An adjective describing something related to or belonging to the Ranunculaceae plant family, particular those more commonly described as buttercups. Ranunculaceae also includes clematis, hellebore, and columbine and there are more than 2,000 species. Ranunculaceous typically have five petals, variants colours and sizes,, and are widely distributed globally, with a greater diversity in temperate region. But what of them in song?
As well as a literal flower, the buttercup has variously been used as a term of endearment, as metaphor for love, and innocence. but also with a certain level of innuendo. Buttercups have bright and shiny petals, but are extremely tenacious in growth and also poisonous if eaten raw. But let’s start with the obvious classic, that brilliant but shortlived British soul band with mixed ethnicity (white British, West Indian and Sri Lankan), The Foundations, and Build Me Up Buttercup, with a fabulous melody, and a simple rhyme describing the ups and downs of love and deception:
Why do you build me up (Build me up)
Buttercup, baby
Just to let me down? (Let me down)
And mess me around
And then, worst of all (Worst of all)
You never call, baby
When you say you will (Say you will)
But I love you still
I need you (I need you)
More than anyone, darling
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (Build me up)
Buttercup, don't break my heart
Meanwhile this rarer Jackson 5 number, produced by Stevie Wonder, has a certain suggstiveness despite the innocence of the a young Michael’s vocals:
“You won't give up your buttercup (Ba-ba-ba-ba)
You say you love two but one's givin' up
'Cause he can stay, whoa
Oh, you won't give up your buttercup (Ba-ba-ba-ba)
You're plenty for one, but two, you're not enough.”
The Four Tops - I've Got A Feeling is another Motown classic and a love song:
“Oh, I'm crazy 'bout your love buttercup
Your kind of love, can't get enough.”
There’s also Elvis Presley featuring the Jordanaires of course, with All Shook Up was of course a huge hit, and contains the suggestive lyric:
“Her lips are like a volcano that's hot
I'm proud to say that she's my buttercup.”
Dean Martin’s crooning Buttercup A Golden Hair is a fairly saccharine love song that repeats the word continously:
A gentle number by The Tambourine Social simply celebrates the flower.
And finally, multidisciplinary artist ANIKA aka Annika Henderson’s Buttercups is an offbeat postpunk description of meadows:
Any other ranunculaceous suggestions out there? Feel free to share anything more in relation to it, whether in music or wider culture, such as from film, art, or other contexts, in comments below.
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