"Between the Wheels" is a song by the Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

. It was released on their 1984 album '' Grace Under Pressure''.

Composition and recording

"Between the Wheels" was composed in the key of A minor, and is played in common time. News stories from the Toronto-based newspaper ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' inspired the song's lyrics. The line "Another lost generation" is from a quote by

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

used by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

at the beginning of ''

The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...

''. Bill Banasiewicz in the book ''Rush Visions'' said:

"Between the Wheels" is about pressure, and returns to the gloom of much of the rest of ''Grace Under Pressure''. Alex's guitar really jumps out. A lyric from the song puts across what they all must have felt at the time. "We can go from boom to bust . . . from dreams to a bowl of dust".

Reception

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

rated "Between the Wheels" 5/5, and called the song's guitar solo excellent, and wrote that it had "terrific emotion". Odyssey also praised the intro, writing that it starts with an "unsettling synth", and that " Neil's drumming is powerful from the start. Lifeson's guitar is outstanding and full of life from the beginning. Geddy's vocal delivery is outstanding as he sings with that personality and passion that makes him great". ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' ranked the song number 80 on their list of "All 167 Rush Songs Ranked Worst to Best", writing "there's nothing wrong with 'Between the Wheels', but it's hard to shake the feeling that Rush – and, well, other bands – have presented this same song more effectively in the past". ''Louder'' ranked the song number 47 on their list of the top 50 Rush songs.

References

{{authority control 1984 songs Songs written by Geddy Lee Songs written by Alex Lifeson Songs written by Neil Peart Rush (band) songs