"Galveston" is a song written by

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

and popularized by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

who recorded it with the instrumental backing of members of The Wrecking Crew. 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

charts. On other charts, "Galveston" went to number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the "

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

" charts. It was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

in October 1969.

Background and writing

The protagonist is a soldier waiting to go into battle who thinks of the woman he loves and his hometown of

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding G ...

. The song was first released in 1968 by a mournful-sounding

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...

, who introduced

to it when Ho appeared as a guest on ''

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' was an American music and comedy television variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 29, 1969, to June 13, 1972, on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for ' ...

''. Campbell's recording of the song, released in early 1969, was perceived by many (who listened carefully to the lyrics) as being a Vietnam War

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

, but Campbell performed it up-tempo. In his original promo video, Campbell was dressed as a soldier in a military-style outfit. Webb has challenged the implication of Campbell's version that it was in any way "a patriotic song". According to Webb, the song is "about a guy who's caught up in something he doesn't understand and would rather be somewhere else". In Ho's recording, the second verse was:
:''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.'' However, in both Campbell's version and in Webb’s own 1972 release (and his later performances), this verse was: :''Galveston, oh Galveston'' :''I still hear your sea waves crashing'' :''While I watch the cannons flashing'' :''I clean my gun'' :''And dream of Galveston.''

Other Cover Versions

Within a year of Campbell's hit version, Rolling Stone states, "recordings of “Galveston” had sold six million copies, having been cut by 27 different artists, from fellow country star Faron Young to jazz great Dizzy Gillespie."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

More complete lyrics
at lyricsfreak.com
Don Ho version
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Jimmy Webb live version
via YouTube
Glen Campbell - Galveston
via YouTube {{authority control 1969 singles Glen Campbell songs Culture of Galveston, Texas Songs written by Jimmy Webb Songs about cities in the United States Songs about Texas Capitol Records singles Song recordings produced by Al De Lory 1969 songs Anti-war songs