Wheelin'

© Stephen Savitzky. CC-by-nc-sa

Recordings:

Lyrics [pdf] [txt] [cho]

	C
When you s	ee her in the evening in a bright green dress

	F	C
Walking f	ast down the hallway you might never gu	ess

	C	G
That the l	ady has a weakness she's reluctant to conf	ess.

	C
No, you m	ight not notice when she's dancing reels

	F	C
That she m	ade it through the airport on a s	et of wheels,

	G	C	C7-E7
And she st	ill isn't certain that she likes the way that it f	eels.

F

With her l over right behind her lookin' tired but proud

C

They were wh eelin' their way through the airport crowd;

C G

And the w ay it made her feel made her want to weep out l oud.

C

'Cause they were c uttin' past the line at the TSA

F C

Asking h ealthy young people to get out of her way

G C G7

S avin' her strength to make it through another d ay.

When she has a good day she can walk a mile

Dance through the evening with grace and style

Greet her lover at the door with a tight embrace and a smile;

Next minute she's collapsing like she's half-way dead

With a fire in her body and an aching head

And she'll pay with pain and the rest of the weekend in bed.

So with her lover right beside her lookin' calm and cool

She walks up to the counter feeling like a fool

And tries to tell herself that a wheelchair's only a tool.

Soon she's wheelin' past the line at the TSA

Feeling weird watching people getting out of her way

But it's the easiest journey in years to the end of the day.

Well, her body is a battleground and life's a war,

And she's lost against her limits many times before;

But she's still fighting with a few new tricks in store;

Because a wheelchair is a weapon, not a mark of defeat

And she can stay standing longer with some time off her feet

The battle isn't over, and winning will be sweet.

With her lover right behind her lookin' fierce and proud

They'll be cutting a swath through the airport crowd

The way it makes her feel will make her want to laugh out loud.

'Cause she'll be wheelin' past the line at the TSA

Watchin' tough young punks scurry out of her way

Savin' her strength to make it through another day.

Yeah, savin' her strength--to fight another day.

Naomi Rivkis told me she'd come to ConChord if I promised to sing a song either by her or about her. The first two songs I tried to write fell apart and never came back together; this one's better anyway. Once I learned that she was booking a wheelchair to get through the airport it was only a matter of time.

This song is the answer to ``I can walk, damnit! What do I need a wheelchair for?''