One of my favorite songwriters of all time is the great Jimmy Webb. He wrote numerous iconic songs, including By the Time I Get to Phoenix, MacArthur Park, Up, Up and Away, and Wichita Lineman.

Webb collaborated with many artists throughout his long career, but he spent a great deal of time working with the incredible singer and guitarist Glen Campbell. In 1967, Glen released the album and song By the Time I Get to Phoenix with great success. Apparently, he called Jimmy from the studio in 1968 and asked him to write another song with a location in the title. Within hours, Jimmy sent over an idea he had been working on, warning Glen and the producer that it wasn’t finished—he still wanted to add another verse and a bridge.

A few weeks later, Webb checked in with Glen and said, “I guess you didn’t like the song.”

“Oh, we cut that,” Glen replied.

“It wasn’t done! I was just humming the last bit,” Webb said.

“Well, it’s done now!” Glen shot back.

Webb eventually went back into the studio to add some electric organ to the mix.

Fun Facts

🎵 Text painting, also known as word painting or tone painting, is a musical technique that uses music to illustrate the meaning of lyrics. You can hear this in Wichita Lineman when the keyboard/flute imitates Morse code and the high strings emulate the vibrations or whistling caused by wind blowing across power lines.

🎤 I got to meet and chat with Jimmy Webb last month before his concert. He was incredibly kind and fascinating, sharing stories and insights into the art of songwriting. My friends were opening for his show, and one of them handed me this record and a Sharpie before we met Jimmy. I’m lucky and grateful to have friends like that. (Scroll down for the picture we took together.)

🎼 The song starts in F major and modulates to D major toward the end. Writer Allen Morrison described it beautifully:

“The song never does get ‘home’ again to the tonic – not in either verse, nor in the fadeout. This gorgeous musical setting suggests subliminally what the lyric suggests poetically: the lonely journeyman who remains suspended atop that telephone pole against that desolate prairie landscape, yearning for home.”

I hope you enjoy this incredible tune!

I am a lineman for the county
And I drive the main road
Searching 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.

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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 I want you.
And I want you for all time.
And the Wichita Lineman
Is still on the line.

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My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post (hopefully) one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 You can just wait for the next one. All the info I find is from wikipedia/youtube/interviews/news articles/personal stories I’ve heard/random googling. Sorry if there are any mistakes.

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