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Wichita Lineman (Patreon)

Published:
2023-02-24 18:48:08
Imported:
2026-06
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Hello all,

Hope everyone's doing well. There was a great response to last week's Patreon-only video, so that's certainly something I'll start doing on a semi-regular basis. Next up will probably be some kind of Q&A session next month.

This week, I wanted to take a look at one of my favourite songs, a song often put forward as one of the greatest ever: Wichita Lineman, originally recorded by Glen Campbell. There are 3 parts to the video: I go through the basic chords for those of you who want an easy-ish, strum-along version; I do a bit of a theoretical analysis of the slightly unusual chord progression; then I break down my own instrumental arrangement. 

(No link, since there's a now a new option for me to embed the video directly in the Patreon page. You can click through to YouTube from here if you want to.)Hope you find it interesting. Below, I've tabbed out my arrangement and I've also put together a simple chord/lyric chart.

The backing track will be in the next post.

Speak next week,

Adrian

Files

Wichita Lineman | The greatest song ever? | Guitar Lesson

They don't come much more classic than this one. In this video I take you through the basic chords, do a bit of a theoretical analysis of this famously unusual progression, and show you my own instrumental arrangement. Tab and backing track can be found on Patreon (pay what you like): https://www.patreon.com/anyonecanplayguitar Hi 00:00 Play-through 00:36 About the song 03:27 Basic chords 05:08 A bit of theory 09:31 My arrangement 13:40 Gear used in this video 24:50 Bye 26:23 My beginner soloing course: https://courses.anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk My latest album: https://zodiactoys.bandcamp.com/releases Please subscribe here for many more YouTube lessons: https://www.youtube.com/c/anyonecanplayguitarcouk Check out my website: https://www.anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk Social blah: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acpgtr/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/acpgtr Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk

Comments

Mark Kelly

Gorgeous arrangement. I’ve got a gig next week and need to go through the 25 odd songs. I should really try and avoid having a go at this!

Jas

Oh boy. I've been dabbling with this classic recently but only got so far as the sheer beauty and orchestral presence was just too much to deal with beyond some basic chug a-long. I thought the song could never be bettered but by heck, lad! Simply amazing. So many different techniques to take this into beautiful other arrangements. Think I could even detect a bit of Cure type note arpeggios in one or two places? Maybe just me. You've out done yourself - again! Super stuff!

Peter Healy

Brilliant. As I got older I have opened up to a much wider range of music. I vaguely remember hearing this when it first came out in 1968. Being 12 at the time, Glen Campbell was someone older people listened to and left it there. I think I re discovered it in my 30's and could appreciate how extraordinary and beautiful it is. Thanks again Adrian.

Mike Elmendorf

One of my surf buddies became a lineman. He started out with the Southern California Edison Company as a meter reader, in Compton California, worked himself up to lineman. He told me as he started out the rate of alcoholism was the highest of any profession being a lineman. I watched him over the years becoming one to the point of telling him to never return to my house. It was a sad progression of a chill surfer I grew up with to an asshole alcoholic. As a lineman and meter reader in Compton he saw some gnarly stuff. He watched from up a pole a liquor store being held up, cops showing up, the thieves somehow steal a police car leaving the scene. I don’t even know now if he still works for Edison. Interesting song choice. Cheers, dude

Doc Vinegar

Great ! Another Glen Campbell masterpiece is Guess I'm Dumb, I will try to play it as you did with Wichita Lineman 😉

Chris Grimes

One of my all-time faves. Tried to learn it before with only so-so results. Can't wait to dig into this. Thanks Adrian. (Also endorse the Guess I'm Dumb suggestion!)

Christopher Guempel

No way ! I love Glen Cambell songs for some reason thanks!

Richard O'Connor

One of the greatest songs of all time, and a great great choice Ade.

Bruce Heffner

Thank you Adrian for the great guitar instruction you provide us. This old bloke from Arizona appreciates your fine work.

Richard O'Connor

I would encourage everyone to listen to the Scud Mountain Boys version. I think it's on Spotify etc. Their guitarist, Bruce Tull, is one of my all time faves. Right up their with Ade :-)

C#ris

Beautifully done, Adrian! Thank you for this. This type of instrumentation/chord/melody interpretation lesson is among your best - like your recent take on Candy Says which was also stellar.

Jeff Runnels

Beautiful! I actually saw Campbell play this in person. And while it was a LONG time ago, I recall him playing his (standard?) Ovation Breadwinner guitar for most of the show. Possibly he switched guitars for this song but that's lost in the haze of history for me.

Tracy

Thanks, Adrian, great song and great lesson as usual. There’s an awesome podcast called Strong Songs that breaks down the structure (harmony/instrumentation/arrangement/...) of songs that did an episode on Wichita Lineman last year: https://strongsongspodcast.com/episode/wichita-lineman-by-jimmy-webb-glen-campbell The podcast always reminds me of ACPG because the presenter is able to strike a deft balance between enthusiasm/appreciation and teaching that gives the listener credit for wanting (and being able) to learn “a little more” about a song!

Ian Loriggio

great lesson Adrian, will try this classic

Jurgos

Beautiful Song and very beautiful Interpretation. Very helpful and interesting harmonic analysis, great pdf with the summary of the cord voicings. Much work, good work. Another rainy weekend saved. Thank you so much.

John Leonard

Fab. That's my weekend sorted

Mark Norman

The verse is 7 bars, rather than a typical multiple of 2. I've been pondering how this affects the feel of this song. One interpretation is it's a 6 bar verse followed by 1 bar functioning analogously to a suspended chord. It creates an open space in the song, a pause during which the mood of the song sits with us and accentuates the feeling of longing. I suppose you could call it a suspended bridge.

Michael Elmendorf

I just watched on YouTube: “Glen Cambell Sings ‘Wichita Lineman’ & Talks Guitar” “From June 2000, Glen Cambell Sings “Wichita Lineman” with just his guitar, and talks with the host Craig Killborn about his guitar playing techniques, session work, and so much more!” I forgot he was one of the “Wrecking Crew” LA based session players playing on everything from The Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra . Clambell states in the interview Wichita Lineman is the most played song of the millennium(country) cheers

anyonecanplayguitar

haha promise I'll have something really out there and edgy coming up very soon just to balance out the MOR!

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Tracy - not come across this podcast before, but I'll definitely check it out!

anyonecanplayguitar

amazing you got to see him play it in person. Yes, from video footage he seems to use an Ovation a lot of the time live.

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Chris. Yes, I've started to really enjoy putting together these kind of arrangements. Will try and do another later in the year.

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, that's a good way of describing it. Love it when songs have odd section lengths.

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, I think that's often how it is. I would probably have hated this as a teenager, but its beauty reveals itself as you get older and have more life experience I think.

anyonecanplayguitar

haha probably best to wait til after the gig - 25 songs is a lot of work!

anyonecanplayguitar

Aww thanks Jas glad you liked it. Yes, I think Robert Smith is in my blood, so even if I wasn't consciously thinking Cure, it's always going to be in there somewhere.

Mike Elmendorf

Yeah and it sucks too. But not for this reason only My buddy had tickets for The Cure at dodgers stadium(huge venue). The lineman friend of mine was a huge Cure fan, got me a free ticket. A couple weeks before the cure was to play here, I had to tell the guy to never return to my house, his alcoholism (due to being the stress of a lineman) was to the point he was taking me in that direction, and he had just became a total asshole.

Allan Pilgrim

Quite a few musicians who made up the Wrecking Crew...Al Casey, Steve Douglas, Larry Ketchel, Jim Horn were part of the 'Rebels'..Duane Eddy's group.

El Scotto

Such a great lesson and definitely one of the most beautiful guitar songs ever written. It's not a new problem for me but I simply can not reach those 13/9 and 12/8 double stops :( I've tried to find closer fingerings to get a similar sound but can't without having to slide out of the relevant fretboard zone. If there were some easier combinations that sound similar I'd love to hear them.

Pete Ross

Great choice of song, one that has always been in my consciousness but never thought to try to play, already dedicated several hours to learning as well as surfing YouTube Glen Campbell clips. Opened my ears and eyes to Glen Campbell's work, thank you.

anyonecanplayguitar

Really pleased you enjoyed it Pete - yes there's a whole world of great Glen Campbell stuff to explore!

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, there are some quite awkward stretches involved. I don't know if there's an obvious way to get those major and minor second sounds without a stretch. You could perhaps try higher up the fretboard on lower strings but that might leave you out of position for what follows. Maybe use bends to get some of the higher notes? Or you can always depart from my arrangement and do your own thing here!

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, that's fascinating! Might revisit some Duane Eddy this week. Should really take a look at one of his tracks in a video at some point?

Terry Bright

Brilliant lesson Adrian. I really enjoy your work. Thank you very much.

Marc V. Mulé

You are a joy. Been playing many, many, many decades- deeply. Thank you for U being U Adrian. A+1

frank verrilli

New member. Thanks so much for sharing your great arrangement of this great song wichita lineman !

Niall

Loved this song ,you're arrangement & this whole lesson, Would love same for 'Fire & Rain' James Taylor.

jb nb

Superb. I am really behind on the channel,but making progress.Its interesting how some parts seem simple but are a challenge(for me) to make sound proper. Bar 8-9 is my challenge for some reason. Anyway,this is a really classy arrangement of a song we all love. Thanks. -Jim.

Edward Hencher

Another new member here. One of my all time favourite songs. Question... is the .gp file compatible with the android version of Guitar Pro? I can't seem to get it to load. Thank you.

anyonecanplayguitar

Welcome Edward, thanks for your support here. I'm not an Android user, but as far as I know the .gp file should work. So not sure exactly what the problem is. Might be worth seeing if Guitar Pro tech support can help. Or I could always provide you with an older GP file format if that will help.

Edward Hencher

Thank you Adrian. Appreciate you getting back to me. If you could send the older .gp file, that would be great.

Edward Hencher

Thank you Adrian. Appreciate you getting back to me. If you could send the older .gp file, that would be great.

Edward Hencher

Thanks again. I was able to load these into GP!

BooFro

Thank you for your exquisite arrangement. Also enjoyed your 'theory' comments on this piece, especially as you wonder out loud about whether or not Jimmy Webb thought about the esoteric song structures you mention while he was writing Wichita Lineman. I can offer no definitive proof, but I came across an interview he gave a while back that makes me think he was indeed aware of such arcane matters. In the interview he mentions Leonard Bernstein (of all people) talking about 'transformational elements' in which he talked about how "a chord doesn't have to have a root for a bass note. It can have any bass note." This was something of a revelation to Webb, who said this: "All of a sudden this whole beautiful diatonic world open up to you and you say 'wow, I can press down on these keys in any way I want and a whole improvisational world flows through you.'" The interview is almost an hour, but this part comes near the 18:50 mark. Here is the link in case you're interested: https://youtu.be/j8pRKAgMaP4?si=kxLKh5sJBu8Zh0JS

Jeffy finer

Put my guitar away 35 years back when second child was born. Pulled it out of the closet after my wife died and have been re-acquainting. Picked this song for my 6 month anniversary of my return to playing. After some dozen sites and different tabs, yours is the one I'm going to tackle. Thank you.

hugh hales-tooke

I.m.o it's the major seventh chords and the sus chords that help create that - wonderful - uncertainty about the key. If I can be really farty for a minute, I was working on Gymnopedie arranged for the guitar, which also defies analysis about what key it is in. it seemed to me that the main theme was bouncing between two different Major Seventh chords and it was partly that chord quality that helped create the ambiguity. Fart over.

JProck

The guitar use was a Dano 6 electric bass borrow from Carol Kay. It's about the same as the Fender VI.

Timothy A Peters

I hope it is not too late to say that yes, this is a beautiful song - "I hear you singing in the wires" sounds almost Native American, spiritually; and your guitar arrangment/performance does it full justice, especially the octaves in the last verse. I'll be working on this for months!