Music is a well-known mood maker. It creates feelings and emotions among people. This feature of music is widely used in different locations to highlight their uniqueness. However, the nature of any creativity is a result of the emotions as well. The inner world of many composers is sensitive to the events of the bigger outer world and of their personal life. Strong feelings of love or loss can motivate them to write a new musical piece. The emotional background after the can make it a hit.
This was the story of young composer and song-writer Jimmy Webb. In 1967 he created his famous piece “Mac Arthur Park” (Boucher). The lyrics for this song are definitely personal. In 1965 he was in the relationship with Susan Ronsdtadt. His feelings were deep and clear. They often met in the Mac Arthur Park for “lunch, paddleboat rides and feeding the ducks” (Boucher). Susan worked near the park at the company where she sold life insurances. In the course of time they broke up. This event hurt Webb emotionally and he decided to write a song for Susan. Though it seems that a cake left in the rain is a good metaphor for the end of the relations, the song is actually “a kind of musical collage” (Fallick). After the song was recorded by Richard Harris it took No.2 in the musical charts of the United States.
The relationship with Susan Ronsdtadt resulted in the creation of a popular and well-known song for Jimmy Webb. He was popular and famous author of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and other songs, but none of them became such a hit as “Mac Arthur Park”.
Works Cited
Boucher, Geoff. ""MacArthur Park" Jimmy Webb | 1968." The Los Angeles Times 10 Jun. 2007. Web. 24 Jul. 2015. <http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-socal10jun10-story.html>.
Fallick, Alan H. "Jimmy Webb discusses famous lyrics in MacArthur Park." Newsday 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Jul. 2015. <http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/jimmy-webb-discusses-famous-lyrics-in-macarthur-park-1.9477080>.
