Songs About Candy and Sweets for Halloween

Songs About Candy and Sweets for Halloween

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Posted 2020-10-28 by Steven Gfollow
The final of my trilogy of columns based around Halloween . This was actually the first one I was asked to do, but it was one I struggled with. Anyway, here's a list of songs about candy, chocolate and other lollies.


Okay… why was this so hard? Well, the person who asked for this gave me a list of 10 "candy" songs to start me off. Five of them were about girls named Candy, one was by Macy's Playground that I do not like at all, and another was 'Candy Man' from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory which I really cannot stand. At all. That left three, and while one I find only okay, all three would have made this list anyway.

So, I had to decide if songs were actually about candy (to use the American term), using candy as a metaphor for sex, or about a person of that name. Actually, it was songs with "sugar" in the title that were worse in this regard. So this wasn't just listening to songs, but reading lyrics and trying to work out what was what.

I still probably got a few wrong because I am rather naïve in that regard. Still, outwardly, they appear to be about food and can easily be taken that way.

Wow! Long intro. Sorry.

Here's ten songs.
'Candy Man' by Roy Orbison (1961)

This is a different sound for Orbison, a harmonica-led track that is a decent blues song, one that is forgotten by all but his most ardent fans. Very basic in instrumentation otherwise, it is a fine song. And it is one I have no idea what it really means.
'Sweets For My Sweet' by The Searchers (1963)

While originally recorded by The Drifters, I prefer this version, mainly because I am a sucker for the Merseybeat sound. This is about actually giving a girl lollies, and so, as we shall see, a rarity for this list. I like the little guitar lines through it and the harmonies are so good.
'Candy Girl' by The Four Seasons (1963)

The first of the songs we'll come across where a girl is compared to a lolly. Because they are so sweet, I guess. And maybe the singer likes to lick them? Ew. Sorry. I'll stop there. While not one of the best Four Seasons songs, it is certainly an enjoyable little track.
'My Boy Lollypop' by Millie Small (1964)

When I first heard this song I could not stand it with that hiccoughing singing style and the cutesy lyrics. But it has grown on me over the years as a bit of harmless 1960s fluff. And I am glad I got my "lick" comment out of the way already…
'Sugar Sugar' by The Archies (1969)

You know, a lot of people go on about manufactured pop bands nowadays (because, in general, they are terrible), but back in the 60s, they had bands of cartoon characters! Yes, the Archies, from a comic book (on which the recent Riverdale series is also sort of based… I lasted 1 and a half episodes). So their only big hit, a song about comparing a girl to sugary confection, fits in here nicely. Please note, this was a charting single in the year of Woodstock… The Sixties were weird.
'I Want Candy' by Bow Wow Wow (1982)

This is one of those cover versions that many don't realise are covers , the song having originally been done in the 60s by the Strangeloves. But this version, with its pounding drum beat and the voice of Annabella Lwin driving it forward, stands to me as the better one. Candy is undoubtedly a metaphor for something else, but I thought it was about lollies when I was 11!
'Candy Girl' by New Edition (1983)

This is the 'meh' song I mentioned in my introduction. Look, it's fine for a 1980s pop song with even some proto-rapping in it but it really is just a bunch of kids comparing a girl to candy, and that's it. Still, it is one of the worst ear-worms ever. This song does not leave your head!
'Lollypop' by Mika (2007)

A song I was introduced to by students I was teaching at the time of its release, and I found it catchy and ear-wormy and, yeah, I like it. Just a silly song, really, like something out of the 60s lyrically, and yet with noughties production. Odd track.
'Got Candy' by Cyndi Lauper (2008)

One of Lauper's more recent tracks, this has a dance beat to it but is saved one hundred percent by Lauper's voice. She sings this so sweetly, with that familiar rasp. Now, I am not sure what candy is a metaphor for here, but it is clearly something wonderful as it makes the life of the song's subject wonderful. Or maybe it is sweets. Cool.
'Chocolate' by James Blunt (2009?)

Apparently, this was recorded as a demo and then released on the album The Best And The Rest in 2009 (because that's where I got it), but apart from that, I have no idea about this song. A UK friend told me the music is the theme for a chocolate Flake advert? Wow. Well, this is candy. Still, I really like this, and I don't know why.
So, there we are – ten songs about candy and lollies and sweet foods. Again, let me reiterate, Candy, where it is a girl's name, was excluded and blatant sexual metaphors were also culled from my list. And, fans of South Park, there was no way the Chef's song was going to be included (as cool as it is).

Happy Halloweening!


#halloween
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#music
#performing_arts
#pop_culture
#quirky
%wneverywhere
84627 - 2023-06-11 06:57:01

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