A Drifter Among Us

I've been listening to John Mayer's "Wheel" nonstop this week. It's a simple tune, but I've been struck by the stripped down guitar playing mixed with lyrics that are laden with rich imagery and beautiful illustrations. It's quickly become my favorite in his catalogue.

People have the right to fly
And will when it gets compromised
Their hearts say "Move along"
Their minds say "Gotcha heart"
Let's move it along
Let's move it along

And airports
See it all the time
Where someone's last goodbye
Blends in with someone's sigh
Cause someone's coming home
In hand a single rose

And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now
And I won't be the last
No I won't be the last,
To love her

And you can't build a house of leaves
And live like it's an evergreen
It's just a season thing
It's just this thing that seasons do

And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now
And you won't be the first
No you won't be the first
To love me

You can find me, if you ever want again
I'll be around the bend
I'll be around the bend
I'll be around,
I'll be around
And if you never stop when you wave goodbye
You just might find if you give it time
You will wave hello again
You just might wave hello again

And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now

You can't love too much, one part of it

I believe that my life's gonna see
The love I give
Return to me
I believe that my life's gonna see
The love I give
Return to me
I believe that my life's gonna see
The love I give
Return to me

I read an interview that Mayer gave about this song. He intro's the song as an existential double meaning; in the same way you love someone and they move along and you can't control it, you also are born into this world and then leave it, without a say. Despite that sort of morbid approach, Mayer twists the existentialism into a "carpe diem"-like upbeat mood... he warns us not too love one part of life too much: not money, not success, not even love. Because, as he says, in the end it all evens out. And that the way, this wheel, keeps working out...


"Cause I have a feeling it all evens out...
at the very end of your life,
you're gonna sit down at the table,
and you're gonna shuffle out the good and the bad,
and it's all gonna make perfect sense to you
when you figure out that in the accounting books
it comes up completely even...
and then you're gonna ask,
'Well, what was it all for?'
and they're gonna say, 'Well you did it, didn't you?'"