The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Shortly afterwards, Bob Dylan came to Toronto and recruited the quintet for his history-making 1965/1966 world tour. The Band also worked with Dylan on the initial Blonde on Blonde sessions which, bar two tracks, were ultimately abandoned in favour of versions recorded with Nashville session musicians.
After a motorcycle accident in mid-1966, Dylan retreated from the public eye to his country house near Woodstock, New York. He was joined by the Band for some informal jam sessions starting in the autumn of 1967, nearly all of which were recorded. After being heavily bootleged, Columbia Records finally released The Basement Tapes in 1975, a selection of the better tracks recorded during the sessions along with new recordings by The Band.
Bob Dylan and The Band were reunited in 1974, recording Planet Waves for Asylum Records, Dylan's first album recorded for a record label other than Columbia. Although the album was released under Dylan's name alone, The Band joined Dylan for his first tour in eight years in support of Planet Waves, with some of the material recorded and released on the 1975 concert record Before the Flood.
Columbia Records finally released The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete in November 2014, featuring every surving recording from the original sessions in Woodstock.
This Wheel's on Fire
Bob Dylan and The Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were goin' to meet again and wait
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
And sit before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
With another tale to tell
And you know that we shall meet again
If your mem'ry serves you well
Rolling down the road,
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your mem'ry serves you well
I was goin' to confiscate your lace
And wrap it up in a sailor's knot
And hide it in your case
If I knew for sure that it was yours
But it was oh so hard to tell
And you know that we would meet again
If your mem'ry serves you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode
If your mem'ry serves you well
You'll remember you're the one
That called on me to call on them
To get you your favors done
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And there was nothing more to tell
You knew that we would meet again
If your mem'ry served you well
This wheel's on fire
It's rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
That this wheel shall explode
The song "This Wheel's on Fire" by Bob Dylan and The Band talks about the inevitability of fate and the uncertainty of life itself. It is a song about the fragility of relationships and how they can be broken by circumstances beyond our control. The lyrics are full of imagery and metaphorical language that suggest that the members of the band are on a journey that they cannot control. The first stanza talks about the desire to reunite with someone, but also the understanding that things may not always go as planned. The lyrics suggest a sense of resignation to the fact that life is unpredictable and we cannot control what lies ahead.
The second stanza talks about the uncertainty of love and relationships. The singer wants to keep a souvenir of their love, but is not sure if it is his to take. It is a poignant reminder that love can be fleeting and that we may not know what we’ve lost until it’s gone. The third stanza talks about the importance of memories and how they shape our lives. The singer reminds the listener that even if they can't remember everything, they will always have the memories of their time together.
Line by Line Meaning
If your mem'ry serves you well
If you have retained all the necessary information in your memory
We were goin' to meet again and wait
We had planned to meet again in the future and wait for something
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
Therefore, I will unload all of my belongings
And sit before it gets too late
And settle in before it becomes too late in the day
No man alive will come to you
No living person will approach you
With another tale to tell
To tell you another story
And you know that we shall meet again
And you are aware that we will cross paths again
This wheel's on fire
This situation is out of control and dangerous
Rolling down the road,
Developing and continuing in action
Best notify my next of kin
It would be wise to inform my family members in case something goes wrong
This wheel shall explode
The circumstances will ultimately become devastating
I was goin' to confiscate your lace
I had planned to take away your decorative string
And wrap it up in a sailor's knot
And tie it up in a particular kind of knot typically used by sailors
And hide it in your case
And conceal it in your container for storing items
If I knew for sure that it was yours
If I was certain that it belonged to you
But it was oh so hard to tell
But it was incredibly challenging to determine ownership
You'll remember you're the one
You will recall that you were the individual
That called on me to call on them
Who requested my assistance in getting something done through contacting others
To get you your favors done
In order to fulfill your requests
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And after all previous plans had fallen through
And there was nothing more to tell
And there existed no additional information or solutions to provide
That this wheel shall explode
That this situation will ultimately become devastating
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Danko, Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@juancamacho5746
If your mem’ry serves you well
We were goin’ to meet again and wait
So I’m goin’ to unpack all my things
And sit before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
With another tale to tell
But you know that we shall meet again
If your mem’ry serves you well
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode!
If your mem’ry serves you well
I was goin’ to confiscate your lace
And wrap it up in a sailor’s knot
And hide it in your case
If I knew for sure that it was yours . . .
But it was oh so hard to tell
But you knew that we would meet again
If your mem’ry serves you well
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode!
If your mem’ry serves you well
You’ll remember you’re the one
That called on me to call on them
To get you your favors done
And after ev’ry plan had failed
And there was nothing more to tell
You knew that we would meet again
If your mem’ry served you well
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode!
@reddwing4368
@@LebSista ok cool
Thanks so much for your response
Maybe we could share some songs we did comment poems too
I never show anyone my stuff but since we don t know each other
It ll be anonymous like our way of communicating poems
Anyway thanks again
Good luck
Take care
Hope too here from ya
@colinmoore317
One of my favourite dylan track. Pure genius. Colin
@sunman5649
Only Bob Dylan and Garth Hudson are alive😢one of the most beautiful songs of the basement tapes...In heaven they will continue to make music.🙏
@rockturtleneck
"Best notify my next of kin": This might be my favorite song from the Basement Tapes. It sounds like it was written and recorded during the Civil War.
@1DaTJo
OMG how many astonishing songs has Bob written. It’s just unbelievable.
@shuddupeyaface
It is.
@gushunter6709
Its not by Bob Dylan, its by The Band.
@1DaTJo
@@gushunter6709 no, it’s written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko. Research it.
@dylanthompson4836
@@gushunter6709 lol bro it's Dylan, the band covered it on their debut a year after this.
@hooloinnit
@@1DaTJo rick danko, a founding member of the band? research it. Also this sounds a lot more danko than dylan.
@paulhoward2417
This is a beautiful storm. Dylan’s voice is astonishing.