Slang dictionary
Jesus take the wheel
What does Jesus take the wheel mean?
Jesus take the wheel is a request for divine intervention. It is sometimes used seriously, and sometimes used humorously.
Where does Jesus take the wheel come from?
Jesus take the wheel had some scattered use in online forums and sermons in the early 2000s, including a 2000 Usenet post and a 2004 webpage called How Can I Know God? which advocates 鈥渃learing out of the driver’s seat and letting Jesus take the wheel.鈥� The expression, however, was popularized and expanded by a 2005 Carrie Underwood Christian-country song of the same title. While she may have been influenced by earlier uses, Underwood may well have developed the expression independently.
The song tells the story of a woman who loses control of her car when driving home and prays for Jesus to literally, and figuratively, 鈥渟teer鈥� her life: 鈥淛esus, take the wheel / Take it from my hands / 鈥楥ause I can鈥檛 do this on my own.鈥�
The song made the top spot on Billboard 100鈥檚 Hot Country chart, won two Grammys, and was awarded Single of the Year at the Academy of Country Music awards.
While Underwood鈥檚 鈥�Jesus, Take the Wheel鈥� was appreciated by the country music community, it was also parodied by the internet. Spoofs of 鈥�Jesus, Take The Wheel鈥� included
a 2010 image on a Christian blog featuring Jesus and Carrie Underwood in a car, and 2011 rage comic by a Reddit user, and other memes which interpret Jesus taking the wheel literally (with an image of a truck missing a wheel), or offensively (showing a group of Latino men, captioned: 鈥淛esus, take the wheel / Carlos take the stereo鈥�).
Apart from its use as a meme, Jesus take the wheel spread into the popular lexicon as both a serious and light-hearted plea for help by 2007. A 2015 country song by Sam Outlaw alluded to Underwood鈥檚 hit track with its title and chorus: 鈥淛esus, take the wheel / and drive bar.鈥�
Examples of Jesus take the wheel
Who uses Jesus take the wheel?
Like other religious-based interjections or exclamations such as Jesus Christ! or God help me, Jesus take the wheel can be uttered or written genuinely or ironically in exasperation, excitement (as if one鈥檚 lost control over themselves) exhaustion, anger, or resignation. In some cases, it鈥檚 used as an earnest prayer for divine help when one feels helpless or lost: 鈥淢y daughter鈥檚 in surgery. Jesus, take the wheel!鈥� Jesus take the wheel is also used an expression used to convey improvisation or letting things happen as they may.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Jesus take the wheel like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Jesus take the wheel that will help our users expand their word mastery.