"Wagon Wheel - The Old Crow Medicine Show

Qigong = no pain

"Pain is just a state of mind”. Qigong is a Chinese term that describes different Chinese systems of physical and mental training for health, martial arts and self enlightenment. Shaolin Monks practice qigong, which allows them to block out pain completely. I think that pain is both physical and mental. Strength is not defined by eliminating pain, but by having the capacity to overcome it. I'm skeptical if one could actually "think" themselves out of pain, but I do believe there are mental techniques to reduce or manage it.

Ouch

A few weeks ago I was getting another tattoo done (definitely not my first) which took about 3 hours. At the beginning of the appointment I was tense, focusing on the pain, and could barely stop myself from crying. Please note my tattoo artist thought that was hilarious. I put my IPod on, and reminded myself to breathe and relax. I focused on the songs and my breathing, and almost instantly I felt some of the pain subside. When my IPod shuffled to "Wagon Wheel" by "The Old Crow Medicine Show", I recited all of the lyrics in my head and relaxed to the sound of the fiddle. I told my tattoo artist that I would keep "Wagon Wheel" on repeat until he finished my tattoo as incentive for him to hurry up (his taste in music being more of the metallic kind). I walked out of the tattoo shop with a sore arm, new ink, and a new-found love for "Wagon Wheel."

I have to give credit to my little brother again for turning me onto this song. He introduced it to me as, "this is the next song you will blog about." He was clearly right, (ughh) don't tell him. When I discovered that there was a nice Bob Dylan tie-in to this song I couldn't resist raving about it to all of you "High Fidelity" readers out there.

My Hero

Bob Dylan originally recorded "Rock Me Mama" (The song's original title) for the "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" movie soundtrack. Dylan left the song unfinished (The chorus from "Wagon Wheel" is his) and "Rock Me Mama" was later released on one of his Bootleg CD's. Ketch Secor, lead vocalist for The Old Crow Medicine Show, picked up what Dylan had started and finished the song's lyrics in what he describes as a partially autobiographical reference to his own life. The song tells the story of a man who travels from New England, through Philadelphia, down the eastern coast of the United States, ending up in Raleigh, North Carolina where he hopes to see his lover. Secor sings "If I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free." Bob Dylan approved of the song and is listed as a co-writer along with Secor. O.C.M.S performed it for the legend himself on Dylan's 60th Birthday. 

"Wagon Wheel" has become the anthem for O.C.M.S, but Secor says that the song originates prior to the bands formation.

"I heard a Dylan song that was unfinished back in high school and I finished it . . As a serious Bob Dylan fan, I was listening to anything he had put on tape, and this was an outtake of something he had mumbled out on one of those tapes. I sang it all around the country from about 17 to 26, before I ever even thought, 'oh I better look into this.'"

Old Crow Medicine Show

Old Crow Medicine Show was discovered while they were busking outside of a pharmacy in North Carolina by the daughter of country/folk legend Doc Watson. Doc Watson invited the band to take part in his annual MerleFest.  That break led to a mentorship between the band and Marty Stuart, President of the Grand Ole Opry, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. From that point on the band began releasing albums, touring and rocking all around the country like a "Wagon Wheel."



Headed down south to the land of the pines

And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
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

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

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

Oh, the North country winters keep a-gettin' me now
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

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

Walkin' to the 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 got to 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


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