir Richard Harris a man with many talent.Never forget your great legend and institution like Richard Harris, Peter O'toole, Richard Burton, sir Laurence Olivier,Michael Caine and more..A treasure of Art!
Richard Harris sang his passion out on this one, of course he has a very good voice that's why it went to #1 ..Needless to say..this song is a master piece.
Joanne McLaurin Richard Harris is great here, as he was in his entire career. This sounds to be a 30 piece orchestra! Amazing still after what ; 55 years .
This is certainly one of the best and haunting songs in my life- 78 yrs ago. I bought all the songs I could find Richard Harris and and all the songs written by Jimmy Webb
In 1968 I had a girlfriend that I loved but I made a big mistake and lost her. 'And after all the loves of my life I'll be thinking of you and wondering why'. I am now in my 70's and have never been able to find her 'I'll never have that recipe again'. I still love you Alex.
Dear Chris, Wow. From one human being to another, and with a heavy heart, I just would like to let you know how humbly sad i got on your behalf reading your comment about the love of your life that you lost back then and in relation to this song. I am so sorry how this song must bring back that open wound that will never go away. I refuse to sugarcoat it, since that is a bit disingenuous, and try to remind you for all you may have to be thankful for. All I can say to you is I wish you the very best & hope you miraculously somehow find her again. TC, ed k.
I'm 81 now, and this is still my favorite song, bar none. Was living in L.A. in the mid 70's, and I would go to MacArthur Park to run. Back then didn't have all the earphones and gadgets they have now. I knew the words by heart, and if you're up to it, try running it. A nice slow jog, then the tempo picks up, my speed picks up, I'm in the Park and so darn happy to hear in my head that beauty, in that place. Go ahead, runners, what a high!! Can't run anymore, but in my mind I'm runnin' with you, Richard
+James Duthie Harris sings the lines beginning "There will be another song for me . . "ect like he really gets them. Many other versions miss these lines out. Summers simply doesn't understand what she's discoing about.
@Brenda Rawlins The music was recorded by session musicians in the US, and the tape was sent to Harris in the UK. At his end, his voice was added to the music, and I suppose some sound room editing was done. Harris and musicians were never in the same room.
The perfect song to listen, dance, and enamored someone. Pure life and enjoyment, I am 76 and continue to love this one-way ticket 🎟 called being alive!!!
A few days ago there was a TV programme on here in the UK called " The Ghost of Richard Harris".. He's 3 Sons were on it talking about him, and there time together, plus his late wife Elizabeth who l believe died in 2022. His life/films/and songs were all covered,,,, and Jimmy Webb who of cause wrote this masterpiece! spoke fondly of there time together.. Richards voice gave this song such depth and has resonated for sooo many over the years. Such a wonderfully gifted man, sorely missed, Rip Richard❤.......
I was maybe around fourteen when I heard this. liked the sound but to young to understand the lyrics, this song is about a man who once had a girl who came into his life but let her go, now looking back he knows this chic was the only one he had ever really loved..
Esta já é o original gravada em 68 . Faz tempo . MacArthurPark. Muito maravilhosa. AMO ouvir. É muito envolvente e inesquecível. Impossível não derramar umas lágrimas de saudade de tanta gente que curtia junto com o som lá nas alturas. Lindo lindo lindo . Beijos amigos queridos e inceparaveis embora estejamos longe esta musica nós une demais. Beijos no coração para quem curtiu comigo ou não. AMO VOCÊS.
What a masterpiece......the lyrics are just...just....indescribably poetic...there will be another song for me for i will sing it, there will be another dream for me, someone will bring
Beautiful really with excellent metaphors and sung with so much feeling by Richard Harris. One of my favorites of all time it is one of the best songs ever composed as far as I am concerned. It even has different tempos like the classic music.
I am 85 now and my heart still swells every time I listen to Richard Harris’s perfect rendition just as it did 50 years ago. What a beautiful work of art!
Carol, I'm two years older than you, and I agree. You never hear music like that anymore.....just noise that is turned off real quick.
Kick ass girl
Kick ass girl
You should listen to John Cooper Clarke’s version
love your heart bless your soul !
An unorthodox but extraordinarily beautiful song and lyrics, sung by a non-singer who renders the definitive performance of it. . . I'll never tire of listening to it.
dumbledore amazes!
Great analogy...it is just that.
It is 2024 and I started crying over this song in '68 when it came out. Harris is brilliant here. Still crying with emotion.
I am 67 and when I was a little girl I would dance in the living room to this song. Still love it.
Same; was 11 when this was released. Loved it then, and still do. And to think that he later became Albus Dumbledore
Oh yes indeed this is one of the best songs ever written and sung in my humble opinion. The musical arrangement is fantastic! Thank you Jimmy Webb and Richard Harris for helping to define my teenage years!
One of the most beautiful songs of all times. Was just about to venture into the world after college.
RIP and long live Richard Harris (October 1, 1930 - October 25, 2002), aged 72
You will always be remembered as a legend.
I've loved this song from the first day i heard it. I was 12. I'm now 62. I never tire from it. No one can replace Richard Harris version. This song is a classic.
Very true,others have sung it but nowhere near as good as Richards version.
I'm now 66 - same for me... a true masterpiece.
The only other version I've heard that I love as much as the original is the Maynard Ferguson arrangement from his "Live at Jimmy's" album. No vocals, but the arrangement is kickin'!
68 and yes!
Summer 1968 when I was 15.
Still love this classic.
One of the greatest songs to lost love ever written. It’s of its time but is timeless. Thank you Jimmy Webb for this glorious song.
Lost love? I thought it was about a baking accident.
I'm feeling like other people here; this song brings back memories of the summer of my life. Tears form in my eyes but they are tears of happiness. Why does life go so fast and why don't we realize it until we're much older? Thanks to everyone for sharing.
R. L. Fleming Tragedy of the boomers. When we were young, we didn’t know anything. Now we are old, we know something, but nobody listens.
R. L. Fleming so glad I grew up when I did not as a moron Millenial listening to garbage.
to R.L. - Yes, my thoughts exactly. Why do we grow old so fast? I thought getting older took longer. Tears come - my tears are from loneliness and remembering my life as it used to be and not to be anymore. I hope God gives me a little more time.
dean Schneck I’m 68, still enjoying life, traveling around the world since 2017 (though stalled by Covid in Sydney), writing a novel, and have lost 112 pounds, look and feel better than I have since 2002. But you’re right, as you get older time seems to go faster, my mom told me that when she hit her 60s.
@@nhmooytis7058 - Yes, I agree with you. Such beautiful passionate songs aren't written anymore. I hope you have someone in your life who you love and who loves you. I don't anymore.
I always loved this song since I was a kid. Riding around in my buddies car one night listening to AM radio back then, I said we're not going home until I hear this song on the radio. Finally heard it about 2:30 a.m. We both just looked at each other and laughed. All these timeless masterpieces will live on forever. Young people should listen to these songs instead of the horrible dribble that is out there now.
You are absolutely right!! A classic masterpiece forever!!
"horrible dribble" well put. stark difference between this and wap
Do you know the Donna Summer version?
Hello from Rio de Janeiro.
@@RobertoSantos2632 🤣🤣🤣
I think you mean drivel, but I agree.
A true masterpiece ... by the most unlikely singer, yet Richard turned it into an everlasting classic. What wonderful, talented, joyful, high-spirited people him and his pal Peter O'Toole were. Life doesn't make them like that anymore. And that ... is incredibly sad.
Because not ony the music industry but the culture itself, from school to parents and otherwise, very seldom help the most naturally talented people with the most potential and passion anymore unless they are already quite privileged and spoiled, and thus frankly unlikely to sing with this kind of emotional quality. Such people often have great pain, come from troubled families etc. Many are disadvantaged in background and need a lot of help to succeed, but the culture either keeps them down or helps them rise under the control of others without ever really being able to truly express themselves authentically. There was always a lot of this actually but there used to be a lot of acceptions leading to some truly great work. A lot of this hidden talent really was once enabled and grown by the Church in the Southern US as well, -something which sadly just isn't the case these days.
Certainly both writer/composer Jimmy Webb and actor/singer Richard Harris would be unlikely to succeed today. It's not that the potential no longer exists for it is timeless but we sadly just don't allow it to develop anymore which leads to so many early deaths and waisted lives I'm sure. Webb and Hariss both had far too many hardships and failures early on and messed up far too badly to likely not have been thrown out and barred from future success well before they ever had a chance to fully develop, if they had been born just a few decades later. That is truly sad!
Basically, we now have routine "standards" and credentialing and nepotism and planed obsolescence that prevent any would be modern day Richard Harris's from almost ever making it like he did...
@@jKLathis is a masterful explanation, the idea that you have to be either instantly successful or are thrown out is disastrous and would have us bereft of almost any great cultural work of art
@@squaretriangle9208 thank you! But reading this now, in hindsight my comments are a but too negative. There ARE exceptions today, but they have to be fought for more thus often happen later in life and they don't have the early institutional support of industry so they just don't become as successful. There is still some truly great music and songs being made today but they tend to be more obscure with somewhat rare exceptions and as always, even the obscure stuff today is mostly crap too!
I should add that my point is about artists of all sorts succeeding as artists. Plenty of such naturally talented but troubled people still end up modestly succeeding against the odds with some help (just not enough to be like the great artist of the past) in more conventional careers or even self employed eventually, but tend to take longer then most to do so, and may then use their (mostly modest) success for artistic purposes or even early on as they are still learning. Some even become very successful, if not especially famously, in time.
This is typically after a long struggle with long periods of artistic drought and short burst of artistic energy as they struggle financially and socially, so success and relitive stability is likely not to come untill middle age for such people though again some do succeed young despite the difficulties.
There is a special place in heaven for this great Irishman, singer, actor, larger than life giant who made this song another one of his great stories
I hope there is a spot in heaven with a pub where Richard and his cohorts: Peter O'Toole, the McCourt Brothers, Trevor Howard and the like can sit by a peat fire, dirnk, tell stories, lie their heads off, sing and plot revolution like the good Irishmen they were! And I hope for a seat in the snug close enough to hear it all.
This song will always bring tears to my eyes. It’s amazing what a song can do to our emotions. It takes me back to my youth when life was so easy. I’ve lost so many people in my life and this song just takes me back to a time when I was surrounded by so many loved ones.
Cinnamongirl
Beautifully expressed .
You are not alone.
Thank you .
I know... ♥️❣️
Cinnamongirl I really feel you. I too have lost it all, no one left but me and my son, and so many beautiful memories, all of which evoked by this beautiful song. Music has a unique power over us.
Our fondest memories are the only things which reignite our youth to the present.
Everything in the song was visible. There's nothing in it that's fabricated. The old men playing checkers by the trees, the cake that was left out in the rain, all of the things that are talked about in the song are things I actually saw. And so it's a kind of musical collage of this whole love affair that kind of went down in MacArthur Park. ... Back then, I was kind of like an emotional machine, like whatever was going on inside me would bubble out of the piano and onto paper. ---- Jimmy Webb (who also wrote By The Time I Get To Phoenix, another song that was about his love affair with Susie Horton)
This was my grandfather’s favorite song. May you Rest In Peace Papa. I’ve got it from here ❤️
I’m 68 yrs old yes a old hippie and this brings memories flooding of my youth. Oh to be young again♥️
Thank you Beetlejuice for bringing me here..🪲 what a beautiful song
Beetlejuice brought me here too, but I've been here several times before. Beautiful song!
Remember Richard Harris singing this when I was in the 6th grade. My mom thought the lyrics were laughable, but we all listened to it. Just saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and loved it all over again.
I was going thru a hard times my parents had died. I was twenty at the time. My girl friend I have forgotten her name but she had dumped me. Then I heard this song late one night... It helped me get thru that time. I still get teary eye listening to it 54 yrs later
Loved this song from the first time I heard it. Timeless classics like this will never be replaced by the garbage of today.
you mean the covered in ink from head to toe, and looking to blow anything that moves garbage of today..
Absolutely a masterpiece. And definitely a deep song. A song for a romantic person.
The summer of 1968.....What a time to be young.
memory
1968 i was 14 and everyday in love with ? I know it in my dreams
It wasnt such a good time to be young for the guys in Vietnam.
You got that right! Da Nang 1967 then discharged. Many of us never got a chance to get old.
@@georgeschafer53 So you're young
One of the most beautiful songs of it's time. I could listen to it over and over.
Loved this song all my life. I'm now 80 and it still sends shivers. Beautiful song
bienvenue au club cher homonyme cdt
I lived my life by those words "I WILL TAKE MY LIFE INTO MY HANDS, AND I WILL USE IT". I look back now at all the goals I've accomplished in my life, even when others told me I couldn't do it because I'm disabled.
I’d say the others that said you couldn’t are the real disabled ones.....You keep standing tall friend
Bravo
@@trotptkabasnbi6655 THANK YOU ALL FOR THE KIND WORDS.
Very good. I had to take a employment test once and a man said that I was not going to pass, well I passed and he did not even finish it.
You are a GREAT PERSON!! STRUGGLES MAKE US STRONGER. YOU ALWAYS KNEW THAT!!
Few songs touch me like this one. I feel the emotions I felt 50 years so strong today listening to it! What power for it to do this in 2023. RIP Richard. Thanks
I grew up with it. Turning 64 in October 2023
Same age. Good luck.
Holy (eh-hmmm) MOLY!! .... Richard Harris?? Like THEE Richard Harris.... absolutely never knew... first time hearing this .... TOTALLY blown away.... not to mention the whole arrangement. Like are you kidding me?? Incredible piece of music/art. BRAVO💐💐💐
This man has an incredible speaking voice. Did a wonderful job with this song. I've loved this since it originally came out.
I have never heard this song before in my life until watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I am amazed.😍
I am still loving ❤it in August 2023...watching the movie ‘Unforgiven’ and Richard Harris had a part in it.
This is the first time I hear mr. Harris singing. I know that his acting is second to none. What an artist, so gifted and unique.
His finest role was as Oliver Cromwell in the movie "Cromwell". Charles I was played by Alec Guinness. 2 of the finest actors of the age
Amazing actor
Without a doubt one of the most beautiful songs ever. Thank you and R.I.P. Jimmy Webb and Richard Harris.
Jimmy Webb is not dead....
One of the most beautiful songs of our time. RIP Richard Harris.
Strongly agree with you Mr Delpaul.
Well said! I heard it then and still listening now, tears in eyes. Such passion, such a beautiful song. Richard Harris really felt it!
@Albert Dibari Thankyou Sir for your truthful reply. Pleasing comments and questions always appreciated.
@Albert Dibari Very true,it takes time to have a strong musical appreciation for classical and fine music. It might take a decade or longer, to notice if The classic MacArthur Park Original 1968' attracts the music appreciation of younger listeners before they reach middle age. Any earler than a decade, I would be pleased to hear or read about it.
@Albert Dibari I was thee year old when MacArthur"s Park became well know. Yet as I can remember I heard it often in the early 1970's on AM radio stations and someone's record player until I heard FM radio in the city I live. FM radio I could hear instuments similar to a stereo record and cassette player As of you replies.👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🎶🎵🎼🎹🎻💿📻. My encougement to you musical appreciation.
Thank you Jimmy Webb for this masterpiece, and to Richard Harris for his great vocals.
Takes a special kind of soul to sing Jimmy Webb. Like Glen Campbell, Richard Harris had it.
@Isabel Beckerman i am dying too to know the answer...an all time favourite of mine...the words, the music the orchestra...truly a masterpiece ☮❤🇮🇳
@Isabel Beckerman I read somewhere that Webb said it was about a failed love affair. There was an alternate theory that it was about a drug deal gone bad. Webb wanted to set the record straight on that.
Best song ever , however not a Jimmy Webb fan . I cleaned his son’s house for years and know first hand the pain he caused .
And add to that Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge.
NEVER GET TIRED OF HEARING THIS. IT'S WONDERFUL. SO VERY EMOTIONAL. SOMETIME I FEEL LIKE I'LL EXPLODE. BUT NOT TONIGHT.
no one sings it like Richard Harris!
I started listening to this song when I was 17... Now I'm 68.. still...
Who's listening this in 2020 and valuing people and relationships in this world we are running. The pain,pathos ,emotions in his voice along with the classic Jimmy Webb music and timeless lyrics makes this song glisten ur eyes and touches a nerve deep down in ur heart. Current musicians like Cardi B should be listening to what they called songs.
it's 2022, all I can say is "whoa tell it " =)
Jimmy Webb in concert tells Richard Harris stories and plays the instrumental section: magnificent!
Yes, listening to it once again it ticks all the boxes as one of the greatest songs of the twentieth century. The words, the orchestral arrangement, but mostly the magnificent voice of Richrd Harris-- so clear & full of emotion, pain and feeling what he is saying and singing... The pitch of the high notes is .....awesome. Thank-you for this Prof Dumbeldore. 👏👏
what do you mean by prof dumdeldore 🤷♀️
I remember riding with my mom, I guess it must have been 1968, San Diego freeway, when this song “premiered” on KHJ (I think). I was 11 years old, and stared at the radio. I cut my eyes to my mom. We both broke out laughing. I actually got away with saying “what the hell was that!”
one of the best songs in my life (72years now!!!)
idem for me
What an epic song. Rare enough but a hit. 7 minutes and 25 seconds. Reached no. 4 in uk charts in 1968.
it is so great to hear Richard Harris sing this song . It has been years since I heard this song.He made me feel every word and pain as my heart had been broken. This song could not be sung greater by any artist, in my opinion.
Andy Williams does an awesome version of it, but this is still my favorite!
@@rodneymiller4620 I am back at age 76. This classic remains a classic.
I am 70 now and I remember this song as if it was yesterday
One night in 2016 I had a “disco party” on halloween night. I was married and had a group of friends and my kids over. I made a dance space outside on the patio and we played this song. And then again. And again. My cake was left in the rain shortly after 3 years of loving and being married to “my best friend”. But I will never forget the music that night and this song. It was magic and It will live on for it’s beauty.
Wow , beautiful voice , I was 14 when it was released. Still mesmerising today ! RIP , heavenly concerts now.😘
I sure do miss the 70s and 80s. The music today is not even the same. Sometimes I wish I could find a time machine and go back in time. Life was much easier and everyone enjoyed life! Is this your favorite song?
No one can sing this song like he did - the pure passion & emotion - Thank you Richard Harris
this is music and I miss it
Donna Summer's version put this song at the top ..All over the world ..Can't deny that
Waylon Jennings was the best
weird al can
I guess precisely because he wasn't a singer he was able to put his soul and passion into it. No consciousness of technique, tonalities, etc. just heart.
I'm 67 now but its like a time machine,instantly I go back to youth when I heard this music,no matter how hard life back then still I wish to be back then.if is like a dream I don't like to be awake.
I'm also 67 and love it!!.....
I never really "got" this song until the love of my life passed away recently. Now, it's as clear as it ever could be. I'll never have that recipe again.
Same here, I lost the love of my life almost 18 yrs. ago, he liked the song as well!🌹🇨🇦
Sí, a mí me ha pasado lo mismo hace 11 meses. Nunca aprecié en todo su valor "la receta". Y ahora la he perdido hasta después de mi paso a otra dimensión en la que espero encontrármela ( 66 años, España).
I'm glad you figured it out. It's a beautiful ballad. One of my long lives. It popped in my head this morning, don't know why, but it did, and I needed to save it to my playlist. 💜
I loved this song in my elementary school years. "Someone left the cake out in the rain" is an unmatchable description of stupidity. The music is so intelligent the contrast is chilling.
Jimmy Webb, in a 2014 interview with Newsday: "Everything in the song was visible. There's nothing in it that's fabricated. The old men playing checkers by the trees, the cake that was left out in the rain, all of the things that are talked about in the song are things I actually saw. And so it's a kind of musical collage of this whole love affair that kind of went down in MacArthur Park. ... Back then, I was kind of like an emotional machine, like whatever was going on inside me would bubble out of the piano and onto paper.[4]
♥️
One of the best songs ever, you never could understand this when young now you can, if you have lost that greatest love, you will never have that recipe again
Yes....so much classier than "Someone shat the bed".
@@lindygrimm7878 wow, awesome you hit the Nail on the Head 👍🔥💥 🌞
at 74 yr still get emotional listen to this song and Richard"s voice❤
This is real music from a wonderful time that will never come again. Where did all the great music go?
Adónde se fue ese tiempo?
Lyrics
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!
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
Oh, after all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you
And wondering why
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
Oh no!
I am also 85 and considered this the greatest love ❤️ Song ever!
This song is so meaningful for me, many years ago while serving in the army in Edinbourgh I met and lost a vary special girl, Janis. After all the loves in my life I am thinking of you and wondering why
Your story is very similar to mine. I'm asking that same question.
The great Jimmy Webb and the incomparable Richard Harris.
I was 15 years old when this song came out. For me, what a great time to be alive and enjoy my entire family. There were 12 of us and all of us were alive and thriving in life.
Amazing to share memories with people like you...who get it!!! Music is love!
@@maureensullivan2196 Many thanks Maureen and Thankyou .
I first heard this record when I was 14 in 1968. It reminds me of a girl I knew back then and, even as a14 year old, I fell in love with her! I'm 66 now and still think of her and wonder what happened to her. I can only hope she has stayed in good health and has been happy. Although my heart is still broken after 52 years and I have never seen her since, she was totally unaware of my feelings towards her because I was too shy to tell her! She and her family emigrated to Australia from the UK in 1969 and I was heartbroken. Even now I am still haunted by her face and often think of her. I would give all my tomorrows just to see her again for one day!
I still miss you Alice., but you will never know.
Stay safe. X.
P.S. Thank you Jimmy Webb.
rochford1000 Aww! That’s so sad! 😥
Beautiful
So beautiful and so sad at the same time. 😔
That is so touching. I have heard people after many yrs seek out the love of their life with mixed results, but it is definitely worth doing it ifdone with graciousness & humlity.
So sad I have loved this song for my entire life. I was 14 when it came out I believe
This song has always touched a special chord deep down in my heart. It still does.
That's the magic of pure, soulful poetry and harmony.
Jimmy Webb, a master songsmith of our era.
Webb was a genius.
@@markz6676 He's still alive.....and was and is a genius.
But why would he write a song about Troy McClure's agent in The Simpsons? (Just kidding.)
I was 19 when this song arrived on the charts, still listening and loving this classic. 🤗
Absolutely Beautiful we never get tired of listening and remembering, we were in our early twenties, so in love with my husband of 53 years now
Phyllis Fantastic! My wife an I were also married in our early twenties. Still going strong after 55 years. What a novel concept these days. Marshall
I love this song; happily married after nearly 56 years too! so glad I heard this on the radio the other day, which prompted me to search it out here on You Tube. (and down the music hole I go~~)
A great song for all time's then and now RIP Richard.
One of my very favorite songs and Richard's rendition is the best by far. This takes me back many decades when I saw one of Richard Harris' performances. A much simpler time in my life.
I think this song is very sweeping, very epic, and feels like an event.
Yes it does. A story...
Today I attended an amature stage show and this song of MacArthur Park came into the show. Memories. Memories. Took me right back to that wonderful era ........not forgetting the mini!! I went online when I got home and sought it out to listen to once again. Richard did this brilliantly. Love it to bits. RIP.
Love this song. It's hauntingly beautiful.
et surtout par richard harris
No one can replace sir Richard Harris version!because he give passion and great emotion!magnificent actor..awesome man and beautiful voice...never forget please.Respect
@@rene-pierreboyer6739 yes I agree, best version ever
Sir Richard Harris a man with many talent.Never forget your great legend and institution like Richard Harris, Peter O'toole, Richard Burton, sir Laurence Olivier,Michael Caine and more..A treasure of Art!
Richard Harris sang his passion out on this one, of course he has a very good voice that's why it went to #1 ..Needless to say..this song is a master piece.
#1 in Canada and Australia only but it did make U.S. no. 2
@@charlesblackmon9726 ~ Number 2 in the U.S. for 1 week. (June 16th 1968)
At number 1 that same week was Herb Alpert's, "This Guy's In Love With You."
@@charlesblackmon9726 ...and #4 in the UK. Donna Summer's version did reach #1 in the US ten years later.
Absolute beautiful song, no one could sing it like Richard Harris.
I love this song--always have and I'm 67 now. And what an amazing actor he turned out to be!
Another one of my favorites...love great music! So glad I lived then and have UA-cam,now!
Joanne McLaurin
Richard Harris is great here, as he was in his entire career.
This sounds to be a 30 piece orchestra!
Amazing still after what ; 55 years .
i think the orchester is "the wrecking crew" out of L.A. They have an interesting documentary on utube by that name.
This is certainly one of the best and haunting songs in my life- 78 yrs ago. I bought all the songs I could find Richard Harris and and all the songs written by Jimmy Webb
Its july 2021 we are still in lock down and im listening to this timeless master piece one of the best songs of all time
I never tire of this song, Richard Harris sings it so beautifully.
In 1968 I had a girlfriend that I loved but I made a big mistake and lost her. 'And after all the loves of my life I'll be thinking of you and wondering why'. I am now in my 70's and have never been able to find her 'I'll never have that recipe again'. I still love you Alex.
An unfortunate part of life, youth, growing, maturing. Richard Harris captures it for us.
SAME HERE !!
But you still have the fire in you Chris!
Dear Chris,
Wow. From one human being to another, and with a heavy heart, I just would like to let you know how humbly sad i got on your behalf reading your comment about the love of your life that you lost back then and in relation to this song. I am so sorry how this song must bring back that open wound that will never go away. I refuse to sugarcoat it, since that is a bit disingenuous, and try to remind you for all you may have to be thankful for. All I can say to you is I wish you the very best & hope you miraculously somehow find her again. TC, ed k.
[ I had a girlfriend that I loved but I made a big mistake and lost her. ]
I know how that feels..
I didn't under stand this song as a teen and yet it touched something deep inside me. And even today it brings tears to my eyes.
Here because of Beetlejuice. And it's a great song
One of the all time Greatest songs.
I'm 81 now, and this is still my favorite song, bar none. Was living in L.A. in the mid 70's, and I would go to MacArthur Park to run. Back then didn't have all the earphones and gadgets they have now. I knew the words by heart, and if you're up to it, try running it. A nice slow jog, then the tempo picks up, my speed picks up, I'm in the Park and so darn happy to hear in my head that beauty, in that place. Go ahead, runners, what a high!! Can't run anymore, but in my mind I'm runnin' with you, Richard
This song does not get its due. Richard Harris is the only one that can really sing this song. Hats off to Jimmy Webb for writing this song.
+James Duthie Harris sings the lines beginning "There will be another song for me . . "ect like he really gets them. Many other versions miss these lines out. Summers simply doesn't understand what she's discoing about.
@Brenda Rawlins The music was recorded by session musicians in the US, and the tape was sent to Harris in the UK. At his end, his voice was added to the music, and I suppose some sound room editing was done. Harris and musicians were never in the same room.
@@tonymanero5544 just like bridge over trouble water my simon and garfunkel
*
A misunderstood classic!
A masterpiece of musical arrangement,one of the best versions of this song.
The perfect song to listen, dance, and enamored someone.
Pure life and enjoyment, I am 76 and continue to love this one-way ticket 🎟 called being alive!!!
Never get tired of listening to this fantastic song by Richard Harris
There were quite a few people who did that in 1968
By Jimmy Webb
You rock mate, hope you have a nice day! 🙂
@@ivannajakov7787 You rock, lol, have a good weekend mate! 🙂
@@ivannajakov7787 nice to see people being nice to each other on you tube
The music of my life : Richard Harris : MacArthur Park.
we enjoyed those days........ didn't we?
A few days ago there was a TV programme on here in the UK called " The Ghost of Richard Harris".. He's 3 Sons were on it talking about him, and there time together, plus his late wife Elizabeth who l believe died in 2022.
His life/films/and songs were all covered,,,, and Jimmy Webb who of cause wrote this masterpiece! spoke fondly of there time together.. Richards voice gave this song such depth and has resonated for sooo many over the years. Such a wonderfully gifted man, sorely missed, Rip Richard❤.......
I was 8 when this song came out. I have loved it ever since. It still makes me cry.
I was maybe around fourteen when I heard this. liked the sound but to young to understand the lyrics, this song is about a man who once had a girl who came into his life but let her go, now looking back he knows this chic was the only one he had ever really loved..
@@briancritchley5295 exactly, but many people don't understand the meaning of the song sadly.
Easily one of the most beautiful songs ... ever!
Love it, I was married with a baby at 18 in 68, it haunts me still , fantastic !!
A magnificent piece of music!
Esta já é o original gravada em 68 . Faz tempo . MacArthurPark. Muito maravilhosa. AMO ouvir. É muito envolvente e inesquecível. Impossível não derramar umas lágrimas de saudade de tanta gente que curtia junto com o som lá nas alturas. Lindo lindo lindo . Beijos amigos queridos e inceparaveis embora estejamos longe esta musica nós une demais. Beijos no coração para quem curtiu comigo ou não. AMO VOCÊS.
Just pure magic ,the words are just brilliant. My childhood memories
WHAT A CLASSIC!! this epic tale takes me back in time and i just love it!
Obrigado UA-cam Por Nos Recordar Com Tantas Musicas Lindas.
as a kid when it came out i never understood the song. now i do as a 63 year old. this song is a pure masterpiece
Wow, how this song and Harris's performance awakens memories of lost and unrequited love amongst the correspondents here. Just wonderful.
Wow!! ...Love listening to this.
I was about 15 when I heard this...
I'm 71 now & still listening....
Thanks so much for posting this!!
🙏😘
Still breath taking after all these years.
What a masterpiece......the lyrics are just...just....indescribably poetic...there will be another song for me for i will sing it, there will be another dream for me, someone will bring
Classic song of the 60's. 1968 was one of the best and happiest times of my life. This song brings that time right back to me.
So beautiful. Nobody could do a better version of this song. Thank you Richard Harris. Xo
I agree. This version is the best by far, it's the passion in his voice that does it for me.
Donna Summer does a great soulful version of this song.
@@orane3549
where ?????
@@martinhowe3679 It is on UA-cam. Do a search with her name and the song, you'll find it. I loved it, watched it several times.
Beautiful really with excellent metaphors and sung with so much feeling by Richard Harris. One of my favorites of all time it is one of the best songs ever composed as far as I am concerned. It even has different tempos like the classic music.