Apr 23 2007
Unlikely song of genius
Even when I was very young and first heard it, I thought Wichita Lineman as sung by Glen Campbell and written by Jimmy Webb was one of the most magical songs I'd ever heard, mainly because I loved the melody and thought the lyrics were kind of funny -- why was a phoneline (or is it electricity line?)repairman singing a love song? The grownup world was sure strange!
Once I was an adult, I realised that it is truly one of the greatest of love songs -- conveying extraordinary emotion and depth in very simple lyrics and the plaintive longing of the lineman captured in a yearning, slightly mournful, beautiful melody. What makes it so timeless, so perfect as a pop/country song? It is something about the combination of such an utterly ordinary, dull occupation, that lone and lonely lineman out in the flat, open, empty plains of the Midwest, and the way in which his intense love for the woman he longs for weaves in and out of his subconscious. His mundane work concerns take on a lyrical beauty -- those lines down south that won't ever bear a heavy load of snow. And of course, that wonderful melody flowing in and around the lyrics. And Glen Campbell's bell-clear voice, which captures that dreamy lonely longing.
The lines
And I need you more than want you And I want you for all timeStill take my breath away. So perfect -- the way you at first think the line will be an insult, then it turns into something so tender, a simple expression of a heroic love for all time. A perfect small song in full:
I am a lineman for the county. And I drive the main road. Lookin' in the sun for another overload. I hear you singing in the wire. I can hear you through the whine. And the Wichita Lineman, is still on the line. I know I need a small vacation. But it don't look like rain. And if it snows that stretch down south, won't ever stand the strain. And I need you more than want you. And I want you for all time. And the Wichita Lineman, is still on the line.Oh to be loved in the way the Wichita Lineman loves! Beautiful.
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