Galveston (song)

"Galveston"
Single by Glen Campbell
from the album Galveston
B-side "Everytime I Itch I Wind Up Scratchin' You"
Released February 24, 1969
Genre Country
Length 2:39
Label Capitol 2428
Writer(s) Jimmy Webb
Producer Al De Lory
Glen Campbell singles chronology
"Wichita Lineman"
(1968)		 "Galveston"
(1969)		 "Where's the Playground Susie"
(1969)

"Galveston" is the title of a song written by Jimmy Webb and popularized by American country music singer Glen Campbell. In 2003, this song ranked #8 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Glen Campbell's version of the song also made #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the country music and "Easy Listening" charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA in October 1969.[1]

Contents

Background and writing

The song was widely, but erroneously, perceived as a protest song,[2] The protagonist is a soldier, as shown in the original promo video with Campbell dressed up in a military outfit. Webb confirmed in interviews that he didn't have the Vietnam War in mind when he wrote the song, as he had imagined it taking place during a battle of the Spanish-American War,[3] the time period when the City of Galveston reached its civic peak.

Content

The song describes a soldier waiting to go into battle who thinks of the woman he loves and his hometown of Galveston, Texas: "I still hear your sea waves crashing/as I watch the cannons flashing/ I clean my gun/And dream of Galveston."

Chart positions

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Australian Go-Set Chart 5[4]
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles 2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 1
Irish Singles Chart 9
New Zealand Singles Chart 3
U.K. Singles Chart 14
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 1

Year-End Chart

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Australian Go-Set Chart 11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 59
Canadian RPM Top Singles 68
U.S. Cashbox Top 100 70

References

  1. ^ RIAA searchable database
  2. ^ "The Pop Protest Song". http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/the-pop-protest-song-the-stylus-magazine-non-definitive-guide.htm. "Songwriter Jimmy Webb’s melancholy ode to a simpler time exemplified what one might consider to be the “tonal protest song,” replacing as it does more typical anti-war language with a reflection on the emotional uncertainty of war that even hawks in the heartland could identify with." 
  3. ^ Barr, Greg. - "Glen Campbell comes to The Grand". - The Galveston County Daily News. - April 30, 2004.
    — Tatangelo, Wade. - Glen Campbell: From Beach Boy to 'Rhinestone Cowboy'. - The Bradenton Herald. - February 25, 2005.
    — Depriest, Joe. - "Glen Campbell Still On the Line". - The Charlotte Observer. - February 12, 2006.
    — Robert Chalmers, Robert. - "Independent on Sunday: Lost classic". - Independent on Sunday. - May 13, 2007.
  4. ^ http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1969/19690510.html
Preceded by
"You Gave Me a Mountain" by Frankie Laine		 Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (Glen Campbell version)
March 29, 1969 (6 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The Fifth Dimension
Preceded by
"Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone)"
by Loretta Lynn		 Billboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single
April 19-May 3, 1969		 Succeeded by
"Hungry Eyes"
by Merle Haggard and The Strangers
Preceded by
"My Woman's Good to Me"
by David Houston		 RPM Country Tracks
number-one single
May 19, 1969		 Succeeded by
"Let It Be Me"
by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell