Songs for a Broken Heart

 I just learned that Bob Dylan considers “Wichita Lineman” the best popular song ever written.

I am humbled. It had never stood out to me. But Dylan is qualified to judge, if anyone is.

I read the lyrics, and I see why he says so. In my defense, I had never listened to them. Glen Campbell’s voice has always irritated me; it seems whiney. And his version of the song was overproduced, hokey with mock morse code in the background. I never gave it a proper listen.

It really does hit hard when you read the lyrics. A beautifully understated love song. It reminds me of several other songs I adore: understated love songs.

Ian Tyson’s “Irving Berlin is a Hundred Years Old Today.”

Dylan’s own “Girl from the North Country.”

Gordon Lightfoot’s “Did She Mention My Name.”

Charles Badger Clarke’s “Spanish is the Loving Tongue.”

The Irish folk song "The Coast of Malabar"

Tom Waits, "Jersey Girl"

Crying yet? You're not s man if you're not crying yet.