Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Heading down south to the land of the pines
I'm thumbing my way into North Caroline
Staring up the road and pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a-hopin' for Raleigh, I can see my baby tonight
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey, mama rock me
I'm running from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old time string band
My baby plays a guitar, I pick a banjo now
Oh, north country winters keep a-getting me down
Lost my money playing poker so I had to leave town
But I ain't a-turning back to living that old life no more
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, mama rock me
Hey, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey, mama rock me
Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly had a nice long toke
But he's a heading west from the Cumberland gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee
I gotta get a move on before the sun
I hear my baby calling my name and I know that she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh at least I will die free
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, mama rock me
Oh, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey, mama rock me
Oh, so rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, hey, mama rock (mama rock me, mama rock me)
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
I wanna rock like a south bound train
Hey, yeah, yeah, mama rock me (you can rock me, rock me)
I'm thumbing my way into North Caroline
Staring up the road and pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a-hopin' for Raleigh, I can see my baby tonight
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey, mama rock me
I'm running from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old time string band
My baby plays a guitar, I pick a banjo now
Oh, north country winters keep a-getting me down
Lost my money playing poker so I had to leave town
But I ain't a-turning back to living that old life no more
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, mama rock me
Hey, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey, mama rock me
Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly had a nice long toke
But he's a heading west from the Cumberland gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee
I gotta get a move on before the sun
I hear my baby calling my name and I know that she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh at least I will die free
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, mama rock me
Oh, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south bound train
Hey, mama rock me
Oh, so rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey, hey, mama rock (mama rock me, mama rock me)
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
I wanna rock like a south bound train
Hey, yeah, yeah, mama rock me (you can rock me, rock me)
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Wagon Wheel Lyrics as written by Ketch Secor Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, DO WRITE MUSIC LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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No one has talked about the meaning of the song yet, so allow me to give my interpretation. He is making a road trip to see the one who he's falling in love with. Part of this trip is to get away from his old life and start over with someone who sees him for who he wants to be. Not for who he's been. She's not just his love, she is his new beginning and he's finally free.