Lyrics Circle - Harry Chapin

Circle

After all is said and done
You’re the one song that I need
You see, all my life’s a circle
Sunrise and sundown
The moon rolls through the nighttime
'Til the daybreak comes around
Well, all my life’s a circle
But I can’t tell you why
The seasons spinning round again
The years keep rolling by
You know, it seems like I’ve been here before
I sure can remember when
And I got this funny feeling
That we’ll all get together again
And again and again and again
There are no straight lines make up my life
And all my roads have bends
There’s no clear-cut beginnings
And so far no dead-ends
(You got it Steve, sing it with feeling, bro')
I found you a thousand times
I guess you’ve done the same
But then we lose each other
It’s just like a children’s game
But as I find you here again
The thought runs through my mind
Our love is like a circle
Let’s go around one more time
(Steve Chapin!)
Now before we go out with a blaze of glory, and before I get Yvonne to sing
this song for you, I’d like to make a short pitch.
As most of you know,
the group and I do about half our concerts as benefits.
Each of the last three
years we raised over seven hundred thousand dollars for things we believe in.
In 1980 we almost did eight hundred thousand.
And above and beyond that, we raise an extra hundred and fifty thousand through
the sale of concessions.
Tonight’s no different.
And, uh, on the way out there
is a guy from World Hunger Year, a foundation we started five and a half years
ago, who is, uh, selling copies of my poetry book.
Already sold about sixty
five thousand copies, all the money going to World Hunger Year.
I’m proud of
the book anyway.
It’s illustrated by a young guy who’s an extraordinary artist
named Rob White.
And, uh, also some, the last I think of the «Harry, it sucks!»
T-shirts.
God, I hoped, I hoped those weren’t gonna sell, but, uh, World Hunger Year
said, «Try 'em, Harry, people relate to this.»
Unfortunately they were right.
Also some new programs, tell you more about the group and, and what we’re
trying to do than you probably want to know.
I have no heavy plans after the concert so I’ll be over where they’re selling
those things.
Be delighted to sign anything you do buy.
Gives me an excuse to
say hello to everybody, kiss all the pretty women.
Sorry guys, maybe next year.
And, uh, I won’t give you a long pitch.
I uh, I’ve been trying to put my money
and my life where my mouth is.
And I think it’s truly unconscionable that in a
country that can feed everybody six times over we have twenty million Americans
hungry.
Half a billion people around the globe who go to bed chronically
malnourished.
And there’s a lot of other things we gotta be doing in this country.
And um, I don’t care whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, left-wing,
right-wing, conservative, liberal, there’s an awful lot of people who ain’t
pulling their share.
And it’s really — you can’t expect rich people to do much
'cause they always just hold on to the money.
You can’t expect poor people to
do much 'cause they’re struggling like hell to make do.
It really comes down to
people like you and I. And, uh, you know the people who put this country
together were silversmiths, lawyers, planters, merchants, printers,
all kinds of ordinary people who also found a different vision of what the way
they wanted this country to be.
And I think whether you’re a singer or a TV
commentator or a housewife or a businesswoman or a teacher or a student or an
accountant or whatever the hell you are, I think we’ve gotta lot work to do and
I’m looking forward to having you guys work with me.
Do you guys wanna hear Yvonne sing this song?
(Yeah!) Put down that cello.
Now I want you to give her a big countdown to get her excited.
Are you ready
out there?
Here we go, a-one, two, one two three four.
All my life’s a circle
Sunrise and sundown
Moon rolls through the nighttime
'Til the daybreak comes around
All my life’s a circle
But I can’t tell you why
Seasons spinning round again
The years keep rolling by
(All right Yvonne!)
(Are you ready New York? Your turn! One, two, one two three)
All my life’s a circle (Sunrise and sundown)
Sunrise and sundown (Moon rolls through the nighttime)
Moon rolls through the nighttime ('Til the daybreak comes around)
'Til the daybreak comes around (All my life’s a circle)
All my life’s a circle (But I can’t tell you why)
I can’t tell you why (Seasons spinning round again)
Seasons spinning round again (Years keep rolling by)
The years keep rolling by
(Big ending, lotta harmony, the years keep rolling by)
And the years keep on rolling by (By by)
All right!
Thank you everybody!
Steve Chapin, Big John Wallace, Howie Fields,, Doug E.
Walker, Yvonne Cable, and the Bottom Line Memorial Shit-Kicking Country Choir.
See you out front in about two minutes.