{"id":2298,"date":"2023-09-26T11:27:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T18:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irenejackson.com\/songblog\/?p=2298"},"modified":"2023-09-26T11:27:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T18:27:45","slug":"songs-i-like-wichita-lineman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/irenejackson.com\/songblog\/songs-i-like-wichita-lineman\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs I Like – Wichita Lineman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Song: Wichita Lineman Artist: Glen Campbell<\/strong> (Originally published March 5, 2012)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently saw Glen Campbell perform on the Grammys and was struck by his courage to be out there performing even though he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. \u00a0One of the interesting things about the brain is that when you learn music, or a musical instrument, your whole brain is engaged, as opposed to just part of it devoted to something like speech or face recognition. \u00a0So Alzheimer’s patients will often remember lyrics and melodies to songs (or remember how to play piano for instance), well after they have forgotten who their closest family members are. \u00a0It’s an interesting aspect of music that I also see with my father who has Alzheimer’s. \u00a0He still remembers me at this point, but much of his personality has been destroyed by the disease. \u00a0Still, he can remember old songs with little or no effort!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that’s not what this post is about :-). \u00a0This is about one of my favourite all time songs, Wichita Lineman. \u00a0It was written in 1968 by someone who many songwriters consider to be a songwriting guru, Jimmy Webb. \u00a0The song became a hit for Glen Campbell on the pop, adult contemporary and country charts that year and certified gold in 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the charm of that version was, of course, Glen Campbell’s wonderful voice and guitar playing. \u00a0The story behind the song, according to\u00a0Wikipedia<\/a>, goes as follows: “Jimmy Webb’s inspiration for the lyrics came while driving through Washita County in rural northern Oklahoma. At that time, many telephone companies were county-owned utilities and their linemen were, in fact, county employees. Heading westward on a straight road into the setting sun, Webb was driving through an endless litany of telephone poles, each looking exactly the same as the last. Then, in the distance, he noticed the silhouette of a solitary lineman atop a pole. He described it as “the picture of loneliness.” Webb then “put himself atop that pole and put that phone in his hand” as he considered what the lineman was saying into the receiver. Glen Campbell added in a statement to the Dallas Observer that Webb wrote the song about his first love affair with a woman who married someone else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a songwriter, one of the interesting aspects for me is that the song has no chorus, although it does have a repeating phrase “the Wichita lineman is still on the line.” \u00a0The music is dotted with minor 7th and major 7th chords, the latter of which give it that plaintive, bitter sweet feel. \u00a0Recently, when I went to see James Taylor live in my city, I was over the top when he started to perform his version of Wichita Lineman, and it has, indeed, been recorded by many artists over the years. \u00a0In fact, I’m think I might like to do a recording of it myself some day! \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a listen to the song in the video below, and here are the lyrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a lineman for the county <\/em>
And I drive the main road <\/em>
Searchin’ in the sun for another overload <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hear you singin’ in the wire, <\/em>
I can hear you through the whine <\/em>
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know I need a small vacation <\/em>
But it don’t look like rain <\/em>
And if it snows that stretch down south won’t ever stand the strain <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I need you more than want you, <\/em>
And I want you for all time <\/em>
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I need you more than want you, <\/em>
And I want you for all time <\/em>
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It just gets me every time \ud83d\ude42
~ IJ<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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