"Wagon Wheel" is the title of a song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 originally sketched by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

 and later completed by Old Crow Medicine Show

Old Crow Medicine Show

Old Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...

. Old Crow Medicine Show's version was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America

Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 in November 2011.

Content

The song describes a hitchhiking journey south along the eastern coast of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, from New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 in the north-east, through Philadelphia, with the intended destination of Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, where the protagonist hopes to see his lover.

Background and writing

"Wagon Wheel" is composed of two different parts. The chorus for the song comes from a Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

 outtake from the soundtrack for the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a 1973 Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. Co-star Bob Dylan composed multiple songs for the movie's score and the album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid was released the same year.The film was noted for...

. Although never officially released, the Dylan song was released on a bootleg and is usually named after the chorus and its refrain of "Rock Me Mama." Although Dylan left the song an unfinished sketch, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show wrote verses for the song around Dylan's original chorus. Secor's additional lyrics transformed "Rock Me Mama" into "Wagon Wheel." Secor has stated the song is partially autobiographical. The song has become extremely popular since its inclusion on Old Crow Medicine Show's major label debut, O.C.M.S. in 2004, although the song appeared in earlier form on the now out of print "Troubles Up and Down the Road" EP in 2001. The official publishing information is Dylan/Secor.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it an A+ rating, calling it "one of country music's all-time great sing-alongs."
The song is extremely popular at North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

 due to the song's numerous mentions of Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, where North Carolina State University is located. "Wagon Wheel" is widely used by students and fans as a unofficial Fight Song

Fight song

A fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...

 at Sporting Events and Tailgate party

Tailgating

Tailgating is the practice of driving on a road too close to the vehicle in front, at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible...

.

The song is tremendously popular in Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

. Known locally as, "Huntsville's favorite song," it can be found on most jukeboxes in local bars and is covered by many local music acts. The song is also extremely popular in Johnson City, Tennessee

Johnson City, Tennessee

Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...

, which is mentioned in the third verse.

In Nashville, TN the song is widely considered the new "Free Bird" commonly requested to local cover bands. All across downtown Nashville "Wagon Wheel" can be heard at every bar every night of the week.

Other Versions

The song has since been covered by numerous artists, including:The Menzingers

The Menzingers

- Biography :The Menzingers formed in the wake of Scranton ska-punk bands "Bob and the Sagets" and Kos Mos...

, The Chicken Pickers, Great American Taxi, Against Me!

Against Me!

Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida and relocated to Gainesville, Florida in 1999. Their first full-length album, released on No Idea Records in 2002, was Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose. They have released music on Misanthrope Records, Crasshole Records,...

, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers is an American rock band formed in Western Massachusetts in 2003. The band features lead singer Stephen Kellogg , bassist and keyboard player Kit 'The Goose' Karlson, drummer Boots Factor, and electric guitar/pedal steel player Sam 'Steamer' Getz...

, Little Feat

Little Feat

Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....

, Donegal X-Press

Donegal X-Press

The Donegal X-Press is a Celtic rock band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1997. In recent years, the band has incorporated a distinct country/roots rock sound into their brand of Irish music, although they have always been known for their eclectic mix of musical styles.-Band history:The Donegal...

, Like Men Who Dreamed, Dylan Ortego, Chris Jett, Coyote Grace, Chris Pureka

Chris Pureka

Chris Pureka is an American acoustic singer-songwriter from Northampton, Massachusetts. Raised in Connecticut, she began writing songs at the age of eight and began playing the guitar at 16. She soon became a frequent performer at local coffee houses and open mics...

, David McMillin

David McMillin

David McMillin is an American singer-songwriter. McMillin began writing songs when he was in high school in Southern Indiana. He eventually went to college at DePauw University and majored in Creative Writing....

, Jeremy McComb

Jeremy McComb

Jerome "Jeremy" McComb is an American country music artist and former tour manager for comedian Larry the Cable Guy. In 2008, he signed to Parallel/New Revolution Records and released his debut album My Side of Town that year. This album produced the singles "Wagon Wheel", "This Town Needs a Bar"...

, Matt Andersen, Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band. The band consists of Marcus Mumford , Ben Lovett , Country Winston Marshall , and Ted Dwane...

, Bodega

Bodega (band)

Bodega is a Scottish band based in Glasgow, formed in March 2005. Its members met while they were studying together at the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton, Scotland, from which they all graduated...

, Pat Buzzard of Saving Jane

Saving Jane

Saving Jane is a band from Columbus, Ohio who are most famous for their hit songs "Girl Next Door", "Come Down To Me", and "SuperGirl".-2002-2008: Girl Next Door, One Girl Revolution & SuperGirl:...

, and McCormack and Lowry . Joe Rood and Robby Mason of Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys have also covered Wagon Wheel as an acoustic/harmonica duo. The indie rock group Red Wanting Blue

Red Wanting Blue

Red Wanting Blue is a rock and roll band that formed in Athens, Ohio in 1996. In 1999 Scott Terry moved the band from Athens to Columbus, Ohio, the city Red Wanting Blue now calls home. For the last decade Red Wanting Blue has been widely known across the US as an explosive live act to follow,...

 often performs a popular cover of this song at their live shows.

Several evening campfire programs at Philmont Scout Ranch

Philmont Scout Ranch

Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, New Mexico, covering approximately of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico...

, including the programs at Pueblano, Clarks Fork, and Cyphers Mine, perform mashup versions of the song.

Jason Webley

Jason Webley

Jason Webley is an American musician known for his fusion of folk, experimental and alternative music. He began as a busker, playing accordion in the streets of Seattle, Washington, but has since moved in-doors and on stage, playing various venues....

 and Reverend Peyton

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band is a three-piece American country blues band from Brown County, Indiana. They play more than 250 dates per year at venues ranging from bars to festivals. To date, they have released seven albums, the most recent is Peyton on Patton a tribute to blues pioneer...

recorded a version of the song, titled "Rock Me Mama", which sticks more closely to the "Pat Garrett" out-take and is credited to just Bob Dylan.

The Band performed the song at the Station Inn in Nashville in 2001, as part of a series of songs commemorating Bob Dylan's 60th birthday.