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 | ||||
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"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 |
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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."
[edit] 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 |
[edit] 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 |
[edit] References
- ^ RIAA searchable database
- ^ "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."
- ^ 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. - ^ 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 |
