"FERRIS WHEEL" (Back-story, Lyrics, and Link to Song on YouTube)

 

Ferris Wheel (Back-Story, Lyrics, and Link to song on YouTube)

Back-story:

I am a big fan of Stephen King.  To be clear, I am not an expert or a fanatic.  I have not read everything he has written, and I have no intention to try.  Here’s why I like the guy.  He’s dedicated to his craft, being prolific as ever,writing 2000 words every day and still going strong in his’70s.  He’s a former teacher, a good one who had a stronger call to be a writer.  Jake Epping, the terrific teacher in King’s work, 11/22/63, truly reflects King’s life as a teacher, and the book gives us a good look at the qualities a good educator should possess.  King was a guitar player in the now defunct Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock group composed of well-known writers including Greg Isle and David Berry, two of my favorites.  He has great taste in music.  When he writes, He listens to guys like John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan, favorites of mine, too.  However, of all of his traits that attract me to him, it’s his sincerity that grabs me the most.  His genuine nature best comes through in his book, ON WRITING, a nonfiction work including his biography and tips for those who wish to be writers.  To sum it up quickly, because this guy has been such a great inspiration to me, I am so grateful his book HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, my all-time favorite of his works, triggered the writing of “Ferris Wheel.”  Now, here is how it happened.

HEARTS IN ATLANTIS is a series of novellas that follows the lives of Bobby Garfield, Carol Gerber,and John (Sully) Sullivan from 1960 to around 2000.  The opening novella focusses on these three enjoying the summerafter finishing the sixth grade.  While the summer has its problems and complications, it contains the fun, joy, and innocence experienced by many kids at that age.  When the summer comes to an end,  Bobby and his mother move away to another town, and Carol and John eventually lose track of each other after high school.  The subsequent novellas contain a common thread. They connect back to the problematic events these three experienced during that memorable summer in Harwich, Connecticut.

During that summer Bobby and Carol have crushes on each other, and like most kids that age, they keep their feelings to themselves.  However, when they are at a seaside amusement park, with some adults and other kids, they get on a Ferris Wheel and sit with each other.  The Ferris Wheel gets stuck while they are sitting at the top, and while they are just waiting, out of nowhere, Bobby quickly kisses Carol.  Carol, because she is so caught off guard, tells Bobby to do it again, so that she can savor the kiss. The moment is a heart-warming one and the epitome of innocence. Oddly enough, it never occurs for them again during the rest of the summer.  The next time they kiss is when they meet up many years later in the final novella.  Between these two kisses, the book is filled with stories connected to Bobby, Carol, and Sully and the difficult issues of the 1960s, events probably most appealing to Baby Boomers.

I read HEARTS IN ATLANTIS several times, and every time I read it the scene on the Ferris Wheel always triggered a time of innocence for me. It took me back to when I was in the 5^th Grade in Saugerties, NY.  Three weeks into the school year a new girl moved into town, and she joined our class.  The moment I saw her the magic hit me, and I was in love for the first time.  For the next few years, I walked or rode my bike by her house, hoping she would be on her porch or in her yard.  When she was, we talked, and oh,  those moments were grand for me.  Unlike Bobby and Carol, we never kissed, and eventually, I stopped going by her house.  In King’s book, Bobby and Carol run into each other in their old neighborhood park many years later, and they share another  magical kiss.  In my home town, my fifth-grade crush and I ran into each other at a party when we were in our mid-fifties, and memories of those  pristine days of elementary school came back to me instantly.  It was great to talk with her, and it was good to see life had gone well for the both of us.   Even now, whenever I am going through trying times, I sometimes find myself thinking about those innocent talks at her house, and the sweet memories of those days comfort me. 

My experience with my first love and the power it still has today got me thinking about Bobby and Carol and their first kiss.  Did they ever return to that moment when they were confronting difficult issues?  The novellas never addressed this moment, but I would like to think Bobby and Carol, like me, returned to it when they needed solace.  Realizing these beautiful moments of innocence were not unique to Bobby, Carol, and me, started the wheels rolling for a new song. I wanted a song that would illustrate how reflecting on beautiful, innocent moments transcended time and held it together for us when we were going through difficult periods in our lives.  The chorus came to me first, and after it developed, I simply reinforced it with Bobby and Carol’s story.

After Siobhan and I created the basic tracks with her bass and my guitar and vocals, we turned to our SAMMY Award winning, ace studio musician, Perry Cleaveland,  for some filler and lead work.  Most people in our area know Perry for his incredible mandolin and fiddle playing, but they do not know he is an awesome piano player, too.  Coincidentally, we were storing Siobhan’s sister’s keyboard in our basement.  We set it up and turned Perry loose.  The touch he added to the song with this instrument was simply beautiful; so, even if you are not taken by the back-story and lyrics, please check out the recording.  After Perry also added some great fiddle and harmony to the  song, our long-time friend, Maria Gillard, stopped by the basement and enhanced the song with a sensational harmony.  We finished up with me adding some harmonica and electric guitar filler.  Siobhan then went to work doing what she does best, tirelessly mixing and mastering the recording until she got it to where we all liked it.  I hope it appeals to you, too.

 

Lyrics:

Verse 1:

Bobby and Carol grew up living on the same street

Whenever they were together, life couldn’t be more complete

They fell in love for the first time in the summer after sixth grade

Everyone thought their romance was one that heaven had made

Their story simply started with neither having a plan

They were just on a Ferris Wheel looking out over the land

As they took in the scenery, the Ferris Wheel came to a stop

They glanced at the sky and the ocean from sitting way up at the top

While they sat there just glazing, they caught each other’s eyes

Bobby quickly kissed Carol, taking her by surprise

Carol, she got all flustered, not knowing what to do then

But it didn’t take her too long to tell Bobby to do it again

 

Chorus:

And that kiss went on forever, transcending space and time

Its beauty and its magic so simple and sublime

The two felt as we all feel, and they did what we all do

They returned to that sweet moment when they needed to get through

 

Verse 2:

Bobby and Carol’s romance sadly came to an end

Bobby had to move away; they swore they would stay friends

For some time they wrote letters to keep what they had alive

But pen and paper were not enough for their love to survive

Carol went on to high school, her courses all advanced

She was the perfect student, Cheerleader, queen of the dance

Bobby, on the other hand, he took another path

Cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol were more exciting than math

Despite their different directions, each of them carved out a life

Carol became a professor; Bobby had three kids with his wife

For the most part, their lives went well, no drama or major ordeals

But at times when things got rough, they returned to that Ferris Wheel

 

Chorus:

 

Verse 3:

Forty years flew by ‘til Bobby saw Carol again

They returned to the home town for a funeral of an old friend

At the church and the grave site, neither saw the other there

The ceremony ended, final condolences shared

Before Bobby headed back home, he went to the old neighborhood

To the park where he played baseball, and rode his bike through the woods

As he sat on that park bench, these words came to his mind

“If you swear, I won’t walk with you.” something Carol said all the time

Bobby’s thoughts were not imagined; they came from a voice that was real

From the girl standing behind him, the one from the Ferris Wheel

Not a word was spoken, when they caught each other’s eyes

But this time it was Carol who came through with the stunning surprise

 

Chorus: (two times)

 

Here is a link to the song on YouTube.  It’s an auto generated video created by CD Baby, our distributor.  If an ad appears when the link opens, click to dismiss it, and the song will start.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWbvauDgV5c&list=OLAK5uy_lKQ6DKjn_qKvAdU5tCD42gWuNb0g_MVW0