Songs of Food and Drink

Miriam recently created a playlist of songs that mention food. She played them on a radio show at the University of Virginia station, where she sometimes substitutes for the usual host. She started with some that mentioned fruits (though they were not really about eating). I'm not familiar with these songs except of course the first -- I am a big fan of the Beatles!

FIRST: The Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever.

The Beatles and the Strawberry Fields children's home.
(source)

Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about

Strawberry Fields forever

Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone
But it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me

Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever ...

Prince, The Revolution: "Raspberry Beret"

She wore a
Raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her

Plus Cherry, Kiwi, and Fruit Salad...

"Cherry"from "Cherry"

"Kiwi" - Harry Styles

The Wiggles: We're All Fruit Salad!

Plus quite a few more: 

• "Candy" - Robbie Williams from "Take The Crown" 
• "Candy" - Kate Bollinger from "I Don't Wanna Lose" 
• "Grilled Cheese" - Peach Face 
• "Honey" - Johnny Balik
• "Peppers and Onions" - Tierra Whack
• "I'm Just Snacking" - Gus Dapperton
• And to wind up on a different note: "Poison"- Bell Biv DeVoe

Finally: Coca Cola

"I'd like to buy the world a Coke." Not on Miriam's playlist, this song was originally a commercial about the world's most famous soft drink. The history of this song and its author was written up in the Washington Post in 2016: 

"In the commercial, a camera pans across faces of all shapes, colors and ethnicities, as they sing from a hilltop in Manziana, Italy, 'I’d like to buy the world a Coke.' ... The song hit radio stations on Feb. 12, 1971, and it gained immediate popularity. DJs immediately began receiving calls asking them to play the jingle, as if it were a song by The Doors or the Jackson 5. It was so popular, it began to affect the pop charts. The Hillside Singers had recorded the original vocals, and that version peaked at number 13. Backer had the New Seekers record a slightly different version of the song, titled “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony),” which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100." 

I enjoyed hearing Miriam's playlist of music that was new to me, as I love to connect to the use of food in many contexts. I added the Coke song because I like to share a beverage reference with Elizabeth and other bloggers at her weekly drink event at the blog Altered Book Lover. 

blog post © 2021 mae sander with help from miriam.