West gained fame the world over during his long career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music. He is most noted for his role as leader of the explosive hard rock trio, Mountain, which was named by VH-1 as one of the Top 100 Hard Rock Groups of all time. With Mountain, he climbed the heights of rock stardom on the strength of a unique, signature guitar sound and classic songs such as “Mississippi Queen”, “Never In My Life” and “Theme From An Imaginary Western”,and Nantucket Sleighride which are still staples of rock radio to this day. West earned the admiration of a long list of famous peers. During his career, he recorded or played with a litany of rock icons including Billy Joel, Van Halen, The Who, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix, to name just a few. In fact, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker and Richie Sambora have all cited West as an important influence on their own music.
West's bold, expressive and unique guitar style is really a mirror of his own personality. Spend a little time talking with this larger-than-life figure, and you’ll realize that he is as charismatic without a guitar in his hands as he is with one. Possessing a sharp sense of humor, he was at once gregarious and gruff while recounting stories from his legendary past. When discussing his music projects, he exuded an infectious enthusiasm and excitement. Such projects could take him outside his traditional roles of guitarist, singer and songwriter.
In 1986, he acted alongside Tom Hanks and Shelley Long in the hit comedy film, The Money Pit and has lent his distinctive voice to the popular animated series, Beast Wars Transformers which ran for three seasons on the WB network beginning in 1996 before going into syndication. He has also contributed the theme music to the new WB show, Mutant X.
West was a popular personality on the Howard Stern Radio Show and was Musical Director for the shock jock’s FOX series, as well as for the late comedian Sam Kinison. Most recently, he lent his production and songwriting skills to an album by Atlantic Records’ modern rock group, Clutch, and has just released his own instructional guitar DVD, Big Phat Ass Guitar.
This Wheel
Leslie West 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
The song "This Wheel's On Fire," performed by Leslie West, is a ballad that speaks of the finality of endings. The first two stanzas are spoken from the perspective of a man who hoped to meet with someone with whom he had a meaningful relationship, and who now has to acknowledge the inevitability of their parting. The lines "No man alive will come to you / With another tale to tell" suggest that no one will be able to replace him in her life, perhaps because their connection was so unique. The chorus, "This wheel's on fire, rolling down the road," brings in imagery of a flaming wheel, signifying the end of a journey and the crash that comes with it. The final line of the chorus, "This wheel shall explode," is a powerful metaphor for the explosive emotions that often come with goodbyes.
Line by Line Meaning
If your mem'ry serves you well,
If you remember things correctly,
We were goin' to meet again and wait,
We had plans to meet again and wait together,
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
I will unpack my belongings now,
And sit before it gets too late
And sit down before it's too late,
No man alive will come to you
Nobody alive will come to you,
With another tale to tell,
With a new story to share,
But you know that we shall meet again
But you know we will meet again,
This wheel's on fire,
This situation is dangerous,
Rolling down the road,
It's moving quickly and unstoppably,
Best notify my next of kin,
My closest family members need to be informed,
This wheel shall explode
This situation will become uncontrollable and dangerous.
You'll remember you're the one
You will recall that you are the one,
That called on me to call on them
Who asked me to call them,
To get you your favors done
To help you get your favors done,
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And after every plan had failed,
And there was nothing more to tell,
And there was nothing else to discuss,
You knew that we would meet again,
You knew that we were going to meet again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Elton Costa
One of those responsible for my hearing loss, the king of heavy sound, Mr Leslie West... that Les Paul jr with those stacks of Sunn amplifiers, with the heaviest distortion and that impeccable phrasing is the most beautiful thing in the world ... Thanks for everything and rest in peace!
pleximars
this is the absolute best version of this song, so rich and full.
Per Olsson
A true masterpiece !
Few albums reaches this level !
BIGBLOCK5022006
This is good stuff. I heard this on "Nights With Alice Cooper" and I had to listen to it again. Thank you for posting this video.
Billy James
best version of this tune, agreed..very fiery, passionate, powerful..thanks for the post !.
marcus nunes
I got to give it to the byrds on this one.
Videos by Chuny
Great album, even greater memories.
tomcoryell
My favorite version. I would like to hear Government Mule do it. I like the diminished chord part. You just don’t hear that in music much nowadays.
youngfrank111
Great album
Jimmy Snaggles
Leslie was so great in the beginning.