By the Time I Get to Phoenix
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By the Time I Get to Phoenix is a song written by composer Jimmy Webb and made famous by Glen Campbell, whose version reached #3 on the U.S.Pop charts in 1967. It was originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965. It has been covered by Marty Wilde and many other artists as well.
The song consists of a man describing his decision to leave his woman, by writing her a note telling her, and his descriptions of what he expects she will be experiencing as he arrives at certain locations.
- By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising...
- By the time I make Albuquerque she'll be working...
and
- By the time I make Oklahoma she'll be sleepin'...
There have been some who have pointed out that the type of trip described in the song, based on the conditions of roads in the U.S. in 1965, would be unlikely. Presumably the singer is leaving Los Angeles (or the west coast), and would expect to get to Phoenix, a distance of over 370 miles, in only a few hours, on what would then have most likely been Route 66 to be infeasible. It is also a distance of over 500 miles from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, and in the song he indicates that his ex-lover might telephone him during lunch while he's already at or past that point. As for the last point mentioned, Oklahoma, the nearest point in Oklahoma, the town of Felt, would be more than 1150 miles and even at Interstate speeds would take more than 17 hours. To reach a major city such as Oklahoma City (straight through on Interstate 40 from Albequerque) would exceed 1375 miles and take almost 20 hours. Thus the scenario as described in the song is probably unlikely to occur.
