Galveston (song)

"Galveston" is a song written by Jimmy Webb and popularized by American country music singer Glen Campbell who recorded it with the instrumental backing of members of The Wrecking Crew.^[1] In 2003, this song ranked number 8 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Campbell's version of the song also went to number 1 on the country music charts.^[2] On other charts, "Galveston" went to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the "Easy Listening" charts.^[3] It was certified gold by the RIAA in October 1969.^[4]

The song is considered as the official anthem of Galveston Island and the City of Galveston, Texas.

Background and writing

Campbell's recording of the song, released in 1969, was perceived as being a Vietnam War protest song,^[5] but Campbell performed it up-tempo, conveying a more general message. The protagonist is a soldier, as shown in the original promo video with Campbell dressed up in a military outfit. Webb described it as an anti-war song, and challenged Campbell's version of his song and the notion that it was in any way a "patriotic song".^[6]

Content

The song describes a soldier waiting to go into battle who thinks of the woman he loves and his hometown of Galveston, Texas. The song was originally sung by Don Ho, who introduced Glen Campbell to it when he appeared as a guest on Campbell's Goodtime Hour, and the second verse was originally transcribed:
"Wonder if she could forget me
"I'd go home if they would let me
"Put down this gun
"And go to Galveston."^[7]
However, in Campbell's version, this was changed to read:
"I still hear your sea waves crashing
"While I watch the cannons flashing
"I clean my gun
"And dream of Galveston."^[8]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Australian Go-Set ^[9]	5
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
Ireland	9
New Zealand (Listener)^[10]	3
UK	14
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1969)	Rank
Australian Go-Set Chart	11
Canadian RPM Top Singles ^[11]	68
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	59
U.S. Cashbox Top 100	70

References

↑ Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin’s Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 66.
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 43.
↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
↑ "The Pop Protest Song". 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.
↑ "Jimmy Webb - "Galveston" (Live for WFUV)". YouTube. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
↑ "Galveston". YouTube. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
↑ "Glen Campbell & Jimmy Webb GALVESTON". YouTube. 2010-11-12. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
↑ "Go-Set Australian charts - 10 May 1969". Poparchives.com.au. 1969-05-10. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-02.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

More extensive lyrics than found at the above "Full Lyrics" link: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jimmy+webb/galveston_20205878.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 "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" 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

Glen Campbell

Studio albums	Big Bluegrass Special Too Late to Worry - Too Blue to Cry The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell The Big Bad Rock Guitar of Glen Campbell Burning Bridges Gentle on My Mind By the Time I Get to Phoenix Hey Little One A New Place in the Sun Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell That Christmas Feeling Wichita Lineman Galveston True Grit Try a Little Kindness Oh Happy Day Norwood The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album The Last Time I Saw Her Anne Murray / Glen Campbell The Artistry of Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Star) I Remember Hank Williams Houston (I'm Comin' to See You) Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb Ernie Sings & Glen Picks Rhinestone Cowboy Bloodline Southern Nights Basic Highwayman Somethin' 'Bout You Baby I Like It's the World Gone Crazy Old Home Town Letter to Home No More Night It's Just a Matter of Time Still Within the Sound of My Voice Light Years Favorite Hymns Walkin' in the Sun Unconditional Love Show Me Your Way Rock-A-Doodle Wings of Victory Somebody Like That Home for the Holidays The Boy in Me Christmas with Glen Campbell A Glen Campbell Christmas My Hits and Love Songs Love Is the Answer: 24 Songs of Faith, Hope and Love Meet Glen Campbell Ghost on the Canvas Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb: In Session See You There

Live albums	Glen Campbell Live Live in Japan Live at the Royal Festival Hall Glen Campbell Live Glen Campbell Live! His Greatest Hits Glen Campbell in Concert with the South Dakota Symphony British Live Performance Series

Compilations	Country Shindig The 12 String Guitar of Glen Campbell Glen Campbell Plays 12 String Guitar Portrait Country Soul Country Music Star No. 1 The Glen Campbell Album Limited Collector's Edition A Satisfied Mind Glen Campbell's Greatest Hits Gentle on My Mind The Good Time Songs of Glen Campbell I'll Paint You a Song Arkansas The Best of Glen Campbell Glen Campbell's Twenty Golden Greats The Great Hits of Glen Campbell The Glen Campbell Collection All I Have to Do Is Dream The Very Best of Glen Campbell Presents His Hits in Concert Classics Collection Greatest Country Hits Best of the Early Years Merry Christmas All-Time Greatest Hits The Essential Glen Campbell Volume One The Essential Glen Campbell Volume Two The Essential Glen Campbell Volume Three Jesus and Me: The Collection Home at Last The Glen Campbell Collection (1962–1989) Gentle on My Mind The Capitol Years 65/77 Reunited with Jimmy Webb 1974–1988 Love Songs Glen Campbell Christmas Super Hits 20 Greatest Hits Rhinestone Cowboy/Bloodline The Lambert & Potter Sessions 1975–1976 Southern Nights/Basic All the Best The Legacy (1961–2002) Rhinestone Cowboy (New Studio Recordings) Glen Campbell Collection Rhinestone Cowboy Live, on the Air & in the Studio Sings the Best of Jimmy Webb 1967–1992 The Platinum Collection Classic Campbell Words and Music Greatest Hits

Singles	"Turn Around, Look at Me" "Too Late to Worry - Too Blue to Cry" "Long Black Limousine" "Guess I'm Dumb" "Universal Soldier" "Gentle on My Mind" "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" "Hey Little One" "I Wanna Live" "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" "Wichita Lineman" "Let It Be Me" (with Bobbie Gentry) "Galveston" "Where's the Playground Susie" "True Grit" "Try a Little Kindness" "Honey Come Back" "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (with Bobbie Gentry) "Oh Happy Day" "Everything a Man Could Ever Need" "It's Only Make Believe" "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" "The Last Time I Saw Her" "I Say a Little Prayer" "Oklahoma Sunday Morning" "Manhattan, Kansas" "Bonaparte's Retreat" "Rhinestone Cowboy" "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)" "Don't Pull Your Love" "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" "Southern Nights" "Sunflower" "I Love How You Love Me" "Faithless Love" "A Lady Like You" "It's Just a Matter of Time" "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" (with Steve Wariner) "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" "I Remember You" "I Have You" "She's Gone, Gone, Gone"

Related articles	Discography Collaborative discography Videos The Beach Boys Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour Ashley Campbell

Jimmy Webb

Original albums	Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb (1968) Words and Music (1970) And So: On (1971) Letters (1972) Land's End (1974) El Mirage (1977) Angel Heart (1982) Suspending Disbelief (1993) Ten Easy Pieces (1996) Twilight of the Renegades (2005) Live and at Large (2007) Just Across the River (2010) Still Within the Sound of My Voice (2013)

Collaborative albums	Up, Up, and Away (1966) The Magic Garden (1967) Rewind (1967) A Tramp Shining (1968) The Yard Went On Forever (1968) Sunshower (1969) The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb (1972) Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (1974) Earthbound (1975) Live at the Royal Festival Hall (1977) Watermark (1977) Breakwater Cat (1980) The Last Unicorn (1983) The Animals' Christmas (1986) Light Years (1988) Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989) Only One Life: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (2003) This Kind of Love (2008) Cottonwood Farm (2009) Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb: In Session (2012)

Compilation albums	Tribute to Burt Bacharach and Jim Webb (1972) And Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain... (1998) Archive (1994) Reunited with Jimmy Webb 1974–1988 (1999) Tunesmith: The Songs of Jimmy Webb (2003) The Moon's a Harsh Mistress: Jimmy Webb in the Seventies (2004) Archive & Live (2005)

Songs	"All I Know" "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" "Galveston" "The Girls' Song" "Highwayman" "Honey Come Back" "MacArthur Park" "Still Within the Sound of My Voice" "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" "Up, Up and Away" "Where's the Playground Susie" "Wichita Lineman" "The Worst That Could Happen"

Related articles	Jimmy Webb discography

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