There have been various explanations given concerning the meaning of this classic tune (“MacArthur Park”). But it is pretty obvious that by and large it is a love song. Or more specifically, the singer has lost the woman he is very much in love with. But he isn’t crying about it as much as accepting the reality of the situation.

MacArthur Park is an actual park in Los Angeles. It was across the street from where Webb’s then-girlfriend, Susie Horton, worked. The couple would meet regularly for lunch in the park. Upon their breakup, Webb was heartbroken. He wrote the song as a lament for that love lost.

The inspiration for the song was his relationship and breakup with Susie Horton. MacArthur Park, in Los Angeles, was where the couple would occasionally meet for lunch and spent their most enjoyable times together. At that time (the middle of 1965), Horton worked for Aetna insurance, whose offices were across the street from the park.

According to Webb, the splendid, crazy and utterly unforgettable imagery of his song alludes to the torture of witnessing his ex’s wedding in the park; a yellow cotton dress, a striped pair of pants, and of course the cake, melting in the rain, the irrecoverable recipe a metaphor for lost love.