And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time
A lyrical passage can sometimes make all the difference. Jimmy Webb wrote two major hits in 1968, both of which have lines that are known to this day. Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park" is now chiefly remembered for "I'll never have that recipe again", a line so bad that it completely overshadows what is otherwise a good — though not great — composition (even if Harris himself botched it with his faulty singing; as I have already discussed, recording a decent rendition of "MacArthur Park" was beyond all but a relatively obscure Scots prog rock act though we'll eventually get to yet another version of it in time).
"MacArthur Park" was then followed at the very end of '68 with "Wichita Lineman" by former session musician/short-lived touring Beach Boy Glen Campbell. It, too, has a memorable set of lyrics which are quoted above. Webb wasn't too thrilled with it and later admitted that he would have changed the words to a proper rhyme had he been allowed more time to finish what he'd begun. (While 'time' and 'line' do not rhyme, they are close enough and rare reminiscent of the classic 1979 Squeeze hit "Up the Junction" which pairs "Clapham" with "happen" and "tenner" with "better"; while this ins't something I've put a ton of thought into, I think that having these awkward off rhymes gives a song a more natural realism, as if vocalists like Campbell or Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook were just firing off lines off the top of their heads) Campbell got a hold of Webb's demo and got straight to work on it leaving its composer with little choice but to leave it be.
When "Wichita Lineman" became a huge hit around the world this line began to take on a life of its own. People adore it and with good reason. Granted, it's a great example of why song lyrics aren't poetry: reading it doesn't make much of an impression — especially if you look at it in the context of what the lineman is up to (is this creepy guy eavesdropping on her?). No, Webb may have provided the song but Campbell does the heavy lifting with a resigned, quietly determined delivery that is impossible not to feel moved by. He isn't the flashiest of singers but when you're interpreting a song about a lovelorn blue collar worker in small town Oklahoma then the last thing you need to be is a Sinatra or an Elvis.
So, the lyric is really good and Campbell makes it even better but what about the rest of the song? It's very nice. Yeah, that's about all I can say on the matter. I like it. Now, I'm not convinced it's a masterpiece but I can certainly see the appeal. Hell, it appeals to me at least up to a point. Bob Dylan has described it as the greatest song of all time but I'm not quite there. (I think "Wichita Lineman" has gotten a lot mileage out of Dylan's high praise but I'd be willing to bet he's said the same thing about at least two dozen other songs during his eighty-five years on this planet) YouTuber David Hartley has made a very convincing case for its musical merits and no doubt many musicians think very highly of it. I, as a listener of extremely modest musical ability, just find it a very enjoyable listen but is it actually mind blowing?
It's almost as if people decided to overcorrect their criticisms of "MacArthur Park" by overdoing it on "Wichita Lineman". And to an extent, they would have been right to do so. One is highly ambitious but also flawed while the other is deceptively simple and touching. The better Jimmy Webb song comes out ahead but let's not go nuts here.
