They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. It is indeed a good idea to stay healthy by eating apples. However, did you know that apples don’t just serve as supplements for a healthy lifestyle? Sometimes, apples become inspirations for numerous songs.
We already know that to be the case with nursery rhymes, but some artists also write songs with apple in the title or in the lyrics. If you wish to find out more, here are ten songs about apples for a healthier playlist.
Songs About Apples
1. “Applejack” by Dolly Parton
“Applejack” is a song written by Dolly Parton about an apple farmer who plays the banjo. The character in the song was inspired by two influential people in Parton’s life. First was her great uncle named Philip Owens. He was a banjo teacher, and he was the one who taught Parton how to play the instrument.
The second person is Perry Lindsey, but locals call him Sawdust. Lindsey lived in the mountains of East Tennessee, and Parton would often go to his place because she admired how he played the banjo.
The character in the song is a fictional person named Jackson Taylor but is nicknamed AppleJack because of his apple farm.
2. “Applesauce” by Animal Collective
Dave Portner from Animal Collective says that he loves cooking and grilling fruits and vegetables for his girlfriend. That’s almost the only reason why he wrote the song “Applesauce.” However, while he was writing it, he ended up reflecting more about himself, which later turned the song into something more personal.
“When I was young, I thought fruit was an infinite thing
I’d be sad to wake up and find all of my cherries are charred or they’re rotted to ruin
It seems we all can’t last
Oh, pink lady, your days so distinguished are a movement so fluid
So smooth against my palm
Reminisce of the days when they all praised your sweet red delicious”
3. “Bad Apple” by Tribes
There are quite a few idioms that use apples to describe certain individuals. From your favorite person or “the apple of my eye” to a person who can negatively influence others or a “bad apple.” That’s what this song from Tribes is about.
Johnny Lloyd, the lead vocalist of the band, says that “Bad Apple” is about women who will lead you to parties and nights of drinking only to realize that they changed you for the worse.
4. “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” by The Andrews Sisters
“Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” is a World War II hit song about loving someone and hoping he/she doesn’t find someone else while you’re away.
“Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me
Anyone else but me, anyone else but me
No! No! No!
Just remember that I’ve been true to nobody else but you
So just be true to me”
It’s based on a 19th Century song called “Long, Long Ago” by Thomas Haynes Bayly.
There are various artists to whom this song is often credited. However, it was The Andrews Sisters that have popularized it from the film Private Buckaroo in 1942.
5. “The Apple Tree” by Nina Nesbitt
Here’s one song that was literally inspired by an apple orchard. Jake Gosling, who’s also famous for his works with One Direction and Ed Sheeran, produced Nina Nesbitt’s EP of the same title in his facility called the Sticky Studios.
Sticky Studios is situated in an apple orchard. In one of the many days of their recording sessions, Nesbitt was looking out the window, gazing at the apple orchard, when she realized it was a great inspiration for a song.
6. “Second Bite of the Apple” by Beady Eye
Oasis was one of the biggest bands in England after The Beatles. If you’re familiar with them, you’d know that there was a lot of controversy within the band, leading to their disbandment in 2009. However, the members’ musical journey didn’t end there.
Liam Gallagher went on to form the band Beady Eye. The idiom second bite of the apple means to be given a second chance, and perhaps Beady Eye’s song is about getting back up after life beats you down.
“The world is up if you’re tough enough
The world is up if you’re tough enough”
7. “Apple Pie à la Mode” by Destiny’s Child
Before Beyoncé became the legendary pop star that she is, she began as an integral member of Destiny’s Child. The group is known for its upbeat, sensational, and sometimes sensual songs. We sometimes liken the person we admire to a delicacy or sweets, and Destiny’s Child wrote a song where a guy is compared to a dessert, or more specifically, an apple pie.
“Lullaby love, where have you been all my life?
Your chocolate covered strawberry, apple pie à la mode”
8. “Apple of My Eye” by Micah G
Going back to idioms that use the fruit to describe someone, Micah G wrote a song called “Apple of My Eye.” It’s a playful song that talks about loving someone who already has someone else but wishing she’d someday be yours. The song combines reggae, a tropical melody, and a great keyboard track, making it an upbeat, almost feel-good song.
The chorus goes,
“Girl, you know you’re the apple of my eye
Angel in the sky
Dream come true
Girl, it’s only you”
9. “Apple Suckling Tree” by Bob Dylan
If you’re a fan of Bob Dylan, you’d know that he’s won numerous awards for his writing skills, not just with music but poetry as well. So, you’d expect nothing but greatness from all his songs, right?
Well, the “Apple Suckling Tree” is widely debated by a lot of Dylan fans, arguing why or why not it should have been part of his album The Basement Tapes. The lyrics are repetitive, and the singers don’t seem to get their lines out on cue.
“Now, he’s underneath that apple suckling tree
Oh, yeah!
Under that apple suckling tree
Oh, yeah!
That’s underneath that tree
There’s gonna be just you and me
Underneath that apple suckling tree
Oh, yeah!”
Dylan sang these lyrics so casually, and it’s even widely speculated that he made the lyrics on the spot. Well, we won’t argue that the tune is a bit catchy and fun. That’s probably why it’s part of The Basement Tapes album; just Dylan and his band in their raw, honest, meandering, and unedited form.
10. “Apple Pie” by Travis Scott
Travis Scott has been widely controversial over the years because people believe his songs to signify or symbolize demons or evils. However, “Apple Pie” doesn’t seem to be one of them. It is believed to be a song about Scott’s venture into the world and out of his mother’s or family’s life because life is not always as sweet as an apple pie.
Conclusion
Artists take inspiration from just about anything and everything around them. That’s probably why it doesn’t come as a surprise that there are countless songs written about apples or with apples in mind.
The next time you’re eating your favorite fruit, maybe you’d find your own piece of knowledge from it as well and write your next big hit. Just be sure to listen to the songs we’ve listed here so you’d know how it can go.
So, here’s to a healthier body and a healthier playlist!