The wheel is turning"If the thunder don't get you
and you can't slow down
You can't let go
and you can't hold on
You can't go back
and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you
then the lightning will
Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?
Won't you try just a little bit harder?
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?
then the lightning will."
For decades, I've pondered this sentence. Isn't light faster than sound? Wouldn't you see the lightning first before hearing the thunder afterwards? And what exactly is "get you" supposed to mean? It sounds bad ... but is it?
This morning, at synagogue, I think I may have figured it out. Synagogue may seem to be a strange place to have a Grateful Dead epiphany but hey, "Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
I was reading the Exodus story when, whoa, I'm staring at Chapter 20, Verse 15: '
"All the people saw the thunder and the lightning ..."Two very interesting - and relevant - aspects of this Biblical verse.
First - parallel to The Wheel - the thunder precedes the lightning.
Second - the people did not "hear" the thunder" - they "saw" [Hebrew: ro-im] it.
So what we have here is a highly unusual parallel sentence structure between Exodus and the Wheel. One that can be explained both poetically and physically by understanding that we're not talking here of "hearing" the thunder but of "seeing" it via synesthesia (itself an experience all of us who have tripped can identify with).
Finally, consider that in Exodus, the people weren't in danger, or afraid, of being "hit" directly by the thunder or lightning, rather, when the thunder and lightning "got" them, they "fell back and stood at a distance" respectfully as Moses approached God. Moses then told the people (paraphrasing), "Don't be afraid, you're in no danger of being hit, it's just a test so you stay on a good path."
As we know, Hunter used many Biblical themes in his work. I believe this is one of those instances where his imagery and poetry were Biblically influenced. The thunder and the lightning are not meant to "get" us by harming us. They're meant to get us by reminding us "to try a little bit harder, to try a little bit more."
My 1st album, Galvanic Samurai:
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/galvanic-samurai
My 2nd album, Traffic in the Moonlight:
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/traffi ... -moonlight
My 3rd album, So Glad I Came:
- coming Nov. 26, 2023 -
Jerry would be the first to tell us, "I never spent my life slavishly copying anyone."
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/galvanic-samurai
My 2nd album, Traffic in the Moonlight:
https://jonsilberman.hearnow.com/traffi ... -moonlight
My 3rd album, So Glad I Came:
- coming Nov. 26, 2023 -
Jerry would be the first to tell us, "I never spent my life slavishly copying anyone."