http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1668844
turns out, he's quite dissatisfied with that "need you more than want you" chorus for a pretty funny reason (they start discussing it around the 7:00 minute mark if you want to skip ahead)
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:15 (nineteen years ago) link
I guess this goes back to the essential ambiguity of the lyrics that I wrote about upthread. We don't really know what his relationship is to the person he's singing to. So you can read it this way if you want to - but for me to read it that way, I think I'd feel like I was basically rewriting the song in my own mind to conform to what I think the most engaging scenario would be. I like to be given a bit more to go on, I think.
Anyway, a related thought that occurred to me is that maybe this is one of those songs that is going to become a victim of the march of progress. I mean as we all live in an increasingly wireless and omni-connected cyber-verse - the thought of some guy being out there tending to these wires and not being able to connect himself may become an increasingly archaic metaphor. Future generations may not be able to understand why he doesn't just pick up his cell-phone and call her.
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:26 (nineteen years ago) link
inasmuch as current generations can understand why paul revere had to ride a horse, i'm pretty sure future generations will be able to figure out what a telephone wire was.
― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ken L (Ken L), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:51 (nineteen years ago) link
Is my irony detector broken?
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:56 (nineteen years ago) link
i'm having a bad typing day.
― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:59 (nineteen years ago) link
I'm pretty sure this guy is working on telephone lines if you read the lyrics.
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:59 (nineteen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:01 (nineteen years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:01 (nineteen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:03 (nineteen years ago) link
She's left him, and he can't move on.
(Though I must confess that the first time I heard the song I probably thought it meant lineman as in football player, which would be quite different.)
― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:03 (nineteen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:05 (nineteen years ago) link
And I need you more than want you and I want you for all timeAnd the Wichita lineman is still on the line
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:09 (nineteen years ago) link
Technically this is not correct - snow is not a problem for telephone (or power) lines - it's freezing rain that causes them to break.
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:14 (nineteen years ago) link
- Dave Nicosia, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Binghamton
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:16 (nineteen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:17 (nineteen years ago) link
xpost
Yes, I did. Hi, Polyphonic!
― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:18 (nineteen years ago) link
I don't tend to follow GW Bush's rhetorical methods if I can help it.
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 22:19 (nineteen years ago) link
the other important thing to remember about "wichita lineman" was that it was intended to be a sequel to "by the time i get to phoenix."
― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 20 January 2005 08:20 (nineteen years ago) link
I'm not, Amateur(ist) — it's crap. And believe me: I wanted to like that record more than you can possibly imagine. Or maybe you can.
Reunion is good, if you can get past the lyrics - they are a bit clumsy, but i think the melodies are glorious.
― debden, Thursday, 20 January 2005 10:26 (nineteen years ago) link
― mentalist (mentalist), Friday, 8 April 2005 09:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― mentalist (mentalist), Friday, 8 April 2005 09:39 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadrock, Meshach and Abednego (Dada), Friday, 8 April 2005 09:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― $V£N! (blueski), Friday, 8 April 2005 09:45 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadrock, Meshach and Abednego (Dada), Friday, 8 April 2005 09:47 (nineteen years ago) link
― Keith C (kcraw916), Friday, 5 August 2005 02:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― frankiemachine, Friday, 5 August 2005 09:54 (nineteen years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 5 August 2005 09:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Friday, 5 August 2005 14:13 (nineteen years ago) link
I like Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb, too.
― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 5 August 2005 14:27 (nineteen years ago) link
yes. it is the essence of music itself.
― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Friday, 5 August 2005 15:05 (nineteen years ago) link
― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 30 November 2005 16:08 (eighteen years ago) link
― everything, Wednesday, 30 November 2005 17:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― Oh No, It's Dadaismus (and His Endless Stupid Jokes) (Dada), Thursday, 1 December 2005 13:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― hold tight the private caller (mwah), Thursday, 1 December 2005 15:09 (eighteen years ago) link
I think that F6-9 is right for "Wichita," by the way--I've always played it in F major.
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 1 December 2005 17:02 (eighteen years ago) link
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9x_1Ri3XxE&feature=related
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Sunday, 30 March 2008 02:19 (sixteen years ago) link
Worthy of note: It still pains Jimmy Webb to this day that he "falsely" rhymed time with line.
― libcrypt, Sunday, 30 March 2008 02:27 (sixteen years ago) link
Heard him confess this on Fresh Air.
― libcrypt, Sunday, 30 March 2008 02:28 (sixteen years ago) link