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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.”
Tom Waits, "Jersey Girl"
