The only reason people are down on that song (Afternoon Delight) is...it's VERY recognizable and it's a bit quirky and unusual at the same time, so you can spot it instantly if you have a dull mind that only responds to strong and really obvious stimuli. It's an easy target for abuse, in other words. The same thing is basically true of a number of other quirky and unusual songs, such as "Muskrat Love", "Midnight at the Oasis", "McArthur Park", "Brand New Key"...

People's criticism of these songs is not genuine musical criticism or genuine unbiased criticism of the lyrical content either. It's a kneejerk reaction of instantaneous prejudice to the "unusual" and a jumping on a popular bandwagon (Oh boy! Let's all get together and make fun of this unusual-sounding song and agree that it sucks). The whole thing becomes a sort of feeding frenzy, like picking on the unusual looking kid at school.

As some Guest pointed out awhile back, for instance, the fact that some people appear to believe that McArthur Park is a song about a cake melting in the rain speaks volumes about the dumbass state of mind those people are in. McArthur Park is not a song about a cake at all. It's a metaphor for a lost love. You don't have to get far beyond songwriting 101 to figure that out.

But it's a really quirky metaphor, and the song is superdramatic, so it makes a marvelous target for ridicule. Do you really think that Richard Harris thought he was singing about a cake?????????

If so, the joke is on you, and Richard Harris should be the one laughing at you.