Wagon Wheel (2004) – Old Crow Medicine Show

Such is my fascination with this song, I wrote briefly about Wagon Wheel just after the inception of my blog back in 2014, but today we take a proper look at this Americana gem written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show. Well, it was Bob who first recorded a rough demo titled Rock Me, Mama during the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid sessions in 1973.

If you listen to Dylan’s demo, Ketch used the original Dylan melody and chorus and built upon it. As usual, I’m surprised Dylan could leave such a sublime tune and chorus by the wayside and never properly flesh it out. Around 25 years later, Ketch added his own verses and what magnificent verses they are too, steeped in atmospheric Americana imagery.

The song describes a hitchhiking journey south through the eastern United States, from New England down through Roanoke, Virginia, with the intended destination of Raleigh, North Carolina, where the narrator hopes to reunite with his lover.

I think Bob would have been proud of how his song turned out in the end. Ketch turned it into a certified hit for his band, Old Crow Medicine Show. He had first heard Dylan’s demo played by his school friend and future bandmate Chris “Critter” Fuqua. He couldn’t get the tune out of his head, although he could barely make out Dylan’s mumbled lyrics (I think we’ve all been there).
A few months later, he added verses about hitchhiking and trying to emulate the beat poets, especially Dylan himself. You can read about his securing of the creative rights to the song in the reference below.

Of course, there are more versions of this song out there than you can poke a stick at, but I first became familiar with it through watching Josh Turner’s stripped-down, masterful version at the end of this post. As stated at the beginning, such was my awe of Josh’s version, I featured it near the inception of my blog way back in 2014.

Josh was a guitar prodigy in his youth and released his own videos out into the world on YouTube. Now, as a fully fledged grown-up, his channel is still going strong with many videos raking in millions of views. Anyhow, I’ve always been more partial to his version of Wagon Wheel (Take 2) than any other, although I enjoy Old Crow Medicine Show’s version a lot too.

So without further ado, I present to you Wagon Wheel from both Old Crow Medicine Show and Josh Turner respectively. Thanks for reading.

[Verse 1]
Headed down south to the land of the pines
I’m thumbin’ my way to North Caroline
Starin’ up the road
And pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin’ me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I’m a-hopin’ for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 2]
Runnin’ from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time string band
My baby plays the guitar
I pick a banjo now
Ah, the north country winters keep a-gettin’ me
And I lost my money playin’ poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain’t a-turnin’ back
To livin’ that old life no more

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Walkin’ due south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly
Had a nice long toke
But he’s a-headed west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee
And I gotta get a move on before the sun
I hear my baby callin’ my name
And I know that she’s the only one
And if I die in Raleigh
At least I will die free

[Chorus]

References:
1. Wagon Wheel (song) – Wikipedia