Journey – Wheel in the Sky

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  My Interpretation:The wheel in the sky is the inevitable passage of time - as others have said, the sun traveling across the sky has often been described as being on a wheel or a sphere. It's something that can't be stopped or changed ("keeps on turning"), even if we want it to slow down.
  
  I dont have much to add.... just wanted to point out "Made of silver not of clay" is a biblical reference, to Timothy 2:20, "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay." The allegory refers to that there are some people who are very important and honored to you, for whom you bring out your best tableware.
  
  And "Don't think I'm ever gonna make it home again," I think this is a turn on that expression, 'you can never go home again.' This refers to the idea that once you leave a place, time and experience change you, and coming back to it will never feel the same.

  Flag jancolaon February 10, 2013   Link

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• +1
  General Comment:I agree with most of the posts. It's about life on the road. Constantly touring and getting sick of it and wanting to just be home

  Flag archer1203on October 31, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:Also - now that i think about
  it could also be interpreted about TIME passing, but is in the military writing his lady a letter while he is away and doesn't know where hell be cause they just keep moving during war/getting moved and he could be dead.

  Flagged Cillian316on June 08, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:It seems like it is about a man, lost as most of you say. It seems like he may be in prison or jail - "Winter is here again oh lord,
  Haven't been home in a year or more" - he is away from locked up home, 2nd winter the start of the new year. "I hope she holds on a little longer, Sent a letter on a long summer day" could be a reference to him sending his lover who is waiting for him on the other side a letter in the months previous to winter and obv his concern as if she hasn't wrote him back. "Made of silver, not of clay" with the more time that passes, he is growing colder and harder. he isnt trying to manipulate his emotions in the letters (like you would clay) to make himself sound like he is doing better than he is, or even talking about his emotions. He is naturally evolving to his surroundings and the ppl surrounding him - and his letters are becoming rigid/simple. "I've been runnin' down this dusty road" how dirt kicks up considering all of the things he has done.
  
  "The wheel in the sky keeps on turning" is a reference to TIME. He looks up, and from below/his vantage point, the sky is turning as the clouds move overhead. TIME is the main concern of the song cause he wants to get out and get home (in reference to everyone who says he lost, which he is mentally). He doesnt know where he'll be tomorrow cause its dangerous, hes hoping to get home, but he could be in the ground/dead considering the people he is surrounded by.
  
  "I'm stranded in the sleet and rain" for when he is in the yard and the weather is shitty.
  "Don't think I'm ever gonna make it home again The mornin' sun is risin' It's kissin the day". Once again the reference to time wasting away, another day/night past without his love/home and when the sun rises, he is in his cell and the sun is kissing the day goodbye in his eyes.
  
  C

  Flag Cillian316on June 08, 2012   Link

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• 0
  General Comment:I am going to refine my above post:
  
  I think it is about a guy who once had great faith in God and Jesus and how the world has been making him lose it and about his struggle to get back to the faith he once had.
  
  Winter is here again oh Lord, - life is getting tougher; Satin is attacking me
  Haven't been home in a year or more - haven't felt true faith in a long time
  I hope she holds on a little longer - my faith is fading quickly
  
  Sent a letter on a long summer day - a prayer for help in regaining the faith he once had
  Made of silver, not of clay - an earnest prayer
  I've been runnin' down this dusty road - the world is getting in the way choking him as he runs determined to find God again
  
  Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin' - life/God won't wait for me; it keeps moving along
  I don't know where I'll be tomorrow - heaven or hell
  Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
  
  I've been trying to make it home - get my faith back
  Got to make it before too long - don't have much time left; the end is near
  I can't take this very much longer - living in this world being attacked by Satin
  I'm stranded in the sleet and rain - lost soul; can't see the right direction
  Don't think I'm ever gonna make it home again - losing hope in his ability to get back to God
  The mornin' sun is risin' - a new day is coming; the lord will return and bring salvation and death to non-believers and those lacking faith
  It's kissing the day

  Flag eclectricon August 04, 2011   Link

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    eclectric - i can definitely relate and agree with your interpretation as well

    Flag Cillian316on June 08, 2012  
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  General Comment:I think it is part religious
  
  Winter is here again oh Lord, - things are getting tough in life again
  Haven't been home in a year or more - no church and little prayer
  I hope she holds on a little longer - the angels/God; my soul
  
  
  Sent a letter on a long summer day - a prayer
  Made of silver, not of clay
  I've been runnin' down this dusty road - living in this world of sin
  
  
  Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin' - Heaven/ God; a spaceship? time...
  I don't know where I'll be tomorrow - will I go to heaven?
  Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
  
  I've been trying to make it home - to God and obedience to his will
  Got to make it before too long - not much time left to save my soul
  I can't take this very much longer - the world is too hard to live in
  I'm stranded in the sleet and rain - lost soul
  Don't think I'm ever gonna make it home again
  The mornin' sun is risin' - Jesus
  It's kissing the day - salvation

  Flag eclectricon August 04, 2011   Link

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  Song Meaning:There are many spiritual, astrological and astronomical "wheels" in different cultures and religions...but I don't think the "wheel in the sky" in this song is a reference to any specific one of them. The songwriter was likely just going after the poetic imagery of a lone person, caught up in a vast wheel of time/heavens/cosmos. They were trying to express the feeling of having events in your life determined by forces beyond your control.

  Flag nunquamon July 06, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Simply their best song.

  Flag TheCranberriesLoveron August 08, 2010   Link

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• +2
  General Comment:I think the song is talking about Ezekiel's wheel, the wheel within a wheel in the sky. The wheel represents how Ezekiel explained his vision of God in words. The lonely traveler is acknowledging God's continual presence and is taking comfort in that.

  Flag stephanoon June 30, 2010   Link

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  My Interpretation:Could the wheel in the sky be a storm front? I know this might be too literal, but think it over. Winter in some parts of the country is mild and rainy. Winter storms can keep planes on the ground. Who really doesn't know where they will be tomorrow? If you're stuck in an airport during a storm and no one knows when it will be safe enough to fly, you certainly don't know where you will be tomorrow. Who likes being stuck in an airport waiting to board a plane? You're thinking "I can't take this very much longer", just like he says in the song. He also says "I'm stranded in the sleet and rain". Plus, he doesn't need to look at his watch again because "the mornin' sun is risin'"; a new day is beginning and the storm has not passed.

  Flag Exmoor73on May 15, 2010   Link

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