Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” Lyrics Meaning

As the title implies, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” is a song based on a Christian theme. The narrative is centered on a lady who reads as if she is a young, single mother.  She is headed to her parents’ place with her “baby in the backseat” on a snowy Christmas Eve. And whereas this is generally a joyous time of year, her mindset is apparently the opposite as she has just endured “a long, hard year”. In fact being preoccupied with such thoughts causes her to take her mind off of the dangerous conditions of the road, which results in her “spinning on a thin black sheet of glass”. That reference is actually an allusion to black ice, a phenomenon in which basically a patch of road is covered in ice. And due to skidding on it as a result of speeding, this lady’s life (as well as her child’s) is logically in danger at that moment.

As a result of this peril, which occurs swiftly and unexpectedly, this woman, who feels powerless in the situation, “threw her hands up in the air” and basically prays to Jesus to save her life. Or as the song artistically puts it, she asks him to “take the wheel”, as in establish control over the car and stabilize its trajectory. And miraculously you could say, the car ends up resting peacefully on the shoulder of the road. And even more miraculously, the “baby in the backseat” wasn’t even aware that anything had transpired.

A life-altering event

But the whole incident has logically left the lady shaken.  In fact it was a life-changing event which caused her to make a vow to alter the way she conducts herself henceforth.  In other words, just as she asked Jesus to “take the wheel” of the car and guide it to safety, she is now asking him to play a similar role over her life in general.  This would imply that going into the future she will not strive to be self-willed nor let unfavorable aspects of her life overcome her mentally, especially considering that the metaphorical ‘road she’s on’ at the present is apparently one which can lead to an unfavorable outcome. Rather she will now have faith that a higher power will lead her in such a way that she can conduct her life safely, just as she believes it had done when the aforementioned vehicle which was out of control.

Who wrote “Jesus, Take the Wheel”?

This track was written by the following artists:

• Brett James
• Hillary Lindsey
• Gordie Sampson

And the song was produced by Mark Bright.

NOTE: Despite being one of her most famous songs, Underwood didn’t write “Jesus, Take the Wheel”.

When did “Jesus, Take the Wheel” come out?

It was released by Arista Records on 3 October 2005 as the lead single from Underwood’s maiden album, “Some Hearts”.

Music Video

This track’s official music video also served as the first music video Underwood made. It was directed by American video/film director Roman White.

The video was nominated for the coveted CMA Award in 2006 in the category of Music Video of the Year.  And whereas it didn’t take home that trophy, it did win a couple of CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards.  

Chart Performance

This track appeared on four of Billboard’s charts, including the Hot 100 where it peaked at number 20.  But more impressively it reached number 4 on their Christian Songs chart and also topped their Hot Country Songs listing.

And accordingly “Jesus, Take the Wheel” has been certified multi-Platinum in the United States.

Important Lesson from “Jesus, Take the Wheel”

It has been noted that the woman featured in this song did well by not hitting the brakes on the car once she went into a skid. But under such situations, we recommend that drivers let off the gas pedal and then steer the vehicle in the desired direction.