The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the quintet for his history-making 1965/1966 world tour and they joined him on the informal recordings that became the acclaimed Basement Tapes.
Dubbed "The Band" by their peers, the group left the comfort of their communal home in Saugerties, NY to begin recording as a group unto themselves. The Band recorded two of the most important albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the hit single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. These critically praised albums helped conceive country rock as something more than a genre, but rather as a celebration of "Americana." As such, throughout their career they would repopularize traditional American musical forms during the psychedelic era. The Band dissolved in 1976; Martin Scorcese's landmark concert film "The Last Waltz" documented their final performance. They reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist and main songwriter Robbie Robertson.
Although always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than the general public, The Band has remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Their music fused many elements: primarily old country music and early rock and roll, though the rhythm section often had a bouncy, funky punch reminiscent of Stax or Motown, and Robertson cites Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Singers as major influences. At its best, however, The Band's music was an organic synthesis of many musical genres which became more than the sum of its parts. The group's songwriting was also remarkable as, unlike much earlier rock and roll, and following upon the example set previously by The Byrds, very few of their early compositions were based on conventional blues and doo-wop chord changes.
The Band comprised Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone); and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar) Excepting Robertson, all were multi-instrumentalists; each person's primary instrument is listed first. There was little instrument-switching when they played live, but when recording, the musicians could offer all manner of subtle aural colors and textures to enhance songs. Hudson in particular was able to coax an impressive range of timbres from his Lowrey electronic organ; on the choruses of "Tears of Rage", for example, it sounds startlingly like a mellotron. Helm's drumming was rarely flashy, but he was often praised for his subtlety and funkiness. Critic Jon Carroll famously declared that Helm was "the only drummer who can make you cry," while prolific session drummer Jim Keltner admits to appropriating several of Helm's techniques.
Singers Manuel, Danko, and Helm each brought a distinctive voice to The Band: Helm's gritty, southern voice had more than a hint of country, Danko sang in a soaring, unfettered tenor, and Manuel alternated between fragile falsetto and a wounded baritone. The singers regularly blended in unorthodox, but uncommonly effective harmonies. Though the singing was more or less evenly shared between the three men, both Danko and Helm have stated that they saw Manuel as the Band's "lead" singer.
Robertson was the unit's chief songwriter (though he sang lead vocals on only three or four songs in The Band's career). This role, and Robertson's resulting claim to the copyright of most of the compositions, would become a point of much antipathy between the group's members, especially between Robertson and Helm.
Producer John Simon is cited as a "sixth member" of The Band for producing and playing on Music from Big Pink, co-producing and playing on The Band, and playing on other songs up through The Band's 1993 reunion album Jericho.
On 10 December 1999 is when Rick Danko died in his sleep at age 56. He had been a long-time drug user. In 1997 he had been found guilty of trying to smuggle heroin into Japan. He told the presiding judge that he had begun using the drug (together with prescription morphine) to fight life-long pain resulting from a 1968 auto accident. No drugs were found in his system at the time of his death. Following the death of Rick Danko, The Band broke up for good.
Levon Helm died on 19 April 2012 from complications of throat cancer.
This Wheel's on Fire
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 lyrics to The Band's song "This Wheel's on Fire" are enigmatic, evocative and open to interpretation. The song was written by Bob Dylan and The Band's Rick Danko and was first released in 1967. The first verse describes a meeting that was planned but didn't happen, and the singer says he is going to unpack his things and wait. The second verse talks about a piece of lace that the singer wants to confiscate and hide in someone's suitcase, but isn't sure whose it is. The third and final verse refers to a failed plan to get something done, and the sense that there will be another meeting in the future.
One interpretation of the song is that it is about the cyclical nature of life and the idea that everything comes back around eventually. The "wheel" in the title and chorus could represent this idea, and the repeated phrase "if your mem'ry serves you well" suggests that the singer is addressing someone who has a shared history with him. The urgency in the line "best notify my next of kin" and the final warning that "this wheel shall explode" could suggest a sense of impending doom or danger.
Despite its enigmatic lyrics, "This Wheel's on Fire" has become a classic rock song and has been covered by many artists over the years. It was included on The Band's 1968 album "Music from Big Pink" and was also used as the theme song for the TV show "Absolutely Fabulous" in the 1990s.
Line by Line Meaning
If your mem'ry serves you well
If you can remember correctly
We were goin' to meet again and wait
We had planned to meet up again and wait for something
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
I am going to unpack my belongings
And sit before it gets too late
And relax before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
No person will approach you
With another tale to tell
With another story to share
And you know that we shall meet again
And you are aware that we will meet again
This wheel's on fire
This situation is very dangerous
Rolling down the road
Continuing moving without control
Best notify my next of kin
It's best to let my family know
This wheel shall explode
This situation will end very badly
You'll remember you're the one
You will recall that you were the person
That called on me to call on them
Who requested my help in getting someone else to help
To get you your favors done
To help you receive what you wanted
And after ev'ry plan had failed
And after every attempted solution was unsuccessful
And there was nothing more to tell
And there was no other information to share
You knew that we would meet again
You were certain that we would reunite
It's rolling down the road
It is out of control and continuing to move
That this wheel shall explode
This situation will end very badly
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.