I remember when Glen released Galveston and it became another of his huge pop hits, Jimmy Webb wrote the masterpieces and Glen performed them.
I happened to watch a Youtube vid with Glen and Steve Wariner performing Galveston. The lead in discussion talks about it being a Vietnam War Song. Say What? I never made that connection. I was ten at the time and it was a nice pop song.
Melissa Etheridge and Keith Urban admit that they didn’t make this connection either. It makes sense when it’s pointed out. Oh!, that’s a 60’s war song. :smack:
The lyric does say I clean my Gun. But that could have just as easily been a homesick Trucker. I drive my truck and dream of Galveston.
There is a line about dying. That got lost in the soaring violins. For me, it was just a song about a homesick guy longing to see his girlfriend. I see now the song could be associated with the war.
Have You thought of *Galveston * as a Viet Nam war song?
Don Ho sang it first. He was on Glen’s show, *The Goodtime Hour *and suggested that he should record the song. Cite: Glen Campbell in the 2nd video link
btw, Glen did sing a very important song that connects with the social unrest and violence of the sixties. I think its* just as relevant today* and needs to be covered and rereleased by a major artist.
1968 Dr. King and Bobbie Kennedy were assassinated, Protesters at the Democratic Convention were beaten by Chicago police. There was a lot of unrest. 1970 Kent Stateand days later students protesting were beaten by construction workers in The Hard Hat Riot.
1969 Glen released *Try a Little Kindness * I still tear up listening to it.
You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets
Galveston lyrics
Glen & Steve Wariner perform and the the lead in discussion discusses social impact.
When it first came out, of course we all linked it to the Vietnam war. That was THE topic of the day. But I never thought of it as a protest song, like many other songs of that era. It always seemed more like: this is what soldiers think about in war, and our war just so happens to be the one in Vietnam. The lyrics are vague enough that you can read into it more than what it is. If you want it to be a protest song, it can be. If you want it to be a lament to the patriotic soldier, it can be.
I voted “other” because I think it wasn’t so much about the Vietnam war, but about a soldier being somewhere he didn’t want to be. Could be Vietnam, could be anywhere. Or, it was about war, and it’s time and place was The Vietnam War, but the particular war wasn’t really the most important thing.
I wondered if the tv writers needed something interesting to talk about in the lead in discussion. Hey! this song was released during that war. That can be our talking point.
Glen and Jimmy Webb don’t mention the War in their interview. (2nd video) Webb does complain the original recording is too fast. Glen sings it slower and more like a ballad in live performances.
Always thought of it as a war song. Not a protest song, but a song about a soldier’s homesickness. Never thought there was any other way to interpret it, really. “Cannon flashing” isn’t something a lonesome trucker would be saying.
“Happy sounding?” Really? People actually think that? Never in my life would I have described that arrangement as “happy.” “Over-orchestrated,” sure. But never “happy.”
I don’t know about you, but I always get a little shiver of joy every time I hear: “I am so afraid of dying.” The arraignment isn’t somber, if that’s what people mean. Maybe it’s a bit upbeat for a serious song, but with the lyrics as clear as they are, I think it just generates an emotion of sadness no matter what the tempo. Do people not listen to the lyrics, or did they just hear the MUZAK tune in the supermarket?
Even a much later live recording, with Glen cutting loose a little on guitar doesn’t sound “happy.” And John, I agree, although “joy” isn’t the word I’d use. That song is deep, for all its pop trappings and orchestration.
When I was a kid in the Sixties, my whole family had to watch Glen Campbell’s variety show, and I loved him. Later, I grew up and found him embarrassingly cheesy.
And now? I’m somewhere in between. The cheese is still there (ugh those Nehru jackets and sideburns!), but so is the awesome musicianship and some great songs.
Glen’s longtime golf buddy Alice Cooper says many major guitar gods venerated Campbell, and a few (including Eddie Van Halen) actually asked if Alice could hook them up with Glen for some guitar pointers. And they were RIGHT to venerate him as a musician.
Some of his output was lame, but I’ll always have a soft spot for him.
Say What? I never made that connection. I was ten at the time and it was a nice pop song.
