The Philosophy of Modern Song: By the time I get to Phoenix

Posted on June 21, 2026 by Tony Attwood

 

Links for other songs selected by Bob Dylan within this series are given at the end.

By Tony Attwood

As I have noted, one of the many great things about Bob’s book, “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” is the astonishing variety of the songs that he chose, as well as the fact that so many of them have utterly amazing and fascinating stories associated with the origins of song.

But equally, I have to admit I don’t really get grabbed by all the songs in the selection.  However, that is not the case with “By the time”; it has a remarkable melody – the sort of melody that Bob would never write, and it tells its utter tragedy of a storyline in the most simple of terms.  Its suggestion – that the only way a man can leave the woman is through a note which he knows she simply won’t believe – is also painful in the extreme.  He can’t face her to say goodbye.

The whole story is just around 100 words long – there are three verses in fact, nothing more, with a plaintive, almost painful melody.  But the really clever part is the fact that each verse starts with “By the time” and charts what the woman will be doing at each stage of the man’s onward journey away from her.   More than three verses would be forcing the issue, but three leaves us sharing the pain he feels in finally finding a way to leave, and indeed the pain she will ultimately feel when she realises this time he means it.

And the end, of course, is truly tragic – which is quite remarkable for such a short and simple song

And she'll cry just to think I'd really leave her
Though time and time I've tried to tell her so
She just didn't know
I would really go

And that is the end – he is gone, the relationship is over, and that’s it.  And we have the dichotomy.  It’s not about whether he wanted to leave her; it is about the battle between the two of them as to whether she could somehow hold on to him.  Perhaps the worst sort of mental battle of all, telling us of a relationship in which there is no equality, but rather a battle of manipulation.  Life played out as a tragic, hurtful game.

But beyond this very clever use of a simple storyline within three simple verses, what makes the piece particularly interesting is that the music is so varied within the song that we hardly notice that it is simply three verses.

This version is from 1987…

The original recording was by Johnny Rivers in 1965, and then along came the Glen Campbell version, which started winning the awards, including “the third most performed song from 1940 to 1990.”
And if that were not enough, Frank Sinatra called it the greatest song ever written.  Certainly, as a person who believes in talking things through as a way of solving conflict, I’d certainly put this song up there.  I don’t want to play it over and over, but in terms of the pathos and the delivery of such a painful message in such a short space of time, it does stand out.

Indeed, the pathos gets even stronger when we learn that the story was based on an actual breakup, as reports say that the inspiration for “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” originated in Jimmy Webb’s breakup with Susan Horton.   Although it reduces the pain somewhat to learn that they remained friends after her marriage to Bobby Ronstadt.

But the composer did later admit that the song wasn’t a literal report on the break-up of a relationship – it is an artistic interpretation.  Which leads on to an amusing story about how an audience member approached Jimmy Webb, the composer, and showed him a map, pointing out the geographical inaccuracies in the song and how the cities listed were in the wrong order.   Somehow, I think that guy was missing the point.

But fortunately, most people do get it, and  “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” was noted as the third most performed song over the latter part of the 20th century, and the 20th most performed song of the entire 20th century.

In fact, there are so many versions, I fear that if I picked one and it turned out to be one not to your taste, you might not go on and listen to others.  Just type the song name into Google and pick a few at random.  It is an absolute gem.

Previously in this series

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