this ol wheel keeps on rollin down the road this ol wheel keeps on rollin down the road oh gravel and dust fly up off of truck tires down a dirt road in nashville in the summertime in 1996 i was listenin to my dad and johnny cash doin chain gang and talkin trash with savannah and smokin cigarettes but it wasn t that long till i tasted the salt of the sea cause she was still in love with the guy she left for me so she stood there cryin as i packed my pack and i knew that i was lyin when i said that i d be back this ol wheel keeps on rollin down the road this ol wheel keeps on rollin down the road now fast forward to about 2000 and 3 i m standin on the corner of hollywood and vine just a six string and me and that capitol building lookin up at that thing wonderin when am i gonna get my chance to sing but faced with that kind of predicament it d be pretty hard not to get choked up when every hero i ve had has died and every band i had broke up i m invited to a party and i just can t come cause i know that once i m in i can t pull out till i m done this ol wheel keeps on rollin down the road this ol wheel keeps on rollin down the road in my last nine to ten old ah pook waltzed in put his slimy gun to my head and said son this is the end i said you better get back i got an army of good friends who would follow me to hell and i ve done the same for them besides you re not going to destroy what we ve worked so hard to defend we protect the things we love just like our families did we picked a long and winding course and we d do it again we picked a dark horse and we re gonna ride it till the end