Met Him on a Plane

(originally “Met Her on a Plane”)

words/music by Jimmy Webb • arranged/performed by Doug Howell
© Universal – Polygram International Pub Inc.

Favorite version: Jimmy Webb, And So: On, 1971

met him on a plane
I had forgotten I was made of glass
I watched the cars and crows and cities pass
I watched the sun till I was blind
I tried to drive him from my mind
but I kept seeing him and me
disappearing in the scenery

I was humming
mmm, humming inside
mm, mm, humming
I was humming inside

he told me of his pain
he did not know that I was hearing him
he did not know that I was nearing him
you know, the sun, it did remain
and from the glaciers to the plains
his eyes burned bluer than the skies
that still exist over Nevada

I was humming
mmm, humming inside
mm, mm, humming
I was humming inside

I was humming…

Notes

Jimmy recorded this himself on his And So: On album, released in May 1971. It has always been one of my favorites. Probably because I had an experience very like this once myself. Or twice… This is a prime example of how Jimmy often takes a supremely personal moment and turns it into an evocative song that anyone ever struck dumb by a pair of eyes can relate to. Of course, for me, the eyes weren’t feminine. But feel free to use your imagination, the way I’ve always done since the first time I heard this song.

The song has been covered very few times. My arrangement preserves a few elements from the original, among them the piano intro and a couple of the string lines. One of those in particular I have loved ever since I first heard it: the ascending triplets in the middle of the second verse. (You’ll hear the same kind of line in another song coming up, too, so stay alert.)

Much aloha to Ann Doyle for her superb supporting vocals, as well as Robert Tye for his stellar guitar work and Danny Cox for driving us with the drums.

To “Simile” →

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