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Hands On The Wheel Lyrics
At a time when the world seems to be spinnin'
Hoplessly out of control
There's deceivers and believers and old in-betweeners
That seem to have no place to go
Well it's the same old song, it's right and it's wrong
And livin' is just something that I do
And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes
And I found myself in you
I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars
And I've nearly gone up in smoke
Now my hand's on the wheel of somethin' that's real
And I feel like I'm goin' home
And in the shade of an oak, down by the river
Sat an old man and a boy
Settin' sails, spinnin tales, and fishin' for whales
With a lady that they both enjoy
Well it's the same damn tune, it's the man in the moon
It's the way that I feel about you
And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes
And I found myself in you
And I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars
And I've nearly gone up in smoke
Now my hand's on the wheel of somethin' that's real
And I feel like I'm goin' home
Hoplessly out of control
There's deceivers and believers and old in-betweeners
That seem to have no place to go
And livin' is just something that I do
And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes
And I found myself in you
And I've nearly gone up in smoke
Now my hand's on the wheel of somethin' that's real
And I feel like I'm goin' home
Sat an old man and a boy
Settin' sails, spinnin tales, and fishin' for whales
With a lady that they both enjoy
It's the way that I feel about you
And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes
And I found myself in you
And I've nearly gone up in smoke
Now my hand's on the wheel of somethin' that's real
And I feel like I'm goin' home
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I think this song is about being lost..not knowing where to go, but then to look in your girl's eyes..and finding out that you aren't lost. Everything seems to make sence. "And I found myself in you"
I always thought this song was about a man disappointed with himself. He's depressed too: "Living is just something that I do." His redemption is his woman, and he's trying not to lose that too. "Hands on the Wheel," I think, means he's trying to keep control of that relationship in his life.
This song was the conclusion to Nelson's brilliant Red Headed Stranger. This songs not about being lost. It is about being found by new love. It is about a life of redemption. "An' in the shade of an oak down by the river, Sit an old man an' a boy, Settin' sail, spinnin' tales an' fishin' for whales, With a lady they both enjoy." Don't listen to the song. Listen to the whole album!
This song is very meaningful to me. Not sure why these other people would think he's singing about his 'girl' or his 'woman' (although that's part of it).
I think he is saying that in a crazy world where 'deceivers and believers' are all telling us what life is all about, and what its purpose is and what we should be doing with our life, he, like most people has spent his life trying to figure it out for himself. He looked to the stars (heaven), and bars (vice), but finally found it in his relationships.
"An[d]' in the shade of an oak down by the river, Sit an old man an' a boy, Settin' sail, spinnin' tales an' fishin' for whales, With a lady they both enjoy."
This is obviously a man, his son, and a 'lady' who is the mother figure. Likely he is saying he found life's meaning or 'something real' in his relationship with this lady and his son. We may likely infer that he fell in love with a lady, they had a son, and now he has found true meaning in life... meaning that religion or vice could not give him. He looks into their eyes and has finally found himself. (It's not specific whether it's the lady's or boy's eyes he looks into, but perhaps we can guess its both).
I think it's about his Dad. "Well it's the same damn tune, it's the man in the moon". A reference to Cats In The Cradle.