WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!Tim Burton repeats the success of his iconic “Day-O” scene from the 1988 original movie with a “MacArthur Park” dance sequence inBeetlejuice 2, which carries a deeper meaning for Michael Keaton’s character. One of the most memorable moments from Tim Burton’sBeetlejuiceis the “Day-O” possession scene, which sees recently deceased ghosts Adam and Barbara Maitland possess the livingDeetz family membersand theirdinner guests into dancing and singing along to Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).“The Deetzes are possessed into singing and dancing yet again inBeetlejuice 2, but this time to a different tune.
InBeetlejuice 2’s ending, the Deetzes gather at Winter River’s church for Lydia’s wedding to Rory, which Betelgeuse hijacks to marry Lydia himself. Ensuring their cooperation,Betelgeuse possesses Astrid, Delia, Lydia, and Rory to sing and dance along with him to “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris. The characters switch off performing to the tune, the wedding fit with a massive cake, Lydia’s iconic red dress, and Betelgeuse’s red tuxedo. Of course, the song is interrupted when Wolf Jackson, his officers, and Delores rush in, fulfilling the meaning of “MacArthur Park”’s lyrics as Lydia soon expels Betelgeuse back to the afterlife.
Beetlejuice 2’s “MacArthur Park” Song Is About The End Of A Love Affair
The 1968 Richard Harris Song Laments About A Doomed Romance
The lyrics of “Macarthur Park” inBeetlejuice Beetlejuicehave adeeper meaning about lamenting the end of a love affair. In the song lyrics written by Jimmy Webb, the narrator compares the romance ending to leaving “cake out in the rain,” as the partners neglected their relationship and ruined it. Extending that metaphor, “‘Cause it took so long to bake it/And I’ll never have that recipe again” is symbolic of the narrator being nervous about the breakup because of all the effort he put into the relationship, believing he’ll never find another love like it again.
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
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
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
Oh, after all the loves of my life
I’ll be thinking of you
And wondering why
Oh no
No
Oh no!
However, the narrator’s perspective soon shifts to become more optimistic, which is when the classicsong onBeetlejuice 2’s soundtrackadopts a more upbeat tone. The tune then states that “There will be another song for me/For I will sing it/There will be another dream for me/Someone will bring it,” whichindicates that he’s eager to find someone new to love who will return his feelings – and maybe this romance will last. Still, the narrator in “MacArthur Park” ends the song by reminiscing about the love he lost and fearing he’ll be unable to capture it again.
Why Betelgeuse Chose “MacArthur Park” For The Wedding Song – How It Connects To His Story
The Lyrics Link To Betelgeuse’s Love For Lydia
While Michael Keaton’s “bio-exorcist” is a “trickster demon” who revels in the chaos he creates, he also shows a more sentimental side to his character when it comes to the woman he loves. Though his love for Lydia is an unhealthy, dangerous obsession, he sees it as showing his commitment to her while being adamant that she is the love of his life. Like the narrator in “MacArthur Park,”Betelgeuse laments having lost Lydia after the 1988 movie, determined to get her back and secure the delusional lovehe believes they share by finally getting married.
The Beetlejuice Song Explained: Day-O (Banana Boat Song)
The most famous scene in Beetlejuice is that of the dinner and the song “Day-O”, which has an interesting origin that goes many years back.
The lyrics also connect toBeetlejuice 2’s new characterDelores, Betelgeuse’s ex-wife who was one of the “loves of [his] life,” but he’ll “always be thinking” of Lydia. Though he didn’t believe it,Betelgeuse’s “romance” with Lydia was doomed from the start; he believes it’s because he’s dead and she’s alive, but really she’s always been repulsed by the 700-year-old poltergeist. TheBeetlejuice 2soundtrack song’s composition also carries modern tunes, classical elements, and a pop style that give it the timeless, all-period encompassing nature that has come to define Betelgeuse himself.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
