Nobody gives a damn about rhymes in songs today

It's one of the most iconic hits ever, but Wichita Lineman will always remain flawed to Jimmy Webb. Ahead of his latest UK show, the songwriting legend tells the story of its creation, shares his frustrations at modern tastes and reveals why Taylor Swift is following in his footsteps

- John Earls

COUNTRY Campbell's music classic great Glen hit Wichita Lineman is undoubtedly one of the finest ballads ever written. Composed in 1968, the moving song about the "lineman for the county" talking to his girlfriend while working high up on some telephone poles perfectly captures the melancholy of a long-distance relationship.

The lineman's poignant final message to his loved one that: "I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time" is often cited as one of the most beautiful lyrics of any song.

Set to a haunting arrangement which encapsulates the spacious, desolate feel of the American Midwest, Wichita Lineman was hailed in 2013 as "the greatest song ever written" by Bob Dylan. Yet the songwriter who created Wichita Lineman doesn't think the classic hit was ever properly finished and he admits he'd have altered that timeless final couplet if he'd had the chance to work on the song for longer.

When songwriting giant Jimmy Webb whose many other classic tunes include Up, Up And Away, MacArthur Park and Galveston first sent Wichita Lineman to Campbell, he included a note warning his friend that the song wasn't done.

Campbell had recently enjoyed a hit with Webb's song By The Time I Get To Phoenix.

Webb tells The Daily Express: "Glen wanted another geographical song, so I worked on Wichita Lineman that afternoon at my house. It was chaos there, as I had painters in doing work. Glen phoned me every hour, asking: 'Is it done yet?"

"By 6pm, I'd finished two verses. I thought maybe it needed to be a verse/chorus song, or that I'd maybe write a bridge and a third verse later. Any way you looked at it, there was a possibility I hadn't finished the song yet, because that was all I'd got: two verses."

Of his fateful note, Jimmy recalls: "I wrote to Glen, 'Here's Wichita Lineman. It's probably not finished. Let me know what you think. Love, Jimmy', and I put a big smiley face next to my name."