Holy cow, does Kansas have some slim pickings. If not for this song, I honestly have no clue what I even would have picked. And this song isn’t even really about Kansas. Jimmy Webb’s inspiration for the song were the the telephone lines of Washita County, Oklahoma, but in writing it he discovered that ‘Wichita’ sounded a lot better in the lyric, and that’s how it ended up.
That said, it’s hardly inappropriate to think about Kansas when it comes to songs drenched in loneliness and despair.
I’ve never actually been that in love with Glen Campbell, but he sings the hell out of this one. And “I hear you singing in the wire” is just one of the great lines in the history of songwriting.
This is also one of those songs that has spawned a million awesome covers. I’m most partial to the R.E.M. one myself, but there are plenty to enjoy.
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