Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

This is one I've pondered a good long time, so I thought I'd put it out here for discussion.

One of my favorite Lightfoot tunes "If It Should Please You", has a repeating line that ends with a reference to a "flywheel". As noted in the copy below...

"So I'm itching to please you, with a topical song
And a few golden oldies and a little hoedown
And I think I know how to make you feel
We're one and the same now, like a big flywheel"

So, what do you suppose he means by "We're one and the same now, like a big flywheel" ?

I have something of an understanding of what a flywheel is/does, but I'm kind of at a loss as to what Gord means here....

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

From Microsoft's "Bookshelf"...

flywheel

flywheel (flì´hwêl´, -wêl´) noun
1. A heavy-rimmed rotating wheel used to minimize variations in angular velocity and revolutions per minute, as in a machine subject to fluctuation in drive and load.
2. An analogous device, especially one used to regulate the speed of clockwork.

++++++

I'll go with #2 difinition... but I still don't know exactly what he means!!!!

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

Pete,

I'd go with the first definition. Another way of saying it, is that a flywheel sort of keeps everything in sync. So a flywheel attempts to keep things, "one and the same."

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

yes i'm with both of ya - I was gonna say its the heavy gyro action in a car's flywheel -its in the drivetrain B4 the tranny - and its maybe a ft. in diameter on ole v8's - havn't scene a 4-bangers smaller flywheel - but here is a useful analogy - the gyro action while spinning on one 'plane' - like in geometry,

imagin if u ever took your bike wheel off as a kid, held the axle bolts, and have your friend spin it fast in your hands - you won't even be able to tilt it off-axis in three dimensions its very powerful - and when combined in 3 diifferent planes of rotation - thats what forms a gymbal-gyro in early rockets - to keep them on track straight. It id one demostration of conservation of momentum or anyway :)

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

A smooth-running machine.......Gordon and his band like "playin' in tune, on time", and so reference to "a big flywheel" would just simply mean things running well.

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

Oh. Yeah. Then Dear Hubby had to explain a "dealing shoe"....[/QUOTE]


And as for me, I had to look it up...I'm not a card player or gambler, so I had no idea what a "dealing shoe was".......

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

An important characteristic of a flywheel is that it stores a LOT of energy in the form of inertia.
It takes a lot of energy to change its motion, also.

Some deep symbolism there in the last line:
"I been around so long Lord, I guess I'm here to stay
We're one and the same now, let's take it away "

short take:
"I been this way a long time, and don't plan on changing..."

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

It just so happens I was at a 1984 show (Chicago, Mill Run Theater, Niles, IL to be exact, April 13... check it out on Wayne's site: http://www.lightfoot.ca/1984.htm
and I agree the absolute best show starter!

and I checked out "dealing shoe" as earlier mentioned and found: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_(cards)
pretty much explains it all...

But the flywheel analogy still stumps me... and the "We're" part??? is that all of us or does "we" mean Gord and his band???

Dang, it's too earlier in the morning for such deep thoughts...

just another example of, to use Gords words..."And if you meet him you must be
The victim of his minstrelsy "...

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

The flywheel stores up rotation energy during the power impulses of the engine. It releases this energy between power impulses, thus assuring less fluctuation in engine speed and smoother engine operation. The size of the flywheel will vary with the number of cylinders and the general construction of the engine. With the large number of cylinders and the consequent overlapping of power impulses, there is less need for a flywheel; consequently, the flywheel can be relatively small. The flywheel rim carries a ring gear, either integral with or shrunk on the flywheel, that meshes with the starter driving gear for cranking the engine.

...the above was pasted from some engine geek (no, not I) site

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

I think you've highlighted one of his more interesting similes.

My old plow tractor has had a problem with the starter driver gear meshing with the ring gear, mainly resulting in my having to manually plow more than usual this past winter.

It did not please me.

Re: Flywheel? what do you suppose he means?
 

Peterbro10 - I know I have posted allready - spoke of angular momentum, smoothing out, but I know I think you are still searching for the analogy he was using in the lyrics - MistyMoppins had a good comment on those lines, and I would add: - key word - momentum - from the physics of the flywheel, and the analogy I think Gordmight have been playing on - the audience, the band, and Gord, all together when everything's tight, and we're all all spinnin' together with the clockwork precision AND the heavy common momentum - still I think the key word that ties it all together.

PeterBro10 - thats 2 times in 2 years now you've spoken of 'too deep a thought for so early in the morning" lol - and I was present for both, and will say again: some of the best thoughts occur early in the morning when the dew is on, and late at night when the cat stops yowling.