In 2007, Charlie Winston released his self produced debut album “Make Way” and shortly after embarked on tour with Peter Gabriel on European Summer tour.
Charlie also composed music for film (The Day I will Never Forget by Kim Longinotto), theatre (Almeida Theatre, Nottinghill Gate Theatre), dance (Sadler's Wells, Ballet Rambert) and has often appeared in various TV (Top Of The Pops, Good Morning TV, CD UK) and radio shows (The Steve Merchant Show on BBC 6Music, Spanish Radio 3 with Julio Ruiz, BBC Radio with Stephen Foster).
In Charlie Winston's band, the Oxymorons, harmonica plays devil's advocate within moods, from dirty blues riffs to ethereal angelic cries, meanwhile bass, drums and guitar lay the ground rules, only to be broken. To add to it the Extramorons brass quartet puff their way to a sound that’s carnivalesque. There is an overriding positivity throughout every performance that leaves the audience wanting to dance, laugh and cry all in the same breath.
Website: www.charliewinston.com
This Wheel's On Fire
Charlie Winston 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,
But 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.
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!
Charlie Winston's song "This Wheel's On Fire" is a poetic and enigmatic tune about memories, promises, and warnings. The song seems to be addressing someone, perhaps an old acquaintance or lover, with whom the singer had a history full of uncertain and ambiguous circumstances. The opening verse suggests that the two were supposed to meet again, but the singer is beginning to doubt if it will happen. He decides to unpack his belongings and wait, hinting at a sense of anticipation mixed with anxiety. The second verse adds more complexity to the picture by mentioning a lace that the singer was going to confiscate and hide in the other person's case. It is unclear if the lace has any symbolic meaning, but it creates an image of secrecy and possession. The singer says that it was hard to tell if the lace was the other person's, raising the question of how well they knew each other. The third and final verse deepens the mystery by referring to a situation where the other person called on the singer to call on someone else to do them a favor, and then all the plans failed. Again, it is left to the imagination what the nature of the favor was and why it failed. However, the singer implies that the other person knew they would meet again, based on a shared memory or understanding. The refrain, "This wheel's on fire, rolling down the road, best notify my next of kin, this wheel shall explode!" adds a sense of urgency and danger to the song. The metaphor of the wheel on fire suggests that the singer is in a precarious situation, and the wheel is destined to explode, implying a sense of doom or finality.
Line by Line Meaning
If your mem'ry serves you well,
If you remember correctly,
We were goin' to meet again and wait,
We had plans to reunite and wait for each other,
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
I'll unpack and settle in for the long haul,
And sit before it gets too late.
Before it's too late to enjoy each other's company,
No man alive will come to you
No one else will come to see you,
With another tale to tell,
With a story to share,
But you know that we shall meet again
But you know we'll see each other again,
If your mem'ry serves you well.
If you remember correctly.
This wheel's on fire,
This situation is out of control,
Rolling down the road,
Progressing and moving forward without any control,
Best notify my next of kin,
It's best to prepare for the worst,
This wheel shall explode!
This situation will blow up and fall apart!
I was goin' to confiscate your lace,
I thought about taking your prized possession,
And wrap it up in a sailor's knot
And tie it tight like a sailor would,
And hide it in your case.
And hide it among your belongings,
If I knew for sure that it was yours
If I was certain it belonged to you,
But it was oh so hard to tell.
But it was difficult to know for sure,
You'll remember you're the one
You'll recall that you were the one,
That called on me to call on them
That asked me to ask someone else to help you,
To get you your favors done.
To do something for you,
And after ev'ry plan had failed,
And after every attempt had fallen through,
And there was nothing more to tell,
And there was no more to say,
You knew that we would meet again,
You knew we'd see each other again,
If your mem'ry served you well.
If you remember correctly.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Danko, Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Diana Zapata
A great song! <3