One of my favorites songs is Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman, which I remember hearing on the radio as a kid. Glen Campbell recorded and released the song in 1968, and it peaked at number three on the Billboard pop chart and went to number one on the Billboard country and adult contemporary charts. It has been covered a bunch of times by various artists, and in April 2011, Rolling Stone named it one of the 500 greatest songs of all time, coming in at 195. Not bad for a tune that wasn’t finished as it was being recorded!

There is a timeless quality to Wichita Lineman. Billy Joel once called it “a simple song about an ordinary man thinking extraordinary thoughts.” It’s easy to imagine a man in the middle of nowhere on a pole, checking a telephone line. He contemplates needing a vacation but is hamstrung by unpredictable weather that affects his job. His mind wanders to the love of his life, whom he yearns for. Yet, he stays on the line in this lonely environment. Musically, there’s no real home chord, so the song wanders, not unlike the lineman himself, both physically and mentally. There’s a beautiful wistfulness to the melody.

I was able to find and buy the sheet music online and started working on the song around Christmas. The music is bare bones and having heard the recorded version and a live version Campbell did in 2001 with the South Dakota Symphony, I wanted to emulate as much as I could with the ukulele. Trevor was very encouraging with this and helped in some areas. Other parts, such as the introduction and the bridge, I figured out by ear and made work in the key the sheet music was written.

I’m posting the lyrics here because they add context to the way I play the song:

I am a lineman for the county
And I drive the main roads
Searching 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

This took a lot of time to work up, and I’m pleased with the result. It’s one of my favorite songs to play:

I’m switching gears on my next piece, which will be a pretty Hawaiian song. Time to go practice, but I have to restring first!