Fruit is absolutely delicious, gives you plenty of necessary vitamins and nutrients, and is a staple of just about everyone’s diet. But the importance of it in our lives has also led to it being used in metaphors since long before anyone reading this article was born.
Unsurprisingly, that means that fruit appears fairly often in music. So in this article, we’ll be going over the 35 best songs about fruit, specifically tracks that have fruit in the title.
1. Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles
Strawberry Fields Forever is one of the most iconic songs with fruit in the title of all time. A massive hit for The Beatles, it was inspired by John Lennon’s childhood playtime in strawberry fields back home. It’s a much more somber track than it appears, dealing with a rough childhood for Lennon and wishing to get back to those innocent days. It also interestingly spawned rumors that Paul McCartney had died thanks to the line about Lennon burying him.
2. Peaches – Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar And Giveon
Justin Bieber’s Peaches has to be this high on our list because of how successful this recent pop hit became. A song of the summer in 2021 and part of his Justice album, it debuted at the top of the Hot 100 and propelled his album to the top of the Billboard 200.
The actual person he’s talking about in the track has been debated a bit, but most believe it’s a love song directed toward his wife Hailey. There are plenty of references to places in the track as well, though the peaches in question are likely women in Georgia rather than the actual fruit.
Recommended: The best songs about Georgia
3. Day O (Banana Boat Song) – Harry Belafonte
Day O (Banana Boat Song) was around for quite a long time before Harry Belafonte recorded it and made it into an international hit. The track originated in Jamaica as a mix of calypso and mento styles, serving as a call to work for the dock workers who loaded boats with bananas during the day.
And while it may come off as a fairly light-hearted song, it also touches on deeper topics. It describes the struggles black people dealt with during the age of colonization and the hard work they put in for very little pay.
4. Apples – Lily Allen
The old saying “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” means that people’s children often end up being much more like them than they would normally believe, whether that be because of their worldview or what choices they make in life. Lily Allen uses that sentiment in Apples to describe her failing marriage, seeing herself stuck in a similar situation to what her own parents went through and realizing only too late that she might have made the wrong decisions.
5. Apples and Oranges – Pink Floyd
Born from another old saying, it’s almost impossible to compare apples and oranges because of how different they are. To say one is better than another or worth more is simply unfair because they can’t be judged on even footing. That’s about the meaning Pink Floyd put into their song Apples And Oranges. It’s about a man following around a beautiful woman at the grocery store, though when looking at him and her side by side, it’s like comparing apples and oranges.
6. Rotten Apple – Alice In Chains
Apples get a bit of a bad rap. They get used in stories to do bad things to people, whether that be the forbidden fruit of the bible or a poisoned apple that’s meant to kill a princess. Alice In Chains used an apple to represent the loss of innocence and discusses that once that’s lost, bad things begin to be noticeable. Their rotten apple dooms the eater once bitten to a life of suffering and a lack of protection by innocence.
7. Tangerine – Led Zeppelin
Anything Led Zeppelin put out is something you should be listening to. Tangerine starts out as a folk-rock song but eventually shifts into one of their most underrated guitar solos. While many people forget about the track when discussing the best releases of their career, this was a standout track on Led Zeppelin III and a song with fruit in the title that you should definitely not be missing out on.
8. Blueberry Hill – Fats Domino
Sammy Kaye originally released Blueberry Hill, but it wasn’t until Fats Domino got his hands on it that the song became popular. Out of all the cover versions made for the track, his recording is the most successful, turning into a rock and roll standard and a huge pop hit shortly after its release.
9. Watermelon in Easter Hay – Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa’s Watermelon In Easter Hay is one of the best examples of a song that makes you feel something even though it has no lyrics. The spoken monologue of the track introduces one of the most amazing guitar solos you can still listen to today. According to him, the song is about an artist looking for creative freedom and longing to be able to properly express himself through music.
10. Peach – Kevin Abstract
Peach is a bit of a desperate song, seeing Kevin Abstract trying to get back with an ex. The track makes it obvious that she left him and that he still cares for her, with most of the lyrics serving as an attempt at getting her to give their relationship one more try. Unfortunately, she is completely unresponsive to his advances, adding an extra layer of sadness to the song.
11. Lemon – U2
Lemon is one of U2’s longest songs, and it’s also one of their most touching ones. Inspired by Bono watching old footage of his late mother, the lyrics talk about preserving memories through film. It was an incredibly popular track for U2, even causing them to make a stage entrance through a 40-foot-tall lemon at one point. Later remixed versions would be more oriented toward dance-club styles, giving the song even more reach and range than it originally had.
12. Limes – Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley took a bit of a different approach to the phrase “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Instead of bitter lemons, life can also give you sour limes. When that happens, it’s best to just use those limes and a bit of salt to make some delicious margaritas. They will definitely help you forget whatever events are bringing you down a lot faster than a cup of sweet lemonade, and you’re guaranteed to have a better time with a little tequila in your cup.
13. Cherry Bomb – John Mellencamp
Cherry bombs are aptly named little fireworks that look like small cherries but deliver a spectacular explosion of their size. John Mellencamp uses them in Cherry Bomb to describe the explosion of teen angst and hormonal outbursts of kids growing up and going through puberty. In the song, the title is also the name of the teen dance hall Mellencamp grew up going to. It served as the second single from his 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee and rose to the top of the Mainstream Rock charts shortly thereafter.
14. Coconut – Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson’s Coconut is a novelty song, which means it’s meant to be funny and tell a story that could happen to just about anyone. In his version of it, a woman mixes coconut water and lime juice, eventually ending up with a stomach ache after drinking it. She then calls a doctor who just tells her to drink more of it to get rid of her pain. The track first appeared on his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson and spent 14 weeks charting on the Billboard Hot 100.
15. Lemon Tree – Fools Garden
You have two choices when life gives you lemons: make lemonade or do nothing to help you cope. Fools Garden seems to choose the latter in Lemon Tree, using the fruit tree as a metaphor for the sour and bitter things coming their way in life. It perfectly juxtaposes the clear blue skies above it, but the negativity is so blinding they can’t find the silver lining of their situation.
16. Kiwi – Harry Styles
Kiwi was one of the first songs Harry Styles released after leaving One Direction and embarking on a solo career. It was also one of his first big hits as a solo artist. The track itself is all about a mystery girl who appears to drive the singer crazy, though it’s unclear whether or not he’s acted on any of those feelings yet. Some believe it was about his former girlfriend while others think the woman in the song remains a mystery to this day.
17. Raspberry Beret – Prince & the Revolution
The raspberry in Raspberry Beret refers more to the color of the woman’s beret than the actual fruit, but because it’s a Prince song, it gets a pass and makes it onto this list. The track is a funky, upbeat love song about a romantic encounter between a couple of teenagers, with the narrator driven absolutely crazy by the simplistic beauty of the girl in question.
18. Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson
Instead of rushing through life at all times and being constantly busy, sometimes we need to slow down and enjoy things. Even taking a break to indulge in something sweet and delicious is worthwhile, say, a stack of banana pancakes? Jack Johnson was inspired to write the song when he noticed how busy his wife had been recently and wanted to give her a distraction. It’s an adorable track about enjoying small moments with the people we love.
19. PPAP (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen) – Pikotaro
Pikotaro created PPAP (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen) as a parody song that was inspired solely by sitting at a kitchen table with a pen and staring at a can of pineapple. The first release of the track was under one minute, though an extended version ended up reaching two-and-a-half minutes. That one was a huge success, rising to number one on the Japanese Hot 100 and nearing 500 million views on YouTube.
20. Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
Watermelon Sugar is all about how exciting starting a new relationship can be and the other intoxicating feelings that go along with the infinite possibilities in front of you. Serving as the second single from his Fine Line album, the song was an instant and massive hit in 2020, becoming one of the tracks of the summer and rocketing Harry Styles up the charts in a way that was almost unlike any of his earlier singles.
21. Cherry – Rina Sawayama
Cherry by Rina Sawayama is the perfect song for anyone who is struggling with their sexual identity or is dealing with any level of internalized shame over who they’re attracted to. It’s all about how the singer is pansexual, but it relates to fans by describing her own struggles and it encourages them to show love without fear.
22. Orange in the Sun – Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler’s Orange In The Sun is a silky lullaby of a song, written specifically by them for Chan Kinchla’s children. It mainly focuses on comforting young kids during the night when a storm is raging overhead, promising to hold them until the sun comes back up. It’s a soothing track I recommend playing for your kids to fall asleep to at night, and you just might get a rambunctious child to calm down with it.
23. Peaches & Cream – 112
Peaches & Cream has just about nothing to do with fruit, it’s all about getting down to business. While controversial at the time of release, its radio-friendly version was insanely popular. In total, the song spent 25 weeks at the number-two spot on the Hot 100, earning 112 their most popular hit and seeing several spinoff remixes.
24. Watermelon Man – Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man is an amazing jazz instrumental, but the entire reason it was written was to show off. It requires an entire ensemble to perform but walks a fine edge between going over the top and showcasing the true talents of a full big band. He originally recorded it in 1962, though he would rerecord it in the 70s with a more experimental sound that only further showcased a jazz band’s abilities.
25. Peaches N Cream – Snoop Dogg feat. Charlie Wilson
Here’s another song about peaches and cream that has a huge sexual undercurrent. Snoop Dogg’s track Peaches N Cream sees the rapper utterly captivated by a woman at a party. It’s a smooth, funk-inspired song that deals mainly with the rapper’s attraction to the lady and what he hopes to have happen once they’ve left the party together.
26. Blackberry Way – The Move
Blackberry Way was a unique recording for The Move. It was the perfect counter to their early forays into psychedelia and had a bleak tone to it that was absolutely pervasive. Despite being out of their typical wheelhouse, it went on to become their most successful song, rising to the very top of the UK Singles Chart at the end of the 60s and earning them a record that sounds good in absolutely any era you try to compare it to.
27. Fresh Strawberries – Franz Ferdinand
Fresh Strawberries are delicious, but they can go bad very quickly. The song itself reminds us of that by discussing that eventually everything we know and love will be forgotten and rot away. That kind of heavy, existential thought process is one of the things fans love about Franz Ferdinand, and this track is one of their best releases that makes fans think.
28. Gimme That Banana – Dark Tan
Gimme That Banana has a pretty provocative title when looked at today, to the point that one could call it strange. And frankly, that’s the best way to describe this song. It was a big disco hit in Australia for Dark Tan, though everything about it—from lyrics to beat to chart run—was all weird. It may be the most interesting track on this list.
29. Second Bite of the Apple – Beady Eye
Second Bite Of The Apple was the first single from Beady Eye’s second album BE in 2013. It’s a song that makes heavy use of repeated chorus lines to make its point, but it’s a good one nonetheless. The title mainly refers to the original sin, with it being the main point of the track.
30. Banana Republic – The Boomtown Rats
A “Banana Republic” isn’t a trendy clothing store. It’s actually a term used to describe a political environment that is absolutely falling apart, especially from an economic standpoint. Bob Geldorf used that term for this song to describe the way Margaret Thatcher was running England, a sick burn and a sign that many had come to doubt the very government running that country during the 80s.
31. Cherry – Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey uses quite a few fruit metaphors in this song to discuss how intoxicatingly in love she is. Love is a powerful thing that can make you overcome any challenge, but it can also be utterly destructive and cause chaos in your life. For her, she finally feels as though she can be vulnerable with someone and not have that blow up in her face, though her memories and experiences with them might be being viewed through rose-colored glasses.
32. The Apple Tree – Nina Nesbitt
Orchards are pretty places and make for both great photos and beautiful inspirations. Nina Nesbitt’s song The Apple Tree describes her feelings transitioning from love to hate for a person because of them betraying her. In the end, she just wants things to go back to the way they were before she went through that heartbreak, a time of naivety and happiness. This heartbreaking single is one of her best offerings and more than worthy of a couple of listens.
33. Pineapple Head – Crowded House
Pineapple Head was released by Crowded House on their 1994 album Together Alone, but it would reappear on their Recurring Dream compilation album. Inspired by phrases uttered by a member’s son while afflicted with a fever, it uses a unique time signature of ¾ and is almost like a waltz.
34. Strawberry Wine – Deana Carter
Strawberry Wine is an amazing song that I grew up listening to in the car with my mother. It’s a beautiful and nostalgic track about the singer’s coming-of-age story as a teenager and her first time falling in love. She compares her innocent youth to strawberry wine, seeing as she loses that innocence in the song. But, she returns to the place she came from to see if anything had even actually changed since those wonderful late-night events. It was the first single she released and was a number-one hit on the country charts.
35. Peaches – Jack Black
I am fully aware that Jack Black’s Peaches is about Princess Peach in the recent Mario film and not about fruit, however, the song is him at his greatest, and it’s a huge hit single. The track was written from the perspective of Bowser, trying to convince the princess to go out with him in an almost desperate, jaunting tune that declares his love and how he will never give up.
It gave Bowser a bit of rizz and also inspired ridiculously popular TikTok trends after being released before the movie was even in theaters. Suffice to say, this is a fruit song that deserves to be on the list and the perfect way to close out this article.
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As a contributing writer for Music Grotto, Dakotah writes and produces professional music/media content. He works closely with editorial staff to meet editorial standards and create
quality content for the Music Grotto website. Dakotah is passionate about music in a wide variety of genres, from hip-hop to country and lo-fi to metal, and he enjoys creating music pieces for Music Grotto.