Barack Obama provided the lyrics of this song

By Dan Bloom

CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan –Quite a few Jewish songwriters have written famous Christmas songs that America listens to year after year. And taking my cue from them, I recently tried my hand at writing a Christian-themed NASCAR song, co-written with President Obama, as you will see as you continue reading this article.

I need to say right away that a recording artist in Texas, J. Gale Kilgore, did the honors the other day and out the words to music. Give it a listen. And pass it around to your friends, of all faiths. Who knows, President Obama might even get wind of this!

You see, part of my reading every day from my easy chair in Taiwan
is San Diego Jewish World, and I like to read through all the stories, the meaty ones as well as the lighter ones. After all, I am a part-time humorist and songwriter, and I love to read.

What caught my eye the other day at this website was a reprint from Washington of President Obama’s recent speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, and while I am not sure how many words the press release ran, I read every word because I like to see how the president and his speechwriters put those long speeches together. In this case, President Obama used both religiosity and humor to make his points, and I had a ball reading the speech in print, since I was not invited to the prayer breakfast itself.

One thing that caught my eye (and ear) since I love novelty songs and religious lyrics as well was a place in the speech where the president spoke to NASCAR Hall of Famer and driver Darren Waltrip who had been invited to give the keynote address at National Prayer Breakfast this year.

https://www.sdjewishworld.com/2015/02/07/obama-said-national-prayer-breakfast/

President Obama began his speech by praising the Lord, starting off:

“Thank you. Well, good morning. Giving all praise and honor to God.”

And then very quickly his trademark humor came into play as he waved to a famous monk from Tibet sitting at a distant table and said:

“I want to offer a special welcome to a good friend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama — who is a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion, who inspires us to speak up for the freedom and dignity of all human beings.  I’ve been pleased to welcome him to the White House on many occasions, and we’re grateful that he’s able to join us here today.”

“There aren’t that many occasions that bring His Holiness under the same roof as NASCAR,” the president added, an ad-libbed, off-the-cuff (or well-rehearsed beforehand) remark which was met with laugher in the cavernous hall. “This may be the first [time]. But God works in mysterious ways. And so I want to thank Darrell [Waltrip] for that wonderful presentation [earlier]. Darrell knows that when you’re going 200 miles an hour, a little prayer cannot hurt. I suspect that more than once, Darrell has had the same thought as many of us have in our own lives — Jesus, take the wheel. Although I hope that you kept your hands on the wheel when you were thinking that, [Darrell].”

Well, that was all I needed to start my engines that day in Taiwan. I took out a pen and a small writing pad, in the old-fashioned way as befits my age — I’m sliding up to 66 already and was born in the age of paper and pen — and started writing the some song lyrics that immediately sprang to mind after reading where Obama said  ”Darrell knows that when you’re going 200 miles an hour, a little prayer cannot hurt.”

That sentence struck a chord with me, even though I’m not Christian and not especially religious although I have deep Jewish roots and love Jewish stories. This is another one, but this time I’m writing it and reporting about myself. Go figure.

See, I love to write song lyrics even though none of them have ever been recorded. I just like the poetry and gracefulness of language. So I started writing fast and furious.  And when the president further said “I suspect that more than once, Darrell has had the same thought as many of us have in our own lives — Jesus, take the wheel,” I felt there was a song aborning here. And then this last sentence cemented the deal for me: “I hope that you kept your hands on the wheel when you were thinking that, [Darrell].”

So without thinking about what I was doing I wrote down these lyrics and gave President Obama a co-writing credit (a la the Paul McCartney and John Lennon writing team of Beatles fame) since it was really his words that inspired the song in the first place: a little prayer can’t hurt, especially at 200 mph on a race track and the idea, not part of my religious upbringing as a Jewish person but certainly a part of the very core of the Christian belief system, that maybe Jesus could take over the driving chores for a while and get you out of the mess you might find yourself in.

So I called my little ditty “Jesus, take the wheel” — with major credit to Mr Obama for sure, because it was his humor and words that inspired me — and began it this way:

”Darrell knows when you’re going two hundred/ a little prayer can’t hurt/ NASCAR’s fast and furious/ and you can always use a Jesus spurt.”

For the chorus I wrote:

”Jesus, take the wheel/

Yes, Jesus, take the wheel.”

Next verse:

“Drivin’ in the rain, drivin’ in the sun/ A little prayer never hurt/ Round and round and round they go/ It’s always good to catch a Jesus spurt.”

And the third verse:

”Hands on the wheel, and yes, a firm grip/ I’m holdin’ on, bitin’ my lip/ But at every turn, I know I’m safe/ Cause Someone Higher’s making sure I don’t slip.”

With this final refrain:

“Jesus, take the wheel/

Yes, Jesus, take the wheel/

O Jesus, when you’re ready/

Take the wheel, Take the wheel.”

I hope somebody records it someday. J. Gale Kilgore in Texas did a demo now and it’s fun. I co-wrote it with the president giving me the title and the tag lines and the chorus. And crooner Kilgore in Texas put the pedal to the metal and recorded a the song. That’s what I call serendipity.

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Bloom, based in Taiwan, is an inveterate web surfer.  Your signed comment may be posted in the space below or sent to dan.bloom@sdjewishworld.com