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10 Best Food Songs
By Ben Heinemann
For some reason, food and drink seem to serve as perfect metaphors for many singers and songwriters. Love, hate, location, sexual relations- all of these can be experiences as rich and memorable as the consumption of food. Here are ten you’ll probably remember:
The Lemon Song - Led Zeppelin: “Let me tell you baby, you ain’t nothing but a two-bit, no-good jive,” wails Robert Plant. Someone’s a little bitter. The track from “II” uses the fruit to create a powerful image in the listener’s head. “Squeeze me baby, til the juice runs down my leg/The way you squeeze my lemon, I’m gonna fall right out of bed.”
Red Vines - Aimee Mann: Sometimes a certain meal or snack brings us back to distant times and places. Such is the case for cigarettes and Red Vine licorice for Aimee Mann. “So your’re running round the parking lot/til every lightening but is caught/punching some pinholes in the lid of a jar/while we wait in the car/with cigarettes and red vines,” she sings over layers of guitar, strings, and drum beats.
Milkshake – Kelis: Does this one even need an explanation? People have been trying to figure out what Kelis puts in her blender since its release in 2003, and the song is still referenced in popular culture and has been covered by many bands. I’m kind of thirsty now.
Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg: Ah! Perfect, some gin and juice. No metaphors hidden in these rhymes, its all about the party. “Rollin; down the street, smokin’ indo, sippin on gin and juice/Laid back (with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.)” Even after 14 years, it’s still refreshing.
Bowl of Oranges - Bright Eyes: Food as art serves as the metaphor for Conor Oberst in this song. There’s obviously a lot of crappy stuff going on in the song, and he hopes that it could all just stay still like a still-life painting. “Then we would stand staring in awe at our still lives posed like a bowl of oranges.”
32 Flavors - Ani Difranco: Every item of food can have its own personality. It can be spicy, bland, sweet, etc. Ani Difranco has many facets to her character, and she shows it in this song, also referencing a popular ice cream chain. “I am a poster girl with no poster/I am 32 flavors and then some.”
Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan: Food as love, of course! Love is hard to describe in conventional terms, so Ms. McLachlan tells her lover that “your love is better than chocolate, better than anything else that I’ve tried.” That’s some pretty good love.
Honey - Mariah Carey: Mimi might need to go to rehab for her dependency…on honey. She loves it so much, she can’t be elusive with it. “And it’s just like honey/When you love comes over me/Oh baby I’ve got a dependency/Solely strung out for another taste of your honey.” Speaking of food porn…
Lilac Wine - Jeff Buckley: “Lilac wine is sweet and heady, like my love,” sings Jeff Buckley. As the song rolls on slowly over drunken sounding guitars, things get hazier for Buckley, and the song ends on one of his signature falsetto notes he will always be remembered for.
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett: Another one that speaks for itself. Enjoy the summer with your favorite food and drink, perhaps with this classic Buffett song meandering in the background.