[Intro]
*(Piano arpeggios with subtle Hammond swell, distant hall clapping/cheering)*
*(Female backup singers: soft "Mm-hmm, yeah...")*
[Verse 1 - Male]
Sun cracked the sidewalk, dust on my boots
Thought I knew every stone, every twisted root
Then a basket dropped, bushel of greens
Looked up – ten years gone, faded jeans.
Your laugh, same old creek over smooth worn stone.
"Still ride that old Schwinn?" I asked, feeling alone
In a crowded square. You just patted the seat.
"Chain's rusty," you grinned, "but it still finds the street."
[Verse 2 - Female]
Found your toolbox open, grease on your thumb
Fixing what wobbled, silencing the hum
Of loose spokes singing. That old, patient frown...
Like patching my roof when the storm blew down.
You handed a wrench, cool weight in my palm.
"Remember the hill?" You chased off the calm.
That climb near the river, where pines scrape the blue...
"Yeah," I breathed, "You pushed me. Then I pulled you."
[Chorus - Male & Female Together]
**Oh, we roll on, wheels and water!
Smooth the stones that this world brought ya.
You lift the load when my axle’s bent,
Show me the path *my* own strength went!
Yeah, we roll on! (Backup: Roll on, yeah!)
Wheels and water! (Backup: Water flowin'!)
Trading burdens that we've been showin'
Without even knowin'...**
*(Saxophone enters softly beneath last line)*
[Verse 3 - Male]
You showed me the trick, the loose spoke's song,
How tightening one makes the whole wheel strong.
I fixed your flat tire down by the mill,
Rain coming sideways, sky turning ill.
Cold metal fingers, shared pocket k***e –
Cutting the patch to fit a shared life.
[Verse 4 - Female]
You talked of your father, hands rough as bark,
Teaching you engines in the gathering dark.
Said, "What he gave me, I just pass along."
Oil on your fingers, steady and strong.
I saw my own mother, planting her seeds
In my stubborn ground, fulfilling old needs
She never named... just watered the dirt.
The lesson takes root where the giving hurt.
[Chorus - Male & Female Together, More Force]
**Oh, we roll on, wheels and water!
Smooth the stones that this world brought ya!
You lift the load when my axle’s bent,
Show me the path *my* own strength went!
Yeah, we roll on! (Backup: Roll on, higher now!)
Wheels and water! (Backup: Deep and wide!)
Trading burdens that we've been showin'
Without even knowin'...**
*(Full drums enter, Hammond swells, brass accents)*
[Bridge - Female Backup Singers with Blues Runs]
**(Ooh, the tool you lend... (Ah-ah-ah-ah!)
Mends a break you didn't make... (Yeah, yeah!)
The well you dig deep... (Dig it down now!)
Quenches a thirst you can't keep... (Let it flow!)**
*(Male & Female Ad-lib over backup: "Yeah!", "Pass it on!", "Feel it turn!")*
**(The weight you carry... (Heavy, Lord!)
Becomes the strength somebody borrows... (Find your way!)**
[Guitar Solo]
*(Distorted Les Paul solo: bluesy bends, melodic phrasing building in intensity, trading licks with boogie-woogie piano runs. Hammond B3 and brass provide warm, swirling support. Dynamic build.)*
[Final Chorus - Male & Female Together, Key Shift Up, Full Choir & Brass]
**(FULL GOSPEL CHOORUS ENTERS)**
**OH, WE ROLL ON!! (Roll on, children!)**
**WHEELS AND WATER!! (River rise!)**
**SMOOTH THE STONES THAT THIS WORLD BROUGHT YA!! (Smooth it out!)**
**YOU LIFT THE LOAD WHEN MY AXLE’S BENT, (Lift him up!)**
**SHOW ME THE PATH *MY* OWN STRENGTH WENT!! (Show the way!)**
**YEAH, WE ROLL ON! (Keep on rollin'!) WHEELS AND WATER! (Never stop!)**
**TRADING BURDENS THAT WE'VE BEEN SHOWIN' (Trading grace!)**
**WITHOUT EVEN KNOWIN'... (Didn't even know!)**
*(Massive vocal harmony climax, driving drums, full brass section w/ reverb, soaring Les Paul sustain)*
[Outro]
**(Choir & Backups: Sustain "Knowin'... Ohhh...")**
*(Music gradually pulls back: Piano re-emerges, bass holds warm notes, brass fades to muted swells)*
*(Male & Female, spoken softly, almost talking to each other over fading piano)*
**Male:** "Handlebar's straight now..."
**Female:** "Grease washes off..."
**Both:** (Quietly) "We roll on..."
*(Final piano chord, subtle Hammond, single soft cymbal swell, distant hall reverb fades to silence)*
Rawkin Rolla