Is Jimmy Webb’s “Galveston” a protest song, or a patriotic one? Apparently, that depends on who’s performing it.
While Glen Campbell’s version of the song is probably the most famous, the first person to record “Galveston” was Don Ho, whose version was released in 1968, at the peak of the Vietnam War. This take on the song is a sad one; both in tone and lyric, it tells the tale of a young soldier who’s afraid to go to war and misses his love back home:
“Galveston, oh Galveston / Wonder if she could forget me / I’d go home if they would let me put down this gun and go to Galveston”
When Campbell got his hands on the song, however, he changed the vibe entirely.
Campbell’s “Galveston” cover was decidedly more upbeat, in tempo and sentiment alike. For example, the line about the soldier wishing he could put down his gun and go back home was turned into, well, this:
“Galveston, oh Galveston / I still hear your sea waves crashing / while I watch the cannons flashing, I clean my gun and dream of Galveston”
Campbell even dressed up in military gear for a promo video of the song, which turned out to be a major hit (one of many successful Webb/Campbell collaborations). “Galveston” made it all the way to #1 on the country chart and peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100; according to Rolling Stone, one year later, it had sold six million copies and been recorded by over 20 different artists.
In 2003, CMT ranked Campbell’s “Galveston” at #8 on a list of the “100 Greatest Songs of Country Music.”
As for Webb’s original intentions, he was careful to avoid explaining the lyrics outright. A few years after the CMT’s honor, however, he did seem to poke fun at Campbell’s seemingly pro-war slant during an appearance on WFUV’s Marquee Member show at the Living Room.
“A lot of people are under the impression that it was a patriotic song about the war in Vietnam,” Webb said. “In actual fact…I always did it very slowly.”
Webb went on to demonstrate the way Campbell sang “Galveston,” joking, “Let’s all go to war.”
“For me, it’s always been this song about a guy who’s caught up in something he doesn’t understand and would rather be somewhere else,” Webb added.
Like so much of Webb’s work, “Galveston” continues to mean different things to different people.
Related: Legendary Singer-Songwriter, 78, Plays What Bob Dylan Called the ‘Best Song Ever Written’ in ‘Brilliant’ New Video
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