The Circle Game

Yesterday a child came out to wander

Caught a dragonfly inside a jar

Fearful when the skies were full of thunder

And tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons, they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on a carousel of time

We can't return

we can only look behind from where we came

And go round and round and round

on the circle game

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons

Skated over ten clear frozen streams

Words like "When you're older" must appease him

And promises of "Someday" make his dreams

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now

Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town

They tell him "Take your time"

"It won't be long now

Before you drag your feet to slow the circle down"

And the seasons, they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on a carousel of time

We can't return

we can only look behind from where we came

And go round and round and round

on the circle game

(Interlude: piano and vocalizations)

Years spin by and now the boy is twenty

His dreams have lost some grandeur coming true

There'll be new dreams

Better dreams in plenty

Before the last revolving year is through

And the seasons, they go round and round

And the painted ponies go up and down

We're captive on a carousel of time, time

We can't return

we can only look behind from where we came

And go round and round and round

on the circle game.