# Does Glen Campbell's song Galveston mean anything special to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854 "2017-08-27T18:19:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854/41 "2017-08-29T00:15:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s about a photographer. He’s watching as the flash goes off on his Canon camera. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854/42 "2017-08-29T01:28:45Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > How many people who think it’s about viet nam were alive during viet nam? Kids. Shit. Campbell recorded that in 1969. I was lucky. My wonderful, widowed mother bestowed on me an extremely beautiful college deferment that I would drop in my last year of college (72) hoping for a good draft number. Again I got lucky. I knew it was about Viet Nam. Everybody knew it was about Viet Nam. It was nineteen sixty fucking nine. In Albuquerque some lucky kid wrote a song called _I Can See the Lights of Albuquerque_ that made the airwaves. Basically the same song except: Jimmy Webb’s best song. And he had a bunch. I don’t know why the song hit me so. Great melody. I’m not going to say great production, they were all produced like that. But _Galveston_ made me quiver. Seriously. Webb’s acoustic ballad version proves it’s perfect. It’s a beautiful song. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854/43 "2017-08-29T03:34:33Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Kids. Shit. Campbell recorded that in 1969. I was lucky. My wonderful, widowed mother bestowed on me an extremely beautiful college deferment that I would drop in my last year of college (72) hoping for a good draft number. Again I got lucky. I knew it was about Viet Nam. Everybody knew it was about Viet Nam. It was nineteen sixty fucking nine. In Albuquerque some lucky kid wrote a song called _I Can See the Lights of Albuquerque_ that made the airwaves. Basically the same song except: Jimmy Webb’s best song. And he had a bunch. I don’t know why the song hit me so. Great melody. I’m not going to say great production, they were all produced like that. But _Galveston_ made me quiver. Seriously. Webb’s acoustic ballad version proves it’s perfect. It’s a beautiful song. It was very infrequently played on oldies stations in my parts growing up. If I heard it it was only enough to retain a title and it seems to have no verbal tag beyond that or that espouses a point of view or view. You have to understand I’m a music guy and don’t mind if I miss the lyrics of a lot of pop, so I have no idea of any story at all. There is a tendency here to call things vietnam related. Billy don’t be a hero was one thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854/44 "2017-08-29T04:29:00Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > How many people who think it’s about viet nam were alive during viet nam? I certainly was. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854/45 "2017-08-29T15:21:59Z")
I listened again, and I now hear the war references. But now I think Galveston was the girl’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854/46 "2017-08-29T16:21:48Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But now I think Galveston was the girl’s name. Yeah, I’m sure it’s common to refer to girls in this way: **Before I watch your seabirds flying in the sun At Galveston at Galveston** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-glen-campbells-song-galveston-mean-anything-special-to-you/794854.md?page=2)