The Wheel

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann

Chorus 1
The wheel is turning and you can't slow down
You can't let go and you can't hold on
You can't go back and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will

Chorus 2
Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more
Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more

Round, round, Robin run around
Gotta get back where you belong
Little bit harder, just a little bit more
Little bit further than you gone before

[chorus 1]

Small wheel turning by the fire and rod
Big wheel turning by the grace of God
Every time that wheel turn round
Bound to cover just a little more ground

[chorus 1]

[chorus 2] (note a)

Notes
(a) in Dead & Company performances, while the chorus is being repeated, John Mayer has improvised lines from "Stay (Just A Little Bit Longer)" by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs and from "Call Me Al" by Paul Simon.

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	12 Jun 1976	Road Trips Volume 4, Number 5
	14 Jun 1976	June 1976 Box Set
	15 Jun 1976	June 1976 Box Set
	18 Jun 1976	Download Series Vol 4
	22 Jun 1976	Download Series Vol 4
	29 Jun 1976	So Many Roads (1965-1995)
	16 Jul 1976	Dave's Picks Volume 18 (bonus disc)
	28 Sep 1976	Dick's Picks Vol 20
	3 Oct 1976	30 Trips Around The Sun
	10 Oct 1976	Dick's Picks Vol 33
	26 Feb 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 29
	22 Apr 1977	30 Days Of The Dead (2021)
	29 Apr 1977	30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
	7 May 1977	May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box
	19 May 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 29
	25 May 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 1
	2 Oct 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 45
	7 Oct 1977	Road Trips Volume 1, Number 2
	3 Feb 1978	Dick's Picks Vol 18
	30 Nov 1980	Dave's Picks Volume 8
	2 Mar 1981	30 Days Of The Dead (2024)
	10 Mar 1981	In And Out Of The Garden
	7 Aug 1982	Dick's Picks Vol 32
	9 Sep 1982	Jerry Garcia: The Collected Artworks (note 1)
	25 Apr 1983	Dave's Picks Volume 39
	19 Apr 1984	Dave's Picks Volume 35
	27 Apr 1985	Dave's Picks Vol 49
	2 Apr 1989	Download Series Vol 9
	17 Jul 1989	Downhill From Here (video/DVD only)
	8 Oct 1989	Warlocks Box
	26 Oct 1989	30 Trips Around The Sun
	18 Mar 1990	Spring 1990 (The Other One)
	24 Mar 1990	Dozin' At The Knick
	29 Mar 1990	Wake Up To Find Out (note 6)
	23 Jun 1990	Dave's Picks Volume 44
	20 Jun 1991	Download Series Vol 11
	27 Mar 1993	30 Trips Around The Sun
	11 Jun 1993	(official YouTube video only)
	3 Jul 2015	Fare Thee Well (CD and DVD)

Jerry Garcia Recordings
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	studio 1972	Garcia	Jerry Garcia (note 2)
	studio 1972	Garcia (alternate take #1)	Jerry Garcia (note 3)
	studio 1972	Garcia (alternate take #2)	Jerry Garcia (note 3)

Phil Lesh and Friends Recordings
	18 May 2006	Live At The Warfield

(Plus live recordings by The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, Ratdog, Phil Lesh & Friends etc not listed here. See Grateful Dead Family Discography for a full list.)

Other Recordings
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	1994	Cool In The Furnace	Ember
	1996	New Morning	Toni Brown
	1997	Keeper Of The Key	David Nelson Band
	1997	Vineyard Sound Vol 3	Mischief
	1997	Fire On The Mountain Vol 2 (Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead)	The Congos
	1999	Tie-Die Yippie Ki Yay	McEuen & Salazar
	2000	Wake The Dead	Danny Carnahan et al
	2000	Pickin' On The Grateful Dead Vol 2	David West et al
	2000	Live At The Maritime Hall	The Congos
	2001	Pickin' On Jerry Garcia	David West et al
	2001	Live At Twenty North	Jake's Leg
	2003	Live From Berkeley	David Nelson and Friends (note 4)
	2004	20 Degrees Of Solitude	The Grass Is Dead
	2005	Retrospective	Railroad Earth (note 5)
	2010	Songs Of The Grateful Dead	Jesse McReynolds
	31 Dec 2010	Jerry Jams for Rex II	Railroad Earth
	2011	The Wheel: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Garcia	Jesse McReynolds, David Nelson et al
	2012	Live At The 2012 Peach Music Festival	Dark Star Orchestra
	14 May 2015	Dear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia	Phil Lesh & Communion

Notes
(1) included on a limited edition CD with advance copies of the book
(2) also on the compilation The Best Of Jerry Garcia; also plays on the soundtrack of the Grateful Dead Movie
(3) bonus tracks on the version of the album reissued in the box set All Good Things. The reissue also includes a track titled "Study for The Wheel"
(4) a live CD from KPFA featuring performances on "Dead To The World," issued as a fund-raiser
(5) The list above includes only one illustrative example of the series of live recordings by these artists. For a full list see the Grateful Dead Family Discography.
(6) also included as part of box set Spring 1990 (The Other One)

Further Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography
For information on references in the lyrics see David Dodd's Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For sheet music, see:
          Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 2 (piano arrangement)
          Garcia Songbook (piano arrangement)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)