Labour & Pop Culture: Wichita Lineman

This week’s installment of Labour & Pop Culture is “Wichita Lineman”, originally recorded by Glen Campbell. It was written about a telephone line man that writer Jimmy Webb saw a top a lonely pole while driving through Oklahoma.

Webb combined this striking visual with demands of the job (“”And if it snows that stretch down south won't ever stand the strain) and a backstory (perhaps his own) where the lineman pines for someone (“And I need you more that want you, and I want you for all time”). The result is a haunting portrait of a lonely man in a lonely job.

The song has been covered by a lot of artists (e.g., REM, Guns and Roses, Billy Joel, Stone Temple Pilots). I picked this Cassandra Wilson version because the vocal is clear and jazz interpretation is interesting and moody. You can hear Campbell’s original version. Interestingly, he handles the awkward rising notes at end of each verse better than anyone else.



I am a lineman for the county and I drive the main road
Searchin' in the sun for another overload
I hear you singin' 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

[Instrumental Interlude]

And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line

[Instrumental to end]

-- Bob Barnetson