Reply #134: "Wichita Lineman"- Jimmy Webb

[enigmatic]

This is one of these reflective, introspective love songs that are meant to be played late at night, preferably on a real car radio while driving down a moonlit highway..

Timeless chords, a melody that is the essence of wistful, and minimalistic lyrics that seem to be about nothing in the abstract but on closer inspection, are really about everything:

I am a lineman for the county
And I drive the main road
Searchin' in the sun for another overload

I hear you singing in the wire
I can hear you thru 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.

Everybody knows Glen Campbell's version, but Jimmy Webb's own version on "12 Easy Pieces" and Scud Mountain Boys version on Pine Box are both my favorites.