Song of the Week

This week’s song is Nora Jones performing “Hands on the Wheel”, from Willie’s Red Headed Stranger album. 

Red Headed Stranger was released in 1975 and became the first platinum selling country album. It is a brilliantly constructed concept album that is best listened to in its entirety.

It contains the song “Time of the Preacher” which I borrowed for the title of this blog, the classic “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”, the gospel classic “Just as I Am”, and “Red Headed Stranger.”  The album and the story it tells were eventually turned into a movie of the same title with Willie in the staring role.  It should have won an Oscar for best picture in 1986, but was shunned by the Academy in a political conspiracy that gave the award to Oliver Stone’s “Platoon”.

I included “Hands on the Wheel” on the first mixtapeCD that I gave to Leslie during our courtship.  It is a beautiful piece of poetry set to music. 

“Hand’s on the Wheel”

At a time when the world seems to be spinning hopelessly 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 living 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, I've something that's real,
And I feel like I'm going home.

And in the shade of an oak down by the river,
Sat an old man and a boy,
Settin' sail, spinnin' tales and fishin' for whales,
With a lady 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.
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, I've something that's real,
And I feel like I'm going home.