--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at." description: "\"Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg" --- # Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at. ![“Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg) > “Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The metaphor warns against complacency in a stagnant or oppressive environment. **In simple terms:** Don’t settle for a place that makes you numb. Key Takeaway Identify and escape limiting situations. Themes complacency freedom self‑awareness Mood thoughtful melancholic Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - relationships - creative projects - living arrangements Key Concepts existentialism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life feel like a “wheel”? - What steps can you take to break free? A Different Perspective Changing circumstances may be risky and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep/) ## Related quotes > [Your body can't switch off tired. People fall asleep behind the wheel all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanola-hampton/your-body-can-t-switch-off-tired-people-fall-asleep-behind-the-wheel/) [Shanola Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanola-hampton/) > [It is a question whether, when we break a murderer on the wheel, we do not fall into the error a child makes when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/it-is-a-question-whether-when-we-break-a-murderer-on-the-wheel-we-do/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [The best time to expand is when people are asleep at the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/the-best-time-to-expand-is-when-people-are-asleep-at-the-wheel/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [And if I do fall asleep, Marla has to keep track of Tyler. Where he goes. What he does. So maybe during the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/and-if-i-do-fall-asleep-marla-has-to-keep-track-of-tyler-where-he/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [At the end of the day I just want to be able to fall asleep knowing that our lives are intertwined in a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-just-want-to-be-able-to-fall-asleep-knowing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't really like coffee, she said, but I don't really like it when my head hits my desk when I fall asleep either. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/i-don-t-really-like-coffee-she-said-but-i-don-t-really-like-it-when/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [“Dream big, but do not fall asleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/dream-big-but-do-not-fall-asleep/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [What if I find someone new but still fall asleep to the thought of you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/what-if-i-find-someone-new-but-still-fall-asleep-to-the-thought-of-you/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [I love reading but I never last very long because I fall asleep right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-love-reading-but-i-never-last-very-long-because-i-fall-asleep-right/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [Your the First thing I think about when I wake up & your the last thing I think about when I fall asleep .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-lechuga/your-the-first-thing-i-think-about-when-i-wake-up-your-the-last-thing/) [Alejandro Lechuga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-lechuga/) > [I'm running on adrenalin when we're shooting. It's non-stop. As soon as I have time to sit down, then I fall asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/i-m-running-on-adrenalin-when-we-re-shooting-it-s-non-stop-as-soon-as/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [Trying to fall asleep is as hard as trying to wake up in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-fall-asleep-is-as-hard-as-trying-to-wake-up-in-the-morning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't usually have time for TV. When I get home at night, I just want to fall asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/i-don-t-usually-have-time-for-tv-when-i-get-home-at-night-i-just-want/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [“80. It normally takes 5-9 minutes for most healthy people to fall asleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-shaw/80-it-normally-takes-5-9-minutes-for-most-healthy-people-to-fall/) [Lena Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-shaw/) > [So sick of being single! Ready to fall asleep & wake next to someone special!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-sick-of-being-single-ready-to-fall-asleep-wake-next-to-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Asleep quotes > [So sick of being single! Ready to fall asleep & wake next to someone special!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-sick-of-being-single-ready-to-fall-asleep-wake-next-to-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are asleep people, unconscious people, and this is what is serious. Unfortunately, we think the best of ourselves and not even suspect that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/we-are-asleep-people-unconscious-people-and-this-is-what-is-serious/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [But even before I was in the military, I was extremely jumpy when asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/but-even-before-i-was-in-the-military-i-was-extremely-jumpy-when/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [“80. It normally takes 5-9 minutes for most healthy people to fall asleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-shaw/80-it-normally-takes-5-9-minutes-for-most-healthy-people-to-fall/) [Lena Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-shaw/) > [I don't usually have time for TV. When I get home at night, I just want to fall asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/i-don-t-usually-have-time-for-tv-when-i-get-home-at-night-i-just-want/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I think about you every night before I sleep. I imagine you are here with me. With one arm around me and your legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-about-you-every-night-before-i-sleep-i-imagine-you-are-here/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trying to fall asleep is as hard as trying to wake up in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-fall-asleep-is-as-hard-as-trying-to-wake-up-in-the-morning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm running on adrenalin when we're shooting. It's non-stop. As soon as I have time to sit down, then I fall asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/i-m-running-on-adrenalin-when-we-re-shooting-it-s-non-stop-as-soon-as/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [99% of the time my brain is thinking blah, meh, why, huh, WTF, food and computers. The other 1% I'm usually asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/99-of-the-time-my-brain-is-thinking-blah-meh-why-huh-wtf-food-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lit up the world as I fell asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owl-city/lit-up-the-world-as-i-fell-asleep/) [Owl City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owl-city/) > [You can get anywhere on earth by falling asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/you-can-get-anywhere-on-earth-by-falling-asleep/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [Your the First thing I think about when I wake up & your the last thing I think about when I fall asleep .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-lechuga/your-the-first-thing-i-think-about-when-i-wake-up-your-the-last-thing/) [Alejandro Lechuga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-lechuga/) > [I love reading but I never last very long because I fall asleep right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-love-reading-but-i-never-last-very-long-because-i-fall-asleep-right/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [What if I find someone new but still fall asleep to the thought of you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/what-if-i-find-someone-new-but-still-fall-asleep-to-the-thought-of-you/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [“We fell asleep wrapped in each other as if we could not bear to part, even in sleep we could not bear to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/we-fell-asleep-wrapped-in-each-other-as-if-we-could-not-bear-to-part/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) [Browse all 472 Asleep quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asleep" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/tom-waits-916_asleep_not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at_3097685.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at.” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Waits", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not the kind of wheel you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/not-the-kind-of-wheel-you-fall-asleep-at/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```