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

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

I believe (You can't love too much, one part of it)
That my life's gonna see (You can't love too much, one part of it)
The love I give (You can't love too much, one part of it)
Return to me (You can't love too much, one part of it)
I believe (You can't love too much, one part of it)
That my life's gonna see (You can't love too much, one part of it)
The love I give, return to me
I believe, that my life's gonna see
The love I give
Return to me



Lyrics submitted by spickly

Track duration: 05:33

"Wheel" as written by John Mayer

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Wheel song meanings
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49 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:"people have the right to fly, and will when it get's compromised" - meaning people run if you try to hold them down.

    it's about the coming and going of love. so beautiful. by far one of jm's best!
    Flag prettylights92on May 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I heard this song way back when the album came out in like 2003 or 2004? Can't remember, i was in high school when John Mayer first hit the scene. But not till the summer of 2008 did this song have any meaning to me at all.

    His dissection of airports. My God! Are they not just the most beautiful and the most terrible place all in the same breath. "Someone's last goodbye, blends in with someone's sigh." Completely true. An airport can be the happiest place in the world for someone, then a week later, you can go right back to the same spot at the same airport and have perhaps the worst experience and worst feelings in your life. I've had both ends of the spectrum at the airport. And it's SO TRUE!!! That's why the most epic scenes in the whole history of love movies, can always take place at an airport. I believe that perhaps the most emotional place in the world for a person can be an airport. Whether happy or sad.
    Flag austingalb1709on November 18, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Speechless.. A Piece Of Me&A Piece Of Us All Are In Every Last Comment.... We Are All On This Wheel Of Life So I'll See You Round The Bend......Hopefully Again &Again:) Amazing talent &Song..J*M Is A Legend..In My Eyes W/Tupac & Michael Jackson Lyrically* & I Agree ‎~I Believe That My Life's Gonna See The Love I Give Return To Me~...
    Flag taytaytakenon October 08, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I feel it describes one of those realationships you know will never work out. But it's the only one you want to.. and there really is no explanation. You try to accept the fact that everyone tells you that you'll find someone else, and they will find someone else too. You imagine being in love with someone else and it's very hard to grasp. I feel people in this world don't follow true love anymore. Love is the most important thing in the world and few people now a days end up truly happy because they just seddle for someone who is "safe"... So they have a safe life, secure with boring jobs with a spouse that you just don't feel enough for to love a lifetime. Wait your turn out and allow the wheel to come back to you. Trust me.. it will be worth it. This song breaks my heart
    Flag frederick22on June 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Hi everyone,
    i really like this song,think it's one of my favourite JM's songs, but as i'm italian,i can't get this line: "i'll be around the bend".
    What does it mean?
    Because on the dictionary i've found "go mad",but i don't think this is the right meaning,isn't it?
    I think that basically it means that he'll always be there for her,am i right?
    Thank you!!!!
    Flag 3x5on March 23, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I love this song. Its heartbreaking yet hopeful at the same time. Basically describes my life at the moment. Love is like a wheel; it keeps turning, no matter what, and the cycle goes on and on. You fall in love, face heartbreak, and yet, despite everything, you fall back in love again and go through that same cycle or wheel.

    To me, the song describes a point in which he realizes this cycle. As much as it hurts, he won't be the last to love her and she won't be the last to love him and he knows it. Additionally, he also has a little bit of hope. Knowing that the wheel will keep turning, he still hopes someday she'll come around and want to open the cycle again.

    Flag almostfamous34on November 01, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment: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


    You cant build a relationship out of a weak foundation ( house of leaves) because eventually the seasons will come around and the leaves will die( its just this thing the seasons do). so your heart has to be in it. and to be honest and lay all the cards out on the table.
    Flag alexander0405on October 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:The live verson of Wheel on ASIS (live at cleavland) is so good! because by the end of the song he stops and says...
    So, sing for the friend who left you before he ever had a clue.
    sing for the boy or girl whos standing right now next to you
    cause i have a feeling it all evens out, you know?
    at the very end of your life your going to sit down at the table and your going
    to shuffle out the good and the bad and then its all going to make perfect sense
    when the accounting books come up completly even
    but then your going to ask, well what was it all for?
    and theyre gonna say, well you did it didnt you?

    so that right there i think is the meaning..
    Flag crediiion April 25, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I think that with every song, Mayer gives us a glimpse of his innermost self and of the relationships he has shared with the people that meant the most to him. I believe that Wheel is one of the songs in which he holds nothing back and allows us an unobstructed view of how he truly is feeling. I find that the beauty of this song and all music lies in the fact that Mayer is able to selflessly give his fans something to apply to their own lives. This song is versatile in the way that it allows the listener to take multiple perspectives regarding love and love lost...How you take the song depends on where you are sitting on the wheel. No matter where you sit, this song leaves a lasting impression and has always helped to put things in perspective for me.
    Flag mrrighton March 25, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:i've listened to every mayer song, and analyzed them as well.
    being only 15, i think i've figured most of them out.
    i can play most of them on guitar too.
    but i've always overlooked this song. never one of my favorites, which is wierd,because i'm known as the girl obsessed with john mayer.
    but i heard him play this song live at the 3rd mayer show i went to, and the emotions are so amazing.
    there's so much behind it.
    i was nearly in tears when he played it, it was overwhelming.
    so much passion and meaning.
    i've finally got it, but i've only figured out what the lyrics mean to me, i think all of his songs mean different things to different people.
    but everyone can relate to almost all of his songs, so much talent.
    Flag brittlee4on September 16, 2008   Link

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