Beat it, or just Eat it.  The Music of Food
Most music is about love, but a lot of it is about food. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution food writer lists the tastiest items in the jukebox.

In his Feb. 20 article in the Living section of the AJC, Jim Auchmutey observes that Shakespeare's immortal "If music be the food of love, play on!" would make just as much sense with the words "food" and "love" interchanged.

In addition to pointing out how food songs span the genres (from Dizzy Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts" to Hank Williams' "Jambalaya"), he provides his top menu choices in a number of categories, including:

Best song about wanting to eat: "Church" (Lyle Lovett)

Worst song about a condiment: "The Ketchup Song," (Las Ketchup)

Best song about fictitious dish: "The Frim Fram Sauce" (Nat King Cole)

Worst metaphor by an otherwise great songwriter: that cake someone left out in the rain, in "MacArthur Park" (Jimmy Webb)

Best song title about bread: "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed" (Kinky Friedman)

Most edible psychedlic-era rock band: Strawberry Alarm Clock (honorable mention to Electric Prunes)

Queasiest music au jus: "Lumpy Gravy" (Frank Zappa. No mention of Zappa's masterpiece "Peaches en Regalia" which, being instrumental, is technically not about food)

Worst food song my rock'n'roll royalty: "Queenie Wahine's Papaya" (Elvis Presley, in the movie "Paradise, Hawaiian Style")

Best song about something sweet: "Savoy Truffle" (thelate Georgie Harrison warning sweet-toothed friend Eric Clapton about having all his teeth pulled out)

Auchmutey also makes special mention about the many crafty food metaphors for sex, the innumerable songs about coffee or booze, Monty Python's spam-fixation and "Weird Al" Yankovic's unsurpassed "Eat it."


A quick cruise of the web reveals that Auchmutey is not alone in his gastronomical musings. It's not hard to find 500 Songs about Food, More Food, even music about food safety.

Other journalists have attempted this topic, including the rather offbeat list from the UK's Observer (Sure sign of offbeat-ness? The inclusion of doubly-eligible "Ice Cream for Crow" by Captain Beefheart).

No apparent discussion of King Crimson's "Cat Food."