Jerry Garcia - The Wheel

Artist: Jerry Garcia

Song: The Wheel

Album: Garcia (1972)

 

The Wheel was composed spontaneously in the studio during the recording of the second side of Garcia's first solo LP.

Garcia , leader of Grateful Dead, spoke about it in an interview;

...that side was really almost one continuous performance, pretty much. When a song would come up in there, or just a progression, we'd play with it and work it through a few more times. And The Wheel came out of that. It wasn't written, I didn't have anything in mind, I hadn't sketched it out.

The engineer on the recording session, Bob Matthews, spoke in an interview about the addition of the lyrics;

As we were playing it back and doing some of the overdubs, Hunter was there and he had a big piece of paper and he was writing on it up on the wall. He was writing words while we were listening to one of the playbacks and it turned out to be perfect. It was The Wheel. That song came from nowhere and just happened like that.

 

Where to find The Wheel  

 

 music

 

review

 

A nice one to use as motivation when time trialing or on a solo breakaway. Note the appropriateness to cycling in the lyrics:

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down
You can't let go and you can't hold on
You can't go back and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will

Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more
Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more

Round, round, Robin run around
Gotta get back where you belong
Little bit harder, just a little bit more
Little bit further than you gone before

Small wheel turning by the fire and rod
Big wheel turning by the grace of God
Every time that wheel turn round
Bound to cover just a little more ground

 

Grateful Dead - Wheel, Miracle, UJB Rich Stadium (Part 2) 7-4-86